Vision

An innovative community foundation ​committed to just, resilient, and prosperous ​communities.

Mission

Our mission is to empower people, create ​economic opportunities and transform ​communities for prosperity of current and ​future generations.

Theory of Change

Nguzo Africa believes that “Community have power, resources, skills and people to take charge of their ​own development. Communities need empowerment, skills and connections to realise their potential.” ​When communities are informed and equipped with relevant knowledge, they get empowered, organised ​and connected to offer sustainable community-led solutions on pressing challenges that affect them.

Approaches

Nguzo Africa uses participatory community-led approaches where, the Foundation empowers ​communities to constructively engage with leaders for quality, efficient and accountable delivery of public ​service. This is done using constructive engagement with citizens and leaders as well the use of the e-​petitions portal to help citizens to hold their leaders accountable. This approach gives communities a voice ​to engage with decision makers on decisions that affect them.

Nguzo Africa economic empowerment approaches built skills, networks and linkages for people on the ​margins to put money in their pockets. The organization holds a niche in building capacities of vulnerable ​groups such as people with disabilities (PWDs), rural women, youth, men and elderly to establish viable ​businesses for increased income. Nguzo Africa is also committed to adopt measures aimed at accelerating ​environment conservation actions and combating climate change crisis.

The foundation undertakes regular researches to inform actions and decisions. Continues data collection ​and monitoring of actions helps to track our progress, document our results and share insights and ​knowledge.

Further, Nguzo believes in innovations. We are our digital transformation strategy to deploy technology ​tools and platforms to do more with less.

Location

Established in 2011, Nguzo Africa undertakes programs activities in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of Kenya ​(ASALs) and the Lake Basin Region of Kenya.

Our Story

Nguzo Africa is an innovative community foundation ​committed to just, resilient, and prosperous ​communities. On 4th March 2022, through support ​from KCDF and Mott Foundation, we transitioned to a ​community foundation to expand our mandate and ​scope or work.

Nguzo Africa was established in 2011 as a Community ​Based Organisation (CBO) that sought to address the ​pressing challenges of food insecurity, climate change ​crisis, and poor governance that leads to poor public ​service delivery.

Our initial focus was empowering communities to ​harness available local resources, skills, expertise, and ​knowledge to address local challenges without ​waiting external donors to solve them.

At these formative stages, in 2011, we contacted ​Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) ​to experiment and implement our ideas. KCDF ​challenged us to fundraise KES. 1 million for them to ​match with a similar amount. We viewed this as an ​impossibility. But we pushed ourselves. Within 3 ​months, we managed to raised the funds and KCDF ​matched their bargain. With Kshs.2 million, we started ​our initial project of growing trees in schools for ​improved learning environments. This support also ​helped to educate and promote use of renewable ​energy sources such as solar and biogas. We ​distributed 500 solar lanterns and installed fives ​household biogas systems.

Inspired by our works, we attracted support from ​government, local development partners and ​individuals to implement various project on ​governance and citizens engagement, civic and voter ​education, enhanced agriculture productivity, gender ​equality and health rights advocacy.

Our model of work is community-led, and community ​driven. We bring communities to the frontline in taking ​charge of their own development. Communities are ​meaningfully involved in the identification, design, ​participation, fundraising and execution of solutions ​for the challenges they face. The model continues to ​inform all Nguzo Africa initiatives to date.

Since 2022, we are actively engaged in strengthening ​#ShiftThePower movement to shape how ​development aid should be delivered. Nguzo Africa ​champions for durable development that is inclusive, ​transparent and provides dignity to people in the aid ​value chain.

Our ​Achievements

Nguzo Africa implements life changing ​transformative programs in governance and citizens ​engagement, economic empowerment in agriculture ​and food security; and environment conservation ​and addresses climate change crisis.

• Grown 100,000 trees in schools, households’ ​community and public spaces. These actions ​were supported by I&M Foundation and KCDF.
  
• Established a tree nursery with a capacity of ​producing 100,000 seedlings per year since 2014 ​to date). Our plan is to scale-up to 1 million ​seedlings per year.
  
• Enhanced pasture production for improved ​livestock production beef and milk in Narok ​County. This helped to build resilience among ​300,000 pastoralists in Narok County.
  
• Inua Mkulima Initiative: Supported 205 ​households with agriculture extension services, ​linkages and farm input (assorted hybrid maize ​seeds, indigenous chicken).
  
• Empowered 1,000 more than women ​entrepreneurs in Narok to adopt to new farm ​technologies and engage on women friendly ​value chains for improved incomes.
  
• Nguzo Africa accelerates citizen engagements ​and civic actions for improved public delivery. ​This is done by using an online petitions portal. ​We also receive manual memorandums and ​petitions. We continue facilitate citizens to ​undertake community social audits and writing of ​citizen shadow reports. Nguzo Africa facilitates ​citizens to submit memorandums to the ​governments. We signed a MoU with the Audit ​General Office to support carrying out social ​accountability audits for devolved County ​governments on public participation and budget ​making processes.
  
• We are #ShiftThePower champions of ​community-led approaches in Kenya where we ​encourage local corporates, foundations and ​individuals to fund generously to address ​pressing challenges facing our people and the ​planet, instead of depending international ​funding models which has failed over the years.