A report of KU-WEE Hub’s consultative meeting with Tharaka Nithi County Government
On 27th July 2021, a delegation from KU-WEE Hub led by the Vice Chancellor Kenyatta University, Prof. Paul Wainaina, visited Tharaka Nithi County to discuss ways of strengthening the partnership between the Hub and the county government in preparation for research field work. The team was received by the Governor, H.E Muthomi Njuki at the county government offices in Chuka town. The county government is a key partner in the Hub’s project, collaborating in the design, implementation and evaluation on childcare, facilitation and provision of a platform for the Randomised Control Trial (RCT) and provision of a site for testing initiatives that work to improve Women’s Economic Empowerment. Researchers from the County will be participating in KU-based studies namely:
- Effectiveness of SGBV Mitigation and Prevention Programmes in Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment; and
- Women’s Participation in Management and Leadership Positions in the Public Sector in Kenya: Closing the Gender Gap.
Jointly with the Kenyatta University researchers and researchers from Yale University (one of the Hub’s key International Partners) researchers from the County will implement an RCT on “Improving Women’s Market Work and Child Development through the Crèche Programme”.
During the meeting, Prof. Judith Waudo, Director, Centre for Gender Equity and Empowerment and Hub leader, made a presentation on the Hub’s project, including current progress and the way forward. The Chair of the advisory board noted that the board will provide technical support to ensure success of the project. The Vice Chancellor reiterated his support for the project and partnership, noting that the findings of the applied research will be beneficial in policy formulation and implementation beyond the county to the national and international levels. He added that beyond Women Economic Empowerment (WEE), the findings will help improve the quality of life in general, and emphasized on the need for the help of county officers to enable researchers establish necessary relationships that will help in relevant data collection.
The governor expressed his appreciation for KU-WEE Hub’s commitment to the working partnership and noted that public participation was key in the establishment of the crèche programme that is being evaluated by researchers from the Hub. He therefore urged the team conducting the study to pay keen attention to the cultural and religious values of the community and leverage the existing structure that consists of Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) with access to every household in the county. Researchers will meet with representatives of the CHVs as well as those of market committees before commissioning the research, to ensure community mobilization. It was noted that the county government has appointed members of a committee (including technical persons) that will oversee the working relationship between the two partners.
The event received good media coverage, including an article on the Standard newspaper (https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/opinion/article/2001419457/creche-programme-could-be-a-game-changer-for-working-mothers), a Swahili news item on KUTV (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8socq-uLZqc) and a pictorial on the Nation newspaper (http://weehub.ku.ac.ke/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Nation-newspaper-picture.jpg)
Teams from Tharaka Nithi County and KU-WEE Hub pose for a group photo, after the consultative meeting.
Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Paul Wainaina and Tharaka Nithi Governor, H.E Muthomi Njuki field questions from the media following a successful consultative meeting to discuss the partnership between KU-WEE Hub and the County government
