Why systemic change needs connection, not segmentation

At System Changer Network Kenya, we often hear a familiar phrase in development circles:

“Let’s make it women-focused.”

It sounds right. It feels fair. But in many of the communities where we work — for example when it comes to teenage mothers , but in many other topics, too — that approach doesn’t always make sense.

Because life here is built on interdependence.

Teenage mothers depend on families, neighbors, and community structures — and these same systems depend on them. When development projects isolate one group, even with the best intentions, they can unintentionally weaken the very fabric that keeps communities resilient.

The real barrier: disconnection

The challenge we face is not gender.

It is disconnection — from knowledge, from exposure, and from opportunities to reflect and act together.

When people are cut off from information, inspiration, or dialogue, they can’t imagine alternatives. They may receive training, tools, or funding — but without shared understanding, transformation rarely takes root.

From gender segmentation to relationship transformation

At SCN Kenya, we’ve learned that progress happens when people grow together.

Our work with teenage mothers, men, elders, and youth in Western Kenya shows that systemic change emerges through relationship transformation — not through parallel programs for separate groups.

We create spaces where people talk, learn, and build together.

Spaces where teenage mothers find support from their communities, and where men and elders are part of the same conversation.

That’s where change begins:

When people start asking new questions — not only about what they need, but about what they can build together.

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals

Our work is rooted in the spirit of SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

For us, partnerships are not just agreements between organizations — they are living systems of cooperation that connect communities, universities, social entrepreneurs, and local actors.

We believe that partnerships must start where change begins: within communities themselves.

When trust is rebuilt and collaboration becomes possible again, every other Sustainable Development Goal gains new life.

A call to action

At System Changer Network Kenya, we invite partners, researchers, and changemakers to join us in rethinking how development really happens — not through separation, but through cooperation.

True progress begins when people gain the courage and exposure to ask new questions — together.

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Read more about our work and discover how shared reflection can turn vulnerability into resilience. http://www.scn-Kenya.org