CEO Patrick Katelo and PACIDA Team proudly presenting the awards!
PACIDA is a partner in the horizont3000 ADA Framework programme and the Policy Dialogue Consortium project together with Caritas Austria.
Click here to learn more about PACIDA's project collaboration with horizont3000.
Interview with Ibrahim Abdallah, Partnerships Coordinator
First of all, congratulations to PACIDA on of having won the NGO of the Year Award in Kenya:
Best in Water and Sanitation Award and Best in Environment and Climate Change Award!
This recognition is a positive statement about the great work you do in empowering communities, building resilience, and creating lasting change. It’s inspiring to see organizations like yours being celebrated for the impact you’ve made, and we’re excited to delve deeper into your journey, the partnerships that drive your success, and the innovative approaches that set you apart.
Could you briefly introduce PACIDA and the work you do?
PACIDA, the Pastoralist Community Initiative and Development Assistance, is a sustainable development and humanitarian organization committed to empowering pastoralist communities through community-driven interventions.
Our work focuses on these key impact areas:
Humanitarian response is integrated into all these areas, ensuring we address both immediate and long-term needs. Additionally, Institutional Strengthening serves as a critical support pillar, enabling us to achieve our mission effectively.
Our Theory of Change is rooted in collaboration. We work closely with partner communities to identify challenges, design relevant interventions, and mobilize resources to address these needs. This participatory approach ensures that solutions are not only impactful but also sustainable.
In delivering change, PACIDA partners with a wide range of stakeholders, including government agencies, other development actors, human rights organizations, donors, media, faith-based organizations, academia, and communities of practice.
Our work is guided by the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, which transforms how interventions are planned, implemented, and financed in fragile settings. This approach ensures that we effectively meet human needs, reduce vulnerabilities, and promote peace.
Finally, we actively support county governments in developing and implementing policies tailored to the needs of pastoralist communities. By fostering a conducive environment for sustainable development, we aim to create lasting impact and resilience in the communities we serve.
How does the environment you work in look like?
PACIDA works in the northern region of Kenya and Southern Ethiopia, a vast arid and semi-arid region. Communities in this region face climate-induced vulnerabilities making them among the poorest in the Horn of Africa. The region is chronically food and water insecure as a result of the cyclic drought experienced over the years. It has also been severely affected by the effects of climate change and resource-based conflicts.
The region also lacks the barest necessities for communal survival: amenities, infrastructure, among others. This is worsened by the history of marginalization hinged on a development policy that focused on populous regions as the ‘northern frontier’ was considered unproductive. The scars of this history can be seen in the poverty levels of the communities.
What are the impacts of climate change on the communities you work with?
In Kenya, the recent drought (2021 -2023) has seen communities lose 70% of their livestock herds as a result of what experts termed as the worst drought in 40 years. Subsequent flooding shattered the hope of survival for the already vulnerable residents, seeing the few livestock left perish in their droves.
Due to these challenges, resource-based conflicts are common in this operating region. In addition, the rates of malnutrition have remained high, at times getting to three times the global average at the peak of the drought.
Climate change has caused major disruption to the education cycle in Marsabit County.
Due to the nomadic lifestyle of the inhabitants of the county, vastness of the county, history of marginalization and neglect that has meant fewer schools, Marsabit has the second highest school absenteeism rate in Kenya at 66%. This was compounded by the drought situation. The shortage of water, food and death of livestock that communities depend on to sell and educate their children meant that many of them dropped out of school not to return. Many schools continue to report fewer pupils and students in primary schools and high schools respectively therefore reversing the gains realized in enrollment.
Women and youth have been impacted more by the effects of climate change turning them to sole bread winners as the heads of the households travelled far distances in search of pasture for their livestock. Being patriarchal in nature, the pastoral communities treat women as children who have little or no say in issues development. Women can’t access credit without the consent of their husband and similarly can’t own assets. Forced abortion as a result of climate change effects has been rampant as husbands can’t cater for more children as resources become scarce.
How have you dealt with these impacts?
PACIDA has been instrumental in addressing various challenges through a combination of humanitarian assistance and resilience-building projects. With the support of partners such as horizont3000, Caritas Austria, Hivos, Caritas Germany, and local governments, we have implemented a range of interventions to mitigate the impacts of crises and promote long-term development.
In terms of humanitarian assistance during emergencies, we have provided food distribution, cash transfers to enhance household food security, water trucking, and emergency borehole repairs. Additionally, we have supported destocking efforts, livestock disease control, and the distribution of livestock feeds. To further strengthen communities, we have conducted capacity-building initiatives focused on disaster preparedness.
On the development front, our efforts include livestock restocking programs, extensive community capacity-building initiatives, and projects to empower women economically. We also prioritize gender equality and equity, support scholarships for underprivileged students, and facilitate the drilling of boreholes, construction of water pans, and development of water infrastructure. Furthermore, we actively assist in the formulation and implementation of policies to create a sustainable and inclusive future for the communities we serve.
These interventions, guided by a strong network of partners and a community-centered approach, ensure that PACIDA remains a reliable partner in both immediate crisis response and long-term development planning.
How do you work with the County to implement the climate change policy?
PACIDA has been working closely with the County governments in implementation of the climate change policy through the following intervention-
Development of the climate change policy and act.
Support to formation and capacity building of the climate change structures, county climate change steering committee, Ward climate change planning committees (WCCPCs)
Piloting in financing of WCCPCs
Support to community participatory climate vulnerability assessment
Development of the Marsabit County climate change action plan (MCCP) in preparation to for FLOCCA (Financing Locally Led Climate Change Action funding).
Support in dissemination of the MCCAP to WCCPCs.
Support women/community in participating County planning and budgeting process with emphasis of funding women and climate change interventions.
Follow up and tracking of climate change funds and wards budget to ensure community interventions are implemented to the latter.
Engagement of other CSOs in policy dialogue space
Support international days related climate change and environmental conservation
PACIDA fronted to seat in the FLOCCA funding committee to represented Northern Counties
Ensuring involvement of women in climate change space
Frequent consultation with the climate change directorate on implementation of the FLOCCA fund and individual CSOs interventions on matters climate change.
You are an active member of our community of practice on SDG13. How has your experience been so far? What are the benefits of such an exchange forum?
PACIDA is an active member of the COP. The experience has been quite enriching, with a lot of cross-learning from the members. The presentations and engagements have helped in enriching our operations and how we engage with our communities and stakeholders. The policy formulation discussion has added a lot of value to how we engage in this space. The exchange forum has a lot of benefits that build up the policy dialogue space of the members.
The following are immediate benefits:
Thank you for the interesting insights to your work!
PACIDA is a partner in the horizont3000 ADA Framework programme and the Policy Dialogue Consortium project together with Caritas Austria.
