Africa Region
Dorcas is active in five countries in Eastern Africa: Ethiopia, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Throughout the region we work to empower and protect women and girls in areas such as FGM, early marriage and menstrual hygiene.
We support some of the poorest communities set up small-scale business and deliver life skills training to youth - helping them gain real prospects for the future.
In 2018 alone, Dorcas provided humanitarian support to 250,000 people in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Cooking for a stronger planet
Woodfuel - the most common form of energy used in households in Tanzania - is increasingly damaging lives and the environment. But what are the alternatives?
"Water changed our village"
Basic needs - such as access to clean drinking water - are all too often taken for granted. The journey of one community in Kenya...
Project participants who recieved vital support through our interventions.
Children who were supported through our programmes and safety nets.
Entrepreneurs who were part of our Enterprising People approach.
Ethiopia
In Africa's oldest independent country, women are largely confined to traditional roles. Nearly 1.2 million people live with HIV/AIDS.
In 2018, some 240,000 Ethiopians received humanitarian support via Dorcas interventions. Through awareness-raising projects we helped girls and women reduce their risk of HIV infection, unplanned pregnancy and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. We also increased access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights services. Our recent programme with Woord en Daad gave young people the tools to launch their own micro-enterprise - strengthening our dialogue with local government, technical schools and the private sector.
South Sudan
In South Sudan, years of internal conflict rests heavily on the shoulders of young people. The education system is particularly fragile.
We continue to focus on programmes that provide basic aid and livelihood and youth employment opportunities. In 2018 - in collaboration with Edukans and Light for the World - our Vocational Training Centres delivered quality skills training to some 2,000 unemployed youth in the city of Wau and nearby areas. Dorcas stimulated long-term food security for more than 12,000 people through The World Food Programme's Food Assistance for Assets (FFA) initiative. With funding from the Dutch government, we also launched a project that continues to provide food security, clean water and malnutrition treatment to 320,000 people.
Kenya
Since 2014, Kenya has categorised itself as a lower-middle-income country. The fight against female genital mutilation (banned in 2011) has been met with both success and failure.
In 2018, Dorcas reached 110,539 people via nine Early Recovery & Resilient Livelihoods and Community Based Care & Protection interventions. A new project - in parternship with the County Government of Siaya, Maji Milele and North Gem Community Development Program - provided clean drinking water and improved sanitation to communities in Siaya County, co-funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). 17,000 girls and women affected by harmful cultural practices, such as FGM, received psychosocial support, sensitisation counselling and antenatal care. Our agricultural and water collection projects helped over 45,900 people act to improve livelihoods in the Kathonzweni District.
Tanzania
67.9% of the population of Tanzania live below the poverty line. Around 42% of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition. In Urban areas, petty crime is on the rise.
We supported more than 250,000 Tanzanian's in 2018. Dorcas and AFRIpads launched the Menstrual Hygiene Management for Her (#MHM4Her) programme in Handeni District, funded by the Department for International Development (DFID). MHM4Her offers safe and dignified solutions for school firls, improving self-esteem and class attendance. Our Olokii VTC - an initiative that provides career training for primary school leavers in the Arumeru District - saw the enrolment of 255 students in further studies. We also transferred the VTC to an officially registered Savings and Credit Society. Beyond this, Dorcas Prison Care helped prisoners and parolees reintegrate into society upon release.
Mozambique
In 2018, Mozambique boasted the fastest growing economy in Sub-Saharan Africa - yet 70% of the population continue to live off less than 1.90 USD a day. In March 2019, Cyclone Idai wreaked havoc on the country, exacerbating the situation.
We provided humanitarian support to over 6,500 people last year, with a focus on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). In central Mozambique we introduce manual drilling in under-served schools and communities. Alongside Village Water, we helped Dorcas-qualified well drillers apply their skills; establishing 34 User Committees to manage the facilities and provide technical training. By the end of 2018, our agricultural training courses helped 20 local farmers utilise the land in an eco-friendly way. We applied the group-based Farmer Field School (FFS) method to do so.