People gathering to listen to a woman talking into a microphone. In the background market stalls.

Funding and capacity-building for Human Rights Defenders in Kenya

The Haki Ni Yetu project empowers civil society groups in Kenya to defend human rights. We offer funding and capacity-building to Community-Based Organisations and grassroots groups working for dignity, equality and justice. With our support, activists are better equipped to transform their communities.

People gathering alongside a road, some of them speaking in a microphone and some of them listening. In the background market stalls and trucks.
Photo: InformAction, Kenya

Haki Ni Yetu is a 4-year project funded by the European Union, focusing on strengthening civil society in Kenya. The project provides grant funding, skills and networking opportunities to grassroots activist groups and community-based organisations working across three themes: democracy and the rule of law, gender equality and non-discrimination as well as the interlinkages between business and human rights.

The Haki Ni Yetu project organised a total of 5 calls for Grants during the project, 2 for Rights, Governance and Accountability Grants and 3 for Civic Action and Community Empowerment Grants. The calls were a success, and we received over 1200 applications. Through the calls Haki Ni Yetu project was able to award a total of 66 Grants and support organisations working on human rights in Kenya. There are no more open calls planned for the remaining project period ending in 2026.

A woman standing with her back to the camera, with the text "Be the Change" on her back, and other women sitting behind a table listening to her.
Photo: InformAction, Kenya.

This video was funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of  InformAction & Haki ni Yetu-project and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 is marked under the global theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls.” The theme calls for renewed commitment to dismantling structural and systemic barriers that prevent women and girls from enjoying equal rights, access to justice, and meaningful participation in social, economic, and political life. This episode will explore the meaning of rights for women and girls in Kenya today. It will examine how constitutional guarantees translate (or fail to translate) into lived realities, particularly for women at the grassroots. Host: Sylivia Wamunyu Panellist: Hon. Prof Phylis K. Bartoo | Nerima Wako

The podcast was published as part of Haki Ni Yetu participation to International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026. Nerima Wako is the ED of Haki Ni Yetu grantee Siasa Place.

The European Union emblem and the text "Funded by the European Union".