TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT SASAL (SPRINGS OF THE ARID AND SEMI ARID LANDS)

SASAL was born in 2015 under the name Smile of a Pastoralists .When I was almost done with campus I needed a plan because, I did not want to be employed by government or the few private institution dealing with metrology. Also knowing that my line of career is mainly done by “old guys” and to be honest I felt like office work was going to be boring for me. I really wanted to use my knowledge in metrology to help my people and to reduce the losses we often incur during prolonged drought or floods. If we heed to the warnings by the metrology department then things will be different.

My professor saw the humanitarian in me and encouraged me to pursue this, I went online and researched on how to start an NGO, when doing the search the name Smile of a Pastoralist could not be registered and that is how I opted for SASAL. In September 2019, I got my certificate and SASAL became official. During the waiting period I was involved in tree planting exercises back at home, visiting schools and sensitizing women and holding workshops.

What Is The Highlight Of Your Journey As A Climate Scientist And Gender Advocate

Being able to speak for the voices, people in marginalized areas do not have a platform they are often forgotten and yet they are the most affected. I am from a pastoral community, but I speak for all the pastoral communities in Kenya. Also giving people hope that theirs change and there is an NGO they can rely on.

What Motivates You To Keep Fighting For This Course

If I stop no one will speak about it and people will suffer, but the journey has challenges being a start up with no funds and doing community work without payment was hard and I often felt like giving up. However I look at these communities and they need a voice this keeps me going.

Behind The Advocacy What Does Mana Like To Do

I love to travel; I love to spend time with my family, watching movies. I love to dance and I enjoy being a mum.

What Projects Are Dear To You At The Moment

We are currently doing a project addressing gender based violence in Kajiado County .We aim to improve their livelihoods by capacity building and ensuring there is community access to water and land. While doing our research we found that women are often raped on their way to get water or assaulted by their spouses if they come from fetching water which is an 8 km walk. This ends up affecting the health of the women amongst other arising issues. This program will empower them on other alternatives to get their livelihood, give them psychosocial support to mitigate the risks.