Pact Kenya is a capacity building organisation and over the course of its eight or so years of existence it has done its core work within a number of different programs addressing varying issues and sectoral themes. All of these have brought good experience and taught Pact Kenya valuable lessons - one of which is that Pact Kenya cannot do everything. If it is to become excellent it has to make strategic choices and develop key competencies for impact.

For the period 2008 to 2012 Pact Kenya has chosen to work in four strategic thematic platforms. These are in Democracy and Governance, Women’s Empowerment, Conflict Management, and in the Environment and Natural Resource Management.



Pact Kenya implements a couple of large programmes and a number of smaller projects all supported by a variety of donors. To bring some focus to our efforts Pact Kenya works in 4 Strategic Platforms  in Democracy and Governance, Environment and Natural Resources, Conflict Management and Women Empowerment.These were identified through the Strategic Planning process as key areas of importance and relevance for Pact Kenya and the nation today

Democracy and Governance

Vital to most positive change is the ability and opportunities of citizens to participate in the decisions and actions that most affect them. The political crisis triggered by the December 2007 presidential election bears witness to Kenya continuing struggle to democratize and improve governance. Safeguarding the democratic gains made in Kenya and improving the overall governance environment will be critical to progress of all kinds economic, social and political. Key to this is getting good law and policy in place - including a new constitution - and holding everyone accountable to that law and policy in practice.Pact Kenya works with others to push forward the reform agenda and to secure good democratic governance in Kenya.  Read more

Women Empowerment

The enabling and empowering of women is not only developmentally important but ethically right. However it is well acknowledged that many women in Kenya are excluded from making their contribution by all kinds of constraints  including cultural. Targeting and focusing on the poorest women and giving them hope through developing their skills and improving their livelihoods and helping them to engage on key issues affecting them and their families are an important part of reducing poverty and crucial to real developmental gains. Promoting women leadership and participation at higher levels is also necessary.  Pact Kenya is working to achieve this in a number of programmes.  Read more

Conflict Management

Violent conflict is endemic in and between many communities and in many parts of Kenya - as was highlighted by the post election violence. This is partly driven by poverty but also by a complex mix of historical, political, social, cultural and even religious motives. This is especially so in the marginalized and less or under-developed areas including along the borders with neighboring countries. As new challenges like climate change and a fast growing population compound these historic causes it will become even more important to address structural issues that foster and drive conflict at a fundamental level.  Managing conflict will increasingly be a critical role of government and communities alike. Pact Kenya works with both government and local organisations and communities to address these challenges. Read more

Environment and Natural Resources

Today the environmental component is integral to any model of sustainable development. A large proportion of Kenya  population (and those of its neighboring countries), especially many of those suffering from poverty, depend on forest or fisheries or water or grazing or other natural resources for a major part of their revenue or existence. Sustainable and equitable management of natural resources are fundamental to development in Kenya. Deforestation, over exploitation of fish stocks and marine resources, land degradation and desertification are interlinked threats to the livelihood of the poor. In many cases dealing with these threats requires improved governance and joint action. As climate change takes hold the consequences on poor people will become more dramatic and more extreme. Whether along the coast, in the forests, in the pastoralist areas, in the urban or rural areas, the impact on the lives of poor and ordinary people will need to be managed in order to help people adapt to these pressures and respond to the consequences. This is what Pact Kenya is trying to do.  Read more