About us
Lightup impact is an online community of 100 early-stage locally led non-profits, also known as grassroots organizations, in gender & health in East Africa. We support our member organizations with networking, trust-based partnerships and skills development to increase their visibility and long-term sustainability.
The Challenges we face
Community-based organizations (CBOs) are locally led, non-profit organizations that create local initiatives and programs that aim to solve problems at the community level (Patel 2019). They play a crucial role in promoting rural and urban development to tackle poverty, and access to healthcare, water, and education through locally-led programs (Wanjohi 2010, 2013).
There are around 57,000 registered CBOs in Kenya (NCBOC 2022) and more so in the whole of East Africa. However, CBOs are often not acknowledged due to a lack of integration into national and regional development policies and they lack support networks and credibility to secure seed funding.
Through networking and training, CBOs can leverage collaboration with other development actors and be strategically positioned to tackle community problems and ensure their own survival (Barasa et al. 2021; Hoerner 2012; Mutalemwa 2019).
After conducting two Focus Group Discussions with a total of 27 founders of CBOs and NGOs in gender & health in Kenya and Rwanda, we identified the following: early-stage grassroots organizations lack the experience, know-how, and support network needed to secure sustainable resources and influence their local political landscape to enable structural change in East Africa.
Vision
We envision a society where grassroots organizations are empowered and sustainable
Mission
To create a mindset shift towards collaboration and empower early-stage grassroots organizations in gender & health in East Africa with know-how and guidance to become sustainable and increase their visibility and impact
Values
- Empathic leadership
- Passion for social impact
- Courage and can-do attitude
- Collaboration over competition
Our Activity
What We Do
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Healthy Food
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Pure Water
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Education
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Our Team
Valeria, PhD
Jeniffer
Pedro
Nicole,PhD
Olivia
Argyro
Carla
Peter
Join us!
We increase the visibility and impact of grassroots organizations with a focus on women´s health and gender equality in East Africa. Would you like to join our network as a grassroots member of our community or as a partner? Then visit our join us page!
