Each regional office makes grants in fields that most effectively address problems in that region. In the Eastern Africa office, we support efforts in five key areas:
Education and Sexuality
We provide East Africans, particularly women and youth, with the information necessary to make informed decisions and lead healthy lives. We fund efforts aimed at reducing the exposure of women and young people to HIV/AIDS. Another important focus of our work in this field supports policy reforms to increase the availability of safe and supportive educational opportunities for girls and women.
Environment and Economic Development
Our work recognizes the strong connections among natural resources, the environment and the economic health of communities. We fund efforts to make conservation and markets work and pay off for rural, poor and marginalized groups, particularly women and youth, who are dependent on natural resources. Our support, including grants to development finance instruments, encourages communities to learn and benefit from management techniques and the conservation of natural resources.
Governance and Civil Society
East African democracies are relatively young. Our grants in this area support citizens and organizations aiming for greater participation in democratic governance. Working with universities, government bodies, civic organizations and international institutions, we fund two areas of work to achieve this goal. The first strengthens institutions that advocate for participatory democratic governance; the second fosters leadership development and promotes equity and participation in civil society.
Human Rights and Social Justice
Our work in this area is fortified by three generations of human rights advocacy in the region that sought to secure basic economic and social rights as well as women’s rights. We make grants to consolidate the advances made by the social justice movement in East Africa. Overall we support those seeking to build an atmosphere of peace, stability and nonviolence. We have established two areas of grant making that seek to strengthen human rights and social justice organizations: The first focuses on securing the gains achieved by the women’s human rights movement over the past 20 years; the second area of work enhances the security and safety of citizens.
Media, Arts and Culture
We support activities that help strengthen local broadcast media and support training programs for young interns and early-career journalists. Our grantees also have contributed significantly to transforming the arts and culture landscape throughout the region, particularly in Kenya. We have cultivated arts institutions, encouraged creativity, helped build new art spaces and laid a foundation for the emergence of a vibrant arts community.