Between 28th July and 1st August 2014, CEEC carried out a Needs Assessment in eight farms within Burnt Forest namely, Lingway, Kamuyu, Rukuini, Rironi/Kaplalach, Ndungulu, Chuiyat, Barekeiywo and Kagongo. The exercise was informed by a request by the women from the eight farms for an empowerment project and the objectives were;
- To identify the most important women’s needs
- To identify the women’s perceived solutions to their needs, as well as their priorities and preferences.
- To ensure that any proposed intervention will be in line with needs that are expressed by the women in the eight farms.
- To identify other players in the community addressing the identified needs.
In recognition of the need to have male allies while implementing women empowerment projects, the Needs Assessment targeted not only women but also important male stakeholders, mainly the community’s gatekeepers. Top on the list of the needs identified was community capacity building to prevent and appropriately respond to gender based violence which is prevalent within the eight farms. Flowing from the Needs Assessment, CEEC is in the process of designing a Gender Based Violence prevention and response project which will work with both women and men from the eight farms.