After the Kenya General elections in March 2013, Kenya will have the first government under the new constitution. Women need to be educated on the opportunities and benefits that come with the new system of governance. This will change the daily activities of the maasai woman. Women will be encouraged to tap the opportunities available to better their lives. This project seeks to give women a voice amidst a culture that dictates for a society ruled by men making women the subject. It will also highlight their socioeconomic needs and share it will the world in a bid to create possible solutions
[1]A maasai woman excited about her first photograph. The photo was taken by another woman who used the camera for the first time.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Narok, Kenya
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
This project seeks to empower rural and low income women who do not have access to computers and internet. Illiteracy levels stands at 80% while women struggle with an inherent culture where violence against women is not condemned. Women do not have sources of income and they depend entirely on their husbands to meet their basic needs. This project seeks to advocate for the socioeconomic rights of these women through women themselves. Women who are aware of their rights and are economically empowered, can not easily be oppressed. This project will give them a voice to be heard by their community and the world. Women can use the same culture that oppresses them to tell their stories.This project tries to introduce new aspects and life changing ideas by connecting rural women to the world.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The stories of their daily activities, their plight, their needs, their way of life and the need to change with the current trends to enable them live self-sufficient lives and that the place of the maasai woman is not only in the kitchen.
The story will be documented on digital photographs and videos highlighting their daily activities and at the end of the project, highlight on how the project has impacted on their lives. The digital and video photographs will display the rich maasai culture and the role it plays in the day to day life of a maasai woman. The same content will carry out how best women can make out of the culture including making beautiful maasai ornaments that can be displayed to the world not only to earn income but to show the world their beautiful culture.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
The project will work closely with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development to reach out to women and register their organizations and groups to enable them access to Micro finance and credit facilities.
Women will also be encouraged to work with other groups and learn from their experiences.
Neighbours Peace also works as a mentor and partner of many women groups in Narok County. This will help in reaching out the neediest women who would like to form groups and work towards improving their lives. The community opinion leaders especially the Maasai Council of elders who are the custodians of culture will be involved in making sure that this project is adopted in the cultural structure. This will go a long way in ensuring that this project does not conflict with culture
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
Ten women who are educated, have experience in working with and for women,have a good command of the maasai language will be trained on women rights, digital video and the project overall goal. These women will be identified from existing and active women groups to sustain the project even beyond the project funding.They will conduct meetings in the women village assemblies and document the stories. The stories will be translated and uploaded on you tube to be shared to the global audience. The content will also be burned on compact discs and shown to other audiences who do not have access to internet using TV sets and video players. This will mainly target women in the rural areas who might not have an opportunity to interact with the facilitators.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
The first ten participants will be trained as facilitators and trainers. They will be trained on the project goal to familiarize them with the project, video coverage and digital photography and women rights. These will be people who are willing and will be identified from women groups therefore making sure that they have the required experience working with women. Most the content that will be developed with be saved in compact discs and shown to women in rural areas using a TV set, video player and powered by a generator since there is zero electricity connection in the targetes rural areas.The project organizer has a wide experience in digital photography and video, human rights, fluent in english and maasai language as well as experience working with rural under served populations.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
The project will use community facilities including schools, churches and where these facilities are not available due to being remote, the project will use trees where the community normally use for their meetings. There are no computers nor internet connections. The stories will be captured on video, edit and shared to the world. The content will be uploaded to the global voices on you tube and other connection once the staff and facilitators come to town.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
The organization has been working in the community for the past five years. That is why we are able to identify the need for women rights and voices. This is letting women talk about their needs and share it with the world.
The organization has been conducting civic and voter education, human right and health programs in the community.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
The vast area against minimal funding may affect service delivery, the project will target the women who are more in need then upscale the project to the rest of the community.
The cultural leaders might no give full support to the project as it is design to address retrogressive culture. Letting women address their own issues to the elders will assist in breaking the barrier and where a few of the elders buy the project idea we will utilize their good will
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
The project will measure the change in perceptions by women that some cultural aspects are demeaning, retrogressive and oppressive including cultural leaders supporting the project.From this understanding women will work hard to advocate for their rights. The project will also evaluate the number of women reached and willing to share their stories to the world. The impact will be measured by the number of women accessing micro credit, number of women making ornaments for sell, number of women reporting violence against them, number of women registered in organized groups and number of women supporting the project with their ideas and sustaining the content. The change in women activities that instead of restricting themselves to the normal activities, they adopt new ideas moving forward.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2013?
The project activities and time line will be as follows:
1. Procurement of equipment: Video camera, TVset, DVD deck and generator- May 2013
2. Identification of participant for training(Ten facilitators)-May 2013
3. Community Outreach, Maasai council of elders and women documenting the meetings on digital photographs and video- May, June, July 2013
4. Village assemblies, and show the photos and show the captured video- August and 2013
5. Evaluation of the project- October 2013
Detail a specific budget of up to $4,000 USD for operating costs.
Budget:
ITEM Units Rate(USD) Total
Video camera 1 294 294
Televison set 1 118 118
DVD deck 1 60 60
Training of Facilitators 500 500
Community outreach meeting 500 500
Documentary 1 300 300
Village assemblies 1 600 600
Coordinator allowance 6 118 708
Evaluation costs 1 200 200
Translations 320 320
USD 3600
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Rising voices will also help in providing IEC materials to women on availability as well as technical support to the staff of Neighbours Peace on need and request.
Rising Voices can also update the project on available opportunities for growth.
Contact name
Freddy Kamakei
Organization
Neighbours Peace Initiative