Founder's Message

For a long time now, Kenya has been facing a number of chronic social, political, economic and environmental problems which have caused many challenges in the development of; education, health, poverty reduction, gender empowerment, population control and the mainstreaming of marginalized and deprived communities and groups. Degrading social and cultural values, derailed youth and disappointing performances by social and economic indicators are representative of a state of disillusionment on all fronts of development efforts undertaken so far, while the degradation of the environment is also emerging as one of the pressing issues that need to be addressed by means of empowering communities at a grassroots level.
Having said all this, what can a non-governmental organization like MWAYEO do to raise the profile of human rights issues? What we have done in the past is to design and undertake activities which lead directly to community empowerment by strengthening peoples’ voices and enhancing their capacities at a grassroots level. We at MWAYEO are inspired to tackle the root causes of poverty, environmental degradation , and social and economic imbalances and exclusions, by finding and providing practical solutions which, when accepted in good faith and translated into positive action, can have the highest potential for social transformation, justice and sustainable development.
As a dynamic organization, MWAYEO is committed to bringing a silent yet effective revolution to Kenya at a national level, similar in effect to the one demonstrated by bringing positive change to Masaba; one of its remotest villages. Over the past one year, true to its founding ideal, MWAYEO has been determined to continue growing, developing, improving and expanding. This journey is a never-ending process, and we have to equip ourselves to face new trends and challenges. To achieve these interests and aspirations, which we know we share with many like-minded colleagues, we wholeheartedly encourage the participation and collaboration of all national and international communities, whether it is in the form of moral, technical or financial support.

Thank you

Joseph Nyaundi

Chairperson /Board of Directors

About MWAYEO : Vision ,Mission & Core Values

Millennium Women & Youth Empowerment Organization ( MWAYEO) is a non profit, non governmental organization (NGO) registered with the NGO Bureau ,Nairobi, Kenya under the NGOs Act of 1990. Since its inception, the organization has developed into a locally and regionally recognized, independently governed and sustainable institution.
Its areas of interventions include programmes in:
-Education
-Health
-Agriculture,
-Environment,
-Water and sanitation,

The overall strategic framework of the organization is anchored in the concept of sustainable development, enhanced outreach to the most vulnerable and socially excluded groups and communities and replication of best practices.
Vision: MWAYEO’s efforts contribute to a world which recognizes, respects, and values the socioeconomic, political, legal and environmental aspirations of marginalized and vulnerable communities, particularly women and youth, on an equality basis that promotes a sustainable, equitable prosperous and peaceful society.
Mission: MWAYEO endeavors to empower and improve the quality of life of the marginalized and vulnerable women and youth in Kisii Central and Masaba districts of Kenya through participatory research and development, capacity building, promotion of best practices and partnership building, advocacy, and by launching sustainable and replicable innovative projects.

Governance

The general guidelines for the governance are spelled out in the Memorandum and Article of Association of the organization. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors (BoDs) consisting of seven members elected by the members. They are elected every three years. Overall policy and decision-making rests with the BoD. The directors appoint the Chief Executive of the organization and vests in him powers and functions related to the management and administration of the affairs of the NGO subject to their general supervision and control. The Board also appoints the Accountant to manage all financial functions to ensure compliance of the Rules and Regulations. Policies and management guidelines are provided in the ‘MWAYEO Manual of Operations’.

Organizational Values:
MWAYEO has adopted two core values including social justice & equity (rights, vulnerability, and access) and democracy (Participation, transparency, accountability, rules and regulations) for its institutional norms and programmatic operations.

Objectives and Current Interventions

MWAYEO’s Objectives


MWAYEO aims to achieve the following objectives through various initiatives:

• Promotion of quality education, early childhood development (ECD) and inclusive education.
• Enhancing access of marginalized and deprived communities to safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, education, health ( HIV/AIDs prevention) and economic development opportunities
• Contribute to the sustainability of environmental and natural resources
• Mainstreaming of most marginalized, extremely vulnerable and socially excluded populations in development





Current Interventions

• Sustainable Income Generating Activities for vulnerable women and youth

• Promotion of Green/organic Farming through Public Private Partnership

• Proposal on Civic Education and human Rights awareness creation

• Proposal on Community Water & Sanitation-Roof Catchment and latrine slabs

• Strategy for the establishment and strengthening of CBOs/FBOs

• Implementation of ‘Dairy Goat Management Program” for poverty reduction

• Early Childhood Care and Development Education Program

Principle Approaches

1. Social mobilization

Social mobilization is the cornerstone of this organization’s principles and all programs are based on this approach in order to enhance community participation, ownership and sustainability of the interventions. This is a prerequisite for moving rural people from beneficiary to partner status in locally based development. MWAYEO has massive community mobilization experience, motivating them to invest their human, manual and financial resources for development, while also committing to sustaining the interventions on a long term basis. Social mobilization is the trade-mark of all of the organization’s interventions.



2. Volunteerism



MWAYEO is one of those development organizations that itself emerged as a volunteer organization and was run, managed and developed by a cadre of professional and community volunteers. It has made hallmark achievements in the social and economic development of communities by promoting and inculcating the concept of volunteerism. Apart from local volunteer development, MWAYEO has been building its linkages with national and international volunteers to increase benefits to its communities without having to increase overhead costs.



3. Advocacy

Necessity is the mother of invention. The truth of this principle emerges whenever the ambition for improved community welfare and development outweighs the resources available within the organization. The solution for this was seen to be continuing to lobby and advocate within the development agencies, particularly within public sector departments, with political representatives and in religious arenas. This has now become our principle approach in order to gain support that complements and enhances MWAYEO’s efforts. The practical realization of this concept is so strong and efficient that it appears like a self-funded volunteer program. MWAYEO continuously advocates within the development sectors for the provision of basic needs to communities as well as the promotion of human rights at a regional level.



4. Human rights

This is also one of the founding blocks of the organization’s best practices’ ideals and is embedded in the roots of the global Millennium Development Goals. Its emergence was based on the very premise of securing human rights for the rural communities through the promotion of children’s rights to education and enhancing their access to health facilities. This principle has been very instrumental in shaping future programs so much so that MWAYEO has expanded its deliberations on how to get the most deprived and socially excluded groups into mainstream development. Human rights are therefore, the overarching and fundamental ethical value of the organization and are well defined in its code of conduct.



5. Partnership building and networking

MWAYEO believes that working in isolation neither supports the quality of its operational functions nor does it support the three fundamental elements of sustainability, namely; policy related sustainability, financial sustainability and institutional sustainability. We believe partnerships enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of project implementation and promote accountability, transparency as well as quicker dissemination and replication of results. Networking is an essential prerequisite for mobilizing larger support for a cause, which is why MWAYEO emphasizes the development of links with other like-minded organizations