Step Up Together is a Community-Based Organization in Kisumu County-Kenya, targeting adolescent girls, women and youths as our primary rightsholders. Step Up Together Organization recognizes disparities faced by girls, young women and youths in our community and addresses them through culturally-sensitive approaches and evidence-based interventions. We provide Capacity building of rural and urban vulnerable youth and women groups on financial literacy, VSLA methodology, book keeping and business plan development to enable them develop small businesses for consistent sources of livelihood, Community Sensitization of youth and women on Policy and Governance and devolution, as well as its opportunities to women and youth, , Advocacy for and promotion of civic actions by providing civic education to citizens, Social Media campaigns aimed at promoting citizens’ public participation, gender equality and equity, Legal Aid Clinics to facilitate justice for women’s land rights issues and for Sexual Gender Based Violence Survivors, Mental Health Booth camps to provide free counseling sessions for youth and women, and Social Accountability Training of community members to capacitate them with skills to keep the local authorities and government in check.

Our Vision

Increased women and youth-led power to access productive resources (finance, land and water) through collaboration to realize their full potential.

Our MISSION

To Advocate and lobby for transformative youth and women empowerment through effective leadership, all-inclusive participation, capacity enhancement, good governance, proactive engagement, partnership building, collaboration and networking.

THEMATIC AREAS

Our thematic areas encompass:

Youth & women economic empowerment. Governance & Social Accountability Civic Education. Gender mainstreaming >> Sexual Gender-Based Violence advocacy, menstrual health management, Mental Health and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights. Climatic justice.

OUR PROJECTS

Safe Minds >> Improved Mental Health.

My Voice Against GBV >> Access to Justice & Mental Health.

Vote Yangu Stake Yangu >> Civic Ed on Elections & Civic Action.

#TUWERADA >> 2022 16-Days Online Activism against GBV.

Access to Information & Meaningful Citizen Engagement (AIMCE)>> Public Participation.

Land Access Rights & Ownership for Women (LAROW) >> Land Rights & Anti-GBV Advocacy

LAND ACCESS & RIGHTS OWNERSHIP FOR WOMEN

(LAROW)

Land Access & Rights Ownership for Women is a project that Step-Up Together Organization implements in Nyando and Muhoroni Sub-Counties of Kisumu-Kenya. The project targets survivors of land-related Gender-Based Violence (GBV), while promoting their equitable access to justice and land, security of their land rights and the elimination of gender discrimination in land-based resources and governance. The project’s scope is anchored in upholding The Land Act 2012, Community Land Act 2016 and the Legal Aid Act, as well as the Constitution of Kenya 2010, in the interest of community-led action on access to justice and indiscriminate land ownership.

Through multi-stakeholder engagement between Kisumu County Government Departments, Court Users Committee, Self-help Women Groups, Kisumu County CSOs, Magistrate Courts, Chiefs, Customary Leaders & Media, the project is designed in the form of Media Forums, Dialogues, Mass Civic Education, Capacity Building, stakeholder symposiums, Agri-business Trainer of Trainees Training, and Legal Aid Clinics.

PROJECT GOAL

Increased equitable access to justice & land, security of land rights and elimination of gender discrimination in land-based resource sharing.

TARGET GROUP
Vulnerable Women who have faced exploitation in the form of Asset Stripping, Infringement on Land Rights, Delayed Justice and land-related Gender-Based Violence.

FOCUS AREAS

Nyando & Muhoroni sub-counties >> Kisumu County

THEORY OF CHANGE 

Our rightsholders benefit from the justice system through fair restoration of land assets.

PROJECT BACKBONE

LAROW Project is designed and implemented to address Land Rights and Access to Justice as provided for in the following legal policies and documents:

Constitution of Kenya 2010 >> Chapter 5 (Land) & Chapter 4: Article 40 (Right to Property) & 48 (Access to Justice)
Land Act 2012 >> Guidelines on Land use & management.
Community Land Act 2016>> Management of Community Land.
Legal Aid Act 2016>> Facilitate fair Legal representation.