Consultancy for the Development of a Community Training Manual on Harmful Practices, Child Protection, Positive Parenting, and Climate Resilience.

1. About the organisation

Kakenya’s Dream is a nonprofit organization that invests in girls from rural communities through education, health, and leadership initiatives. Our programs operate in Transmara, one of the remotest and most marginalized regions of Kenya, where nearly 66% of girls continue to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) at puberty, 50% are married before the age of 19, and only 17% complete primary education.

In response to these challenges, Kakenya’s Dream has expanded its programs to Kenyenya Sub-County in Kisii County. In these communities, girls’ education is not a priority for family or community investment, and social norms perpetuate low educational achievement. Investing in girls’ education yields profoundly positive outcomes not only for the girl, but for her family and the broader community as well.

Our interconnected programs provide educational opportunities, including professional skills development for vulnerable girls; equip and train youth; advocate for sexual and reproductive health within the broader community, deliver direct health care services to the surrounding community, and build resilience to climate change in marginalized communities.

a. Education: We operate two centres for Excellence, Kakenya Centre for Excellence I (KCE I) and Kakenya Centre for Excellence II (KCE II). Together, these schools provide safe and supportive boarding and education to 454 learners from grade 4 to 12. The program takes a holistic approach to girls’ education, integrating health and leadership into the curriculum while addressing students’ physical and social-emotional needs.

Through our Education Access program, we also support 187 girls in partner secondary schools and 361 tertiary students. These students receive mentorship, financial support, and essential resources to help them succeed in their secondary and higher education journeys.

b. Health and Reproductive Rights: In the communities we serve, harmful practices such as early child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexual violence, teenage pregnancy remain significant challenges that must be addressed. Kakenya’s Dream implements programs aimed to influence knowledge, attitude, and practices related to harmful cultural norms. These programs are;

i) The Jijue training focuses on equipping young people with accurate information and life skills related to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). To date, more than 40,000 youth have benefited from this program.

ii) The Linda Dada campaign extends this work into the broader community through a participatory approach, engaging youth, parents, and local leaders to challenge and prevent harmful practices. Over 20,000 individuals have been reached through these campaigns.

iii) Kakenya Health and Wellness Centre (KHWC), a clinic which provides essential healthcare services to both students in our programs and the surrounding community. To date, the clinic has served more than 21,000 individuals, including learners from our schools.

c. Economic Empowerment: Unemployment remains a big challenge even for those with extensive educational qualifications in rural Kenya. Kakenya’s Dream supports young women transitioning from school to securing meaningful employment through robust programs that address the unique challenge of unemployment. We equip them with the relevant skills, networks, and the necessary support to succeed in the competitive job market, fostering independence and breaking cycles of dependency.

d. Climate Resilience: As climate change accelerates, women and young girls in rural Kenya, particularly in Narok and Kisii counties, face increased risks and challenges that directly impact their health, education, and future opportunities. In response, we have integrated environmental education into our school training curriculum and implemented community-wide conservation and climate resilience initiatives.

e. Institutional Effectiveness, Growth and Sustainability: We ensure that our institutional growth and sustainability enable more girls to access essential services they need and achieve their dreams through our four key areas of focus. The organization prioritizes building staff capacity and strengthening systems to effectively adapt and respond to the dynamic global environment.

2. Background

Kakenya’s Dream (KD) has been implementing community sensitisation forums targeting men, women, and out-of-school youths to address harmful practices and gender-related challenges, including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), teenage pregnancy, and early and forced marriage for the past 6 years. These forums have played a critical role in raising awareness, fostering dialogue, and strengthening community commitment to protection and promotion of fundamental human rights and well-being for all people, especially young people.

While the sensitisation forums have yielded positive community engagement, they have largely been conducted on an ad hoc basis without a structured manual that clearly defines learning objectives and a continuous engagement framework. This has limited the opportunities for continuous learning, follow-up, and the ability to measure long-term impact.

In response to this gap, Kakenya’s Dream intends to develop and implement a structured training program targeting the same cohort of participants.

3. Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to develop and design a comprehensive, participatory, and culturally relevant training manual for community-level training. In addition, the consultant will train community activists and staff on the effective use of the manual.

4. Objectives

The consultant will:

a) Develop a structured training manual aligned with the SASA! methodology phases:

• Start: Explore power dynamics and gender norms
• Awareness: Link power imbalances to harmful practices (FGM, teenage pregnancy, early and forced marriage)
• Support: Strengthen safeguarding systems and referral pathways
• Action: Mobilize communities to take collective action

b) Integrate cross-cutting themes into the manual, including:

• Child protection
• Positive parenting
• Safeguarding and referral pathways
• Climate and environmental resilience
• Rights-based and gender-transformative approaches

c) Ensure the manual is practical, gender-responsive, culturally sensitive, and tailored to local community contexts.

d) Develop facilitation tools and guidance to support effective delivery of the training.

e) Build the capacity of staff and community activists through Training of Trainers (ToT) on the use of the manual.

5. Scope of Work

The consultant will:

5.1 Desk Review

• Review Kakenya’s Dream program documents (e.g., Linda Dada, Jijue Training, and other community engagement approaches)
• Review relevant national legal and policy frameworks (e.g., anti-FGM laws, child protection and safeguarding policies)
• Review SASA! methodology materials and tools
• Review relevant climate resilience and adaptation frameworks

5.2 Stakeholder Consultations

• Conduct interviews and /or Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with:
  • Program staff
  • Community leaders
  • Teachers
  • Adolescent boys and girls
  • Community members
  • Local government representatives
  • Religious Leaders
  
  

5.3 Manual Development

Develop a comprehensive training manual that includes:

• Modules aligned with SASA! phases (Start, Awareness, Support, Action)
• Content addressing harmful practices (FGM, teenage pregnancy, early and forced marriage)
• Integration of cross-cutting themes (child protection, safeguarding, positive parenting, climate resilience)
• Practical facilitation guidance, participatory methodologies, and session plans

5.4. Development of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Tools:

• Design pre- and post-training assessment tools
• Develop feedback and reflection tools
• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned to the Jijue training and community engagement outcomes

6. Key Deliverables

The consultant/firm will be expected to deliver:

• Detailed methodology, work plan, and proposed structure of the training manual
• Fully developed manual with structured modules, facilitation guides, and session plans
• Simplified and user-friendly materials (e.g., visual aids, key messages, handouts tailored to different audiences)
• Pre/post assessments, feedback tools, and KPI framework
• Delivery of ToT sessions for staff and community activists
• Summary of training outcomes, participant feedback, lessons learned, and recommendations
• Clear plan for implementation, scale-up, and long-term use of the manual

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Public Health, Social Sciences, Education, Development Studies, or related field (Bachelor’s with strong experience acceptable).
• 7–10 years’ experience in community training, manual development, and Gender/SRHR programming
• Strong expertise in FGM prevention, child protection, safeguarding, teenage pregnancy, and early marriage interventions
• Experience in rights-based, gender-transformative, and participatory methodologies (e.g. SASA!Methodology)
• Skills in Training of Trainers (ToT) and community-level facilitation
• Ability to develop simple, practical, and culturally appropriate training materials
• Strong report writing and documentation skills
• Knowledge of safeguarding and child protection standards
• Experience working in rural Kenyan contexts is an added advantage
• Fluency in English and Kiswahili (local languages an advantage)

Interested and qualified candidates should submit their technical and financial proposal highlighting relevant experience and qualifications and proposed timeline, and three references; to Kakenya’s Dream via email to jobs@kakenyasdream.org on or before the close of business on Thursday 30th April 2026.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Tagged as: Agriculture, Food Security and Livelihoods