Tupo Tusikizwe
COVAW, with support from Voice Global, is implementing a four-year project titled Tupo. Tusikizwe (“We are here. Listen to us”) in Kwale County. This initiative is designed to enhance the participation of persons with disabilities in the county budget-making process, empowering marginalized women and girls, including those with disabilities, to actively engage in and influence budget decisions.
The project focuses on amplifying these voices to ensure that their priority needs are considered and resources are distributed equitably. It achieves this by strengthening participants’ understanding of the county’s budgeting framework, building their capacity to analyze Kwale County’s budget estimates against community needs, and recommending actions to improve responsiveness. This approach fosters critical engagement in development processes, helping citizens recognize the importance of allocating resources that meet the needs of vulnerable groups and offering a pathway for holding public officials accountable to their commitments.
The primary beneficiaries are vulnerable and marginalized women and girls, including youth and persons with disabilities, across three sub-counties: Matuga, Msambweni, and Lungalunga. Secondary beneficiaries include women leaders in the Kwale County Assembly, county government officials, civil society representatives, media officials, and community members.
Project Goals
- To reduce inequalities by influencing a budgeting process that is responsive to the needs of women and girls in Kwale County.
- To empower marginalized women and girls including those with disabilities to participate in the County Budget process in Kwale County by enhancing their voices to demand for the uptake of their priority needs and equitable distribution of resources by lobbying for Gender Responsive Budgeting.
Below are some of the key achievements
- Enhanced participation of women with disabilities in the budgeting process. COVAW worked closely with the Kwale County PWD Network specifically with women-led Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs). 30 women-led DPOs jointly developed a lobby paper on the development of the Annual Development Plan 2022/2023 and as a result, women, youth and PWD funds were released by the county government.
- Participation of rights holders and COVAW in the development of the County Development Integrated Plan (CIDP) 2023-2027. Our key asks that have been incorporated in the CIDP include the construction of four GBV recovery centres in the county, bursary funds to be allocated on a needs assessment and increased allocations towards women, youth and PWD affirmative action funds.
- Community Led Accountability (CLA) is being applied by the community champions. Rightsholders are actively engaged in holding duty bearers to account by following up on completed and ongoing projects using CLA. 5 champions from Kilimangodo, Mwangulu, Shimoni, Mbuguni and Kinondo villages have been selected to be part of the project management committees at the village unit level. This will ensure that projects are implemented as proposed. This will reduce embezzlement of funds, misuse of government resources and delivery of quality projects for the rights holders.
