Resource mobilization for the county development agenda is a multi-prong approach. Partnership financing comes in to supplement gaps in resources required for the realization of the county development priorities.
In this spirit, the County Government of Tharaka Nithi is committed towards continuously engaging development partners not limited to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This partnership focuses on research for development (R4D) of our people through funding under the initiative on the what works for women’s economic empowerment (IWWWEE) project.
In the year 2021, I signed the MoU for funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The MoU is between Kenyatta University which is our guarantee facilitator for research and Tharaka Nithi County Government in which the research for development (R4D) is domiciled.
The MoU envisions Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) in three thematic areas of: –
1. Women Livelihoods Tharaka Nithi County,
2. Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP) in Tharaka Nithi County, and,
3. Child Care through the impact of Crèche on Child Development in Tharaka Nithi.
This project was triggered by the conceptualization and implementation of the Crèche at the Chuka Modern Market, which attracted international recognition. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has come on board to replicate the idea in our ECDE Centres by introducing play group learning for children below four (4) years in order to free their mothers and/or guardians to participate in economic activities.
Through the partnership, the county is developing a policy, and a curriculum and will support investment in related infrastructure through a randomized controlled trial (RCT) approach for subsequent scaling up of the project to cover all the ECDE Centres across our noble county.
As a government, we remain committed to realizing our development agenda espoused under the motto of “leaving no one behind.”
God bless Tharaka Nithi
God bless Kenya.
