MHF has largely enjoyed political goodwill due to the political standing of its Founder and Patron. This has enabled the foundation form more strategic networks with stakeholders. To promote the realization of its objectives, the MHF will work within the prevailing political environment to empower, transform and impact the pastoralist communities.
1. Livelihoods
2. Women and Youth Empowerment
3. Health, Water and Sanitation and Hygiene
4. Education and Capacity building
5. Governance and Advocacy
6. Climate Action
1. Livelihoods
This pillar enables people to guarantee their access to basic essentials like food, water, shelter, and clothing. Taking part in livelihood activities entails obtaining the information, skills, social network, raw materials, and other resources needed to satisfy individual or group requirements over the long term.
Pastoralist communities rely mostly on livestock keeping. In this case, they are encouraged by MHF to diversify their economic activity beyond pastoralism. Although pervasive illiteracy is a problem, MHF looks for innovative ways to increase financial literacy and the pastoralist communities’ ability to manage successful businesses, particularly among women and young people. Diversifying livelihoods is a resilience strategy in and of itself because it provides people with a backup revenue stream in the event of a large shock (such as a drought, following livestock loss, etc.). The foundation targets 10,000 households in Kajiado county, 5000 households in Narok County and 3000 households in Samburu Count.
Strategic objective
• Building pastoralism resilience
• Enhancing financial Literacy
• Promoting entrepreneurship among
youth and women
• Vocational training of youth to equip
them with technical skills
• Livestock of pastoral communities will
be less susceptible to adverse
weather patterns
• Increased access to financial services.
• Increased employment rates of
women and the youth.
Success indicator
• Sourcing markets for women wares
• Training women and youth groups on entrepreneurial skills
• Empowering youth initiatives
• Encouraging sportsmanship
• Advocating for equality and equity
• Increased participation of community-based activities by women and youth
• Participation of more youth and women in leadership roles
• Positive social change through advocacy and peak body interaction.
2. Women Empowerment
This is a pillar that focuses on the general well-being of the pastoralist communities especially the Women and youth. It seeks to promote health, sanitation, hygiene and access to clean drinking water to the pastoralist communities. The MHF aims to conduct medical camps annually.
The MHF shall also provide free sanitary pads for young women and adolescents targeting a total 90 primary schools and secondary schools.
3. Health, water, sanitation, and hygiene
“There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.”
Kofi Annan
Strategic objective
• Sourcing markets for women wares
• Training women and youth groups on
entrepreneurial skills
• Empowering youth initiatives
• Encouraging sportsmanship
• Advocating for equality and equity
Strategic objective Success indicator
• Increased participation of
community-based activities by
women and youth
• Participation of more youth and
women in leadership roles
• Positive social change through
advocacy and peak body interaction.
3. Health, water, sanitation, and hygiene
This is a pillar that focuses on the general well-being of the pastoralist communities especially the Women and youth. It seeks to promote health, sanitation, hygiene and access to clean drinking water to the pastoralist communities. The MHF aims to conduct medical camps annually. The MHF shall also provide free sanitary pads for young women and adolescents targeting a total 90 primary schools and secondary schools.The MHF shall also build wash points in schools and market centres in Kajiado, Narok and Samburu Counties. The MHF also seeks to enhance access to clean drinking water to pastoralist communities.
Strategic objective
• Champion for maternal health
• Provision of reusable sanitary pads for the girl child
• Sensitize the community against Gender Based Violence
• Educate the community of the effects of FGM
• Increase access to clean drinking water.
Success indicator
• Reduction in GBV cases
• Reduction in FGM practices
4. Education and Capacity Building
This pillar focuses on sponsoring needy students through school or connecting them to sponsorship opportunities. The foundation also aims to not only provide school equipment such as access to computers to the youth but also enhance education for uneducated elderly people by facilitating basic literacy and numeracy classes. Additionally, the foundation seeks to progressively provide the youth with technical and soft skills through short programs as well as connect them to employment opportunities. The expected impact from this pillar is to advocate for zero illiteracy levels in Pastoral communities and consequently enhance an informed and well-equipped community.
Strategic objective
• Develop liblaries and classrooms
• Build literacy and numeracy levels
• Promote scholarships
• Promote ICT in schools and tertiary centres
Success indicator
• Increase in literacy level among the Women and the Youth
• Strengthened confidence, skills and knowledge in identifying and solving problems
• Decrease in school dropout rate in the county
• Increase innovation capabilities in the county
5. Governance
This is a pillar that underpins the institutions and procedures put in place to guarantee stability, equity and inclusion, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, rule of law, empowerment, and widespread involvement.
This pillar also stands for the standards, principles, and guidelines that guide the management of public affairs in a transparent, participatory, all-inclusive, and responsive manner.
This pillar will afford the people of the Maa community, as stakeholders in the society, the opportunity to influence decisions that affect their lives. The pillar will enable the community to have access to information for making informed decisions. Additionally, inclusiveness, capacity to engage and transparency will also be incorporated.
Strategic objective
• Promote advocacy skills
• Encourage public participation in youth and women
• Encourage communities to participate in socio-economic, political and environmental issues.
• Ensure long term sustainability and financial security.
• Maximize and safeguard the resources of Pathfinders.
• Provide effective, efficient, and ethical decision making.
• Provide transparent and accountable decision making.
• Provide dynamic, well-informed, and responsible leadership.
Success indicator
• Compliance with regulatory and
legislative regimes, funding
agreement obligations and
accreditation requirements.
• Decision making processes are clearly
documented, approved, and
communicated.
• Board has an appropriate skills
balance, diverse membership, and a
strategic focus
4. Education and Capacity Building
The MHF shall place focus on climate action. This is because pastoralist communities are adversely impacted by climate change. Climate change negatively affects the livelihoods, health, and welfare of pastoralist communities.
The key components of this pillar are to promote climate mitigation, climate adaptation and climate justice in pastoralist communities.
In climate mitigation, the MHF seeks to plant more trees in ASAL so as to reclaim destroyed water towers and to sequester more carbon. In climate adaptation, the MHF seeks to build climate resilient pastoralist communities and to diversify their livelihoods.
The commitment to a low carbon future is anchored on climate justice. Three key strategies will be utilized to promote climate justice. One, the MHF will shape climate narratives at local, national, and international levels from the perspectives of pastoralist communities. Secondly, the MHF seeks to promote a fair distribution of resources and develop and strengthen local solutions by fostering equitable access to climate finance, clean technologies, and markets. Third, the MHF will leverage political power and influence to build movements, advocacy and enhancing access to justice to those disproportionately affected by climate change.
Strategic objective
• Building sand dams in seasonal rivers.
• Planting more trees
• Encouraging public participation in projects and activities that adversely affect the environment
• Enhancing community climate change advocacy
• Provide pathways for pastoralist communities adversely impacted by climate change to access justice.
• Building resilient livelihoods
• Organizing conferences and meetings to address environmental issues
• Champion for smart agriculture
Success indicator
• Increased forest coverage
• Adoption of water harvesting and conservation strategies.
• Increase in food sustainability activities
• Reduced human wildlife conflicts
