About Us
About Us
Ushindi Empowerment Group is a women-led community-based organization dedicated to transforming lives by empowering communities and vulnerable groups.
We do this by partnering with and supporting grassroots leaders, women, and youth-led organizations to build their capacity to meet some of their community’s most complex challenges. We believe in building capacity and the pursuit of initiatives that create a safer, more equitable, and more sustainable future for Africa. We will continue to invest in strategic partnerships in Kenya and beyond.
Vision
Transformed Communities
We believe in holistically empowered communities driven by strong grassroots’ engagement, servant leadership and people centered solutions .We place the communities we serve at the Centre of our approach with collaboration and partnership as the key pillar of engagement
Mission
We work to transform communities in Africa by empowering grassroots leaders and change agents and strengthening grassroots’ organizations’ .We do this by partnering and supporting grassroots’ leaders, women and youth led organizations’ in order to build their capacity to meet some of their communities most complex challenges .We have four focus areas Gender Justice, Climate Justice, Economic empowerment and Creative economy.
Co-Values
- Community Guided
- Servant Leadership
- Collaboration
- Authenticity
- Innovation
- Integrity
Impact Stories
What We Do
01. Capacity Strengthening
We help community leaders, groups, and organizations improve their ability to function effectively. This includes developing new knowledge, skills, attitudes, systems, and structures through curriculum development, training, organizational capacity assessment and support. We take a cohort-based approach and offer long term support and access to a community of like-minded change makers and organizations’. So far, we have trained more than 340 grassroots women leaders and entrepreneurs with our impact extending to their organizations’ and businesses alike. We also offer short targeted trainings and run accelerators based on the needs of the communities we serve.
02. Advocacy
We work to create change in the communities we serve by supporting advocacy efforts driven by grassroots organizations’. We do this through organizing, advocacy capacity strengthening and campaign support in order to affect change in political, social, and economic institutions within our thematic areas of work. We believe in effecting change at systemic level by collaborating and engaging with like-minded grassroots’ organizations’ and stakeholders. We are currently collaborating with the Global Network for Women’s Shelters to support the Africa Shelters Caucus and in organizing the annual Shelters and Helplines Forum. We have also strengthened the capacity of 120 grassroots women leaders and organizations’ in advocacy and campaigning, and coordinated online petitions advocating for relevant policies related to gender based violence and human rights.
03. Organising
We believe in creating avenues for shared learning, networking, partnerships and linkages. Grassroots change makers that go through our programs join a community of leaders and organizations’ that work towards a shared vision of self and community empowerment and transformation. We have a growing cohort of 120 women grassroots change makers and 220 women entrepreneurs’ who continue to network and collaborate in different ventures and projects. We are working to establish community and market access platforms for business growth leveraging on our growing community of women Entrepreneurs, as well as building and sustaining a community of young creative developed through our flagship creative economy program-the Atmosphere Collective. We are also working in partnership with Global Network for Women Shelters to strengthen the Africa Shelters Caucus. We strive to provide continuous opportunities for learning, mentorship, and networking, access to resources and opportunities, and joint advocacy.
04. Mentorship:
Building relationships, networks and opportunities for growth through mentorship is key to our approach. We provide access to mentors through our innovative online mentorship platform that allows us to effectively identify, match and manage mentor-mentee engagements. More than 200 women entrepreneurs have benefitted from months of sustained mentorship in Entrepreneurship within the AWE program with experienced industry players.
Ongoing project in Ecopreneurship, over 75 Women ecopreneurs also receive mentorship through Ekonnect, a dedicated online mentorship platform targeting ecopreneurs funded through the US Embassy’s Tech camp program and developed in partnership with other program alumni
05. Platforms & Content:
We create powerful narratives by collating, writing, and producing material through storytelling, organizing impactful events and forums, and by helping change makers send entrepreneurs develop and elevate their personal stories in order to challenge dominant narratives and deepen connections in the journey towards transforming communities. We develop and offer support for podcasting, pitching and storytelling, and run monthly thematic events aligned to our mission and vision.
06. Research
We believe in people centered solutions shaped by an understanding of the knowledge, practices, needs and attitudes of the communities we serve. As a learning organization, we seek to develop and use both new and existing knowledge to develop innovative content and programs specific to the grassroots ecosystem.
Our approach
We believe in empowered communities driven by strong grassroots engagement, servant leadership and people centered solutions. Our approach focuses on research, capacity building and mentorship, Harnessing necessary resources, advocacy and organizing. We place the communities we serve at the center of our approach with collaboration and partnership being the key pillars of engagement. We have a diverse network of trainers, international and local partners in the ecosystem.
Theory Of Change
