Development Knowledge Link – Africa (DEVLINK)
DEVLINK is a nonprofit organization that supports grassroot women and children in health, education and economic empowerment.
Development Knowledge Link – Africa (DEVLINK) is committed to the promotion of human rights for the underserved grassroot women, girls and children with special emphasis on health, education and livelihoods. Our vision is a healthy, empowered and a just society.
Our mission is to promote sustainable livelihoods and well being for underserved women, girls and children through partnership and innovation.
Core values are integrity, efficiency, commitment, innovation and respect for human rights.
As an organization, economic empowerment is the entry point to the community, because economic independence is the solution all the challenges of
health, education and livelihood. Until a community is empowered economically, it will not be easy to achieve any development goal.
DEVLINK's special sauce is threefold: they are people-centered, community-driven, and forge partnerships with other stakeholders in the community.
We are engaged in several Frontline human rights programs geared towards health promotion, access to education, entrepreneurship and employment creation. DEVLINK supports women, 0rphans and vulnerable children living with HIV/Aids through viral load suppression, household economic strengthening to reduce vulnerability, support highly exposed adolescents living with HIV and advocate for skilled deliveries to reduce HIV transmission at birth. We also strengthen food security to address nutritional needs of people living with HIV/Aids. We have learnt that HIV/Aids is closely related to gender based violence, and sexual partner violence poses direct threat of HIV transmission. We therefore advocate for prevention of gender based violelence and assist survivors to access to justice. Involvement of men is very important in addressing gender based violence, therefore DEVLINK works with men as community champions for prevention of violence.
DEVLINK supports orphans and vulnerable children with school fees, scholastic materials and school uniforms. We also engage them on sexual reproductive health education/awareness.
The organization engage women/ caregivers in economic empowerment activities through skills training and provision of business seed fund. Skills training include tailoring and dress making, food and beverage production, weaving, jewelery, beadwork, pottery, waste paper recycling, shoe making and many others.
The women are also involved in community group savings and internal loaning which allows them to access low interest loans to expand their businesses. This enables them to contribute to household income and address health needs of their families.
The organization also runs community health care facility bringing healthcare services closer to the community. The purpose of this facility is to ensure that most at risk population access health care services.
Any support directed to DEVLINK will keep HIV positive children in school and will improve their nutritional needs to grow up healthy like any other child. This support will also keep the girl child in school by providing sanitary towels and other basic needs.
The support will also support women living with HIV through business and employment creation this eliminating gender based violence.
Fundraisers
Official fundraiser
PAD A GIRL INITIATIVE--SANITARY TOWELS DRIVE
Access to menstrual hygiene is a key component and pathway to dignity enjoyment of human rights among adolescent girls and women, boosting their confidence and self-esteem. In Low and Medium Income Countries (LMIC) like Kenya, sanitary towels are among commodities that are not accessible to girls because of their inability to afford. This results into girls skipping classes, drooping out of school and engaging in risky and unhealthy behaviors in a bid to acquire money to purchase the product. Consequently, these lead to child labor, early unintended pregnancies and maternal mortality. In Kenya, 65% of women and girls cannot afford sanitary pads (Amref Health Africa-Period Poverty Report, 2023). Homa Bay County, recorded 23.2 % early unintended pregnancies among teenage girls (Kenya Demographic Health Survey, 2022). Over the past 4 years, we have put recognizable effort in supporting adolescent girls who cannot afford sanitary towels through the support of our existing partners and other drives. These efforts have reached 14860 girls in primary schools and 3060 girls in secondary schools. Through this support, these girls have been able to be retained, progress and transition in school. These girls have confidence boost during their menstrual period and avoid indulging in risky behaviors as they try to source for sanitary towels. Above all these efforts have contributed in protecting these girls against sexual exploitation and abuse. We count this as our greatest achievement of our past sanitary towels drives. Thus, we take this initiative to passionately appeal to donors for compassion and support this noble intervention in raising funds for sanitary pads to cushion 2000 vulnerable girls among the Most At Risk Population in Homa Bay County. We aim to raise $ 1,000.00 (200 girls each getting 12 packets of sanitary pads for one year at a cost of $ 1.00. This will guarantee retention, progression and seamless transition in education and cushion them from social maladies. Thank You for choosing to support this course and being the light in the darkness for an adolescent girl. Let’s All Pad a girl!
- Raised
- $10
- Goal
- $1,000
1 supporter
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