Kenyan-based human rights and social justice promotion organization and one of the I4C-Africa Hub 2020/21 Social Innovation Challenge (SIC) winners, Haki Nawiri Afrika, continue to scale their community-focused human rights sensitization campaign.
The organization conducted a two-day human rights training in Machakos County, 50 kilometers from the capital, Nairobi.
The training that brought together over 80 participants was held between 30 November and 1 December. It focused on various topical issues such as human rights instruments, advocacy, community organizing, women’s rights, child rights, and gender-based violence.
According to the co-founder of Haki Nawiri, Leonida Odongo, knowledge and information on human rights makes people concerned about the plight of others and pushes people to act when they witness any act of injustice, and can quickly mobilize and collectively demand change.
According to the co-founder of Haki Nawiri, Leonida Odongo, knowledge and information on human rights makes people concerned about the plight of others and pushes people to act when they witness any act of injustice, and can quickly mobilize and collectively demand change.
“Awareness about rights helps reduce rights violations. It makes the community conscious that someone is watching and hence deters would-be violators,” she averred.
Haki Nawiri Afrika is implementing a project that seeks to address shrinking civic space in communities in Kenya, which also aims at addressing various injustices through knowledge and skills.
The campaign kicked off officially in October in the capital, Nairobi, where they held a similar two-day human rights education training for 80 participants drawn from the county.
Additionally, the project seeks to respond to the rising cases of rights violations, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen a surge of violence against the most vulnerable especially, women and youth.
The campaign comes as the world is preparing to celebrate World Human Rights Day on 10 December.
Click the video below to watch one of the Human Rights Policy and Advocacy training sessions.