After first very successful training program some months back, our local partner organisation, WA-WA has conducted again a very special event for young people living in Homabay and surrounding in Western Kenya.

In the area at Lake Victoria the rate of poverty and HIV infection is high. Young women sell themselves to get some fish, young men often imitate the violence in which they live: a lot of frustration, violence, hopelessness, drug abuse.

WA-WA, a local non-profit organization is led by Cavin, a real changemaker and social entrepreneur: “Training programs for women or men only? That’s not really useful. We need to look at both and also focus on programs that help to better the relationships among the genders. It’s only together that the young generation can take better care – of each other and their environment.”

Indeed, it’s a quite common and attractive to “develop women” as they are more social, family thinkers, community-oriented. We can read often about it – and it is not wrong. But women are not alone in this world, it’s the system that needs to change while finding a new balance in its own where men and women can develop a different way of doing and staying together. Supporting just one gender means more frustration on the other site.

That’s why He4She and She4Him is a very specify and also disruptive program – which the young people in Homabay really like – and benefit from.

And there is a second reason for the success: This program has been co-created by WA-WA and our Making More Health initiative. This kind of collaboration has started two years ago and several activities have already taken place and created the trust in the communities. Soap training and production, hygiene awareness programs and some other activities have offered concrete support and built a lot of trust.

Today, many young people are proud to be part of our WA-WA -Making More Health projects. They talk about it with friends and contribute actively to make the impact bigger. A good step to empower the youth in Homabay towards a better future!