Why this Kenyan Woman is Building Communities Resilient to Climate Shocks

May 17, 2024 | Ipas
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With a grant from Ipas’s Collaborative Fund, Abdiah Lalaikipian’s organization was able to make meaningful changes in northern Kenya’s pastoralist communities. The Collaborative Fund approach involves designing by dialogue. Through a participatory process, we enable communities and Civil Society Organizations to design projects that best address their issues.

“My parents believed education was key to improving our lives, regardless of gender. They ensured we attended the best schools within their means,” explains Lalaikipian, a program manager at Pastoralist Community Initiative and Development Assistance (PACIDA) in Samburu, which was a grantee of the Ipas Collaborative Fund in 2022. Ipas partnered with PACIDA to tackle the impacts of climate change on reproductive rights. The solutions—generated by the people most affected—are helping build resilient communities. In her current role, Lalaikipian supports pastoralist communities by promoting sustainable livelihoods and natural resource management. This involves educating communities on climate-smart agriculture and empowering them to assert their environmental rights.

Lalaikipian recently shared insights with Ipas about her life and work, shedding light on the intersection between climate change and sexual and reproductive health and rights and the impact of the Ipas Collaborative Fund on PACIDA’s work and impact.