BootCamp: CSO’s stakeholder capacity building

YETU initiated a program to equip Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Local Development Organizations (LDOs) with the knowledge to conceptualize the use of local resources and reduce international donor dependency. This led to the introduction of hybrid boot camp training to capacity-build organizations on local resource mobilization. Some of the factors which led to the inception and continuance of this process, included;

• The need for CSOs to primarily serve their community interests, needs, and aspirations,
• The re-classification of Kenya as a middle-income country in 2014 and
• The Kenyan Government’s attempts to reduce foreign funding to CSOs in 2013 served as a warning shot to CSOs fully dependent on foreign funding.

Makueni Development Trust (MADET) is modeled on the basis of the local organization’s agenda on Aid effectiveness and underscores the commitments of ownership, alignment, harmonization, resource impactfulness, and mutual accountability. As part of the implementation of the MADETs interim Strategic plan, an agreement on a resource mobilization strategy for LDOs was developed outlining a coordinated approach to resource mobilization for the implementation of MADET programs.

The 2-day Mombasa boot camp in March 2022 brought together LDOs and CSOs from seven counties; Makueni, Isiolo, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kisii, Kisumu, Mombasa, and Kilifi equipped members with the knowledge about the concept of boot camp, collaboration and partnership and also how to locally mobilize resources through campaign planning and management and how to document the mobilized resources.

This transformative workshop was led by YETU Initiative and Agha Khan Foundation (AKF) in collaboration with development stakeholders – USAID, Local Development organizations, and civil society organizations.