General Information
History of Kenana NGO for sustainable development and women empowerment. In 2008, a group of development professionals launched a pioneer micro-finance project in the community of traditional Upper Egyptian community in Sohag and Ismaelia. The NGO was the first of its kind in Ismaeliyah, with affiliates in Cairo, Sharkiyah, Marsa Matrouh and sister NGO in Sudan. It was lauded for ICT training for the female graduates, environment protection awareness and small micro credits to a marginalized community that otherwise had no access to financial services. We are networked with other development professionals and together identify in all our projects a target group that are particularly vulnerable: low-income women of female-headed households. At the end of 2005, we have officially created Kenana NGO for sustainable development and women empowerment. The Association registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs as a private, voluntary, non-governmental organization, and the first Kenana office opened in Sohag central street to be accessible by any person in this governorate and around.. ________________________________________ Kenana Today: Since its beginning as a community development organization, Kenana has extended both its field sites and its services as it has grown. In addition to educational and training programs, Kenana today offers literacy programs, health services, and environment awareness seminars with a staff of 6 members and more than 100 volunteers and members. From the beginning, Kenana has recognized the importance of empowering female heads of households. When we were founded in 2005, it was the first feminist NGO in Upper Egyptianto deal specifically with this issue. In the past 4 years, Kenana has emerged as both an influential grassroots organization, environment focused NGO, and a leading advocate for women's rights. ________________________________________ Field Sites: Kenana is active in some of the poorest areas in Upper Egyptianand its suburbs, namely, Tunis Village, El Baliana, Akhmin, Tahta. Government programs do not extend to squatter areas yet and relatively few other NGOs and associations work there. 30% of all households in the Upper EgyptianVillages are female-headed households, 40% of the overall Our programs: Health Program hygiene matters. The prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt, complications arising from marriage and childbirth at a young age, and the general absence of information on reproductive health, all raise serious concerns. To address these problems, doctors have trained ADEW staff in public health issues and conducted larger health awareness seminars in women's homes. Low-income women suffer from a critical lack of information and resources regarding health and Doctors were also hired to provide medical advice and treatment to Kenana clients on a weekly basis. Literacy Program The women participating in "Arab Women Speak Out" requested that a literacy program be established. Kenana complied in the year 2006, recognizing that literacy is pivotal to building women's self-esteem and resistance to legal exploitation. The literacy program uses our center to make the classes more interactive and participatory. Kenana uses film-screenings, field trips, informal tests and extracurricular activities to make learning an enjoyable experience. Environment seminars programs In co-operation with some organizations such as Street Law Inc. in USA we held the first seminar and awareness workshop ion the field of environment awareness, it was in 2007 where we held the "Environment Parliament of Ismaeliyah" as the people of the government encountered the environment officials from the Ministry of environment and keep questionnaining them about the cases and problems they face and how to enhance the environment. Now, we have a partnership with Gender and Water Alliance and another sister NGOs in Sharkiyah (Upper Egypt), Sudan and Algeria. Our network allows us to exchange information and attending the mutual events. Current projects: - A project funded by Arab Human Rights fund of a budget 20,000$ on educating youth on human rights from Oct 2011 until Oct 2012 - A project funded by Netherlands Embassy on Culture and Arts, co-operation between Artists from Sudan and Egypt, for 6 months starts from Feb 2012 of a budget 11,000 euro.
