According to a report done by Nation Media in 2022, West Pokot County has a 6.8 percent prevalence of GBV against the national statistics of 9.2 percent. In these cases, only 40 percent are reported as most of the victims have stigma and their voices suppressed by the male dominated society. In this case, Dyvasity African is looking to bridge this gap through a series of engagement meetings, social gatherings, organized events and campaigns to give the affected individuals a platform to report any incidences of GBV.

The plan is to select composers of indigenous Pokot songs that will be used in gatherings to educate the public on the importance of preventing and reporting GBV, especially among girls and women. These songs will be incorporated in our educative materials and will be used when we want to do a campaign on the same. We will be visiting villages and wards across West Pokot County, with a bias concentration in Riwo and Suam wards. The composers and singers will be from the local community, which will include dance and chants in the local dialect. We are planning to involve the local leaders including village elders, chiefs, MCAs, ward representatives, religious leaders and the police. This involvement is key because community participation in the gatherings will be paramount. The key message in the songs will be advocacy and the importance of preventing GBV. It will directly impact the engaged communities because most of the cases it affects people due to illiteracy and lack of information. Apart from the song and dance, the organization is planning to have printed and illustrated guides that will help the community disassociate from GBV and help them report as much as possible. Besides, our planned activities will go a long way in solving issues of sexual and reproductive that will prevent early marriages, forced marriages and FGM.

Based on this approach, Dyvasity Africana believes it has what it takes to change the narrative of the people of West Pokot. Because with little resources, it will implement the strategies mentioned earlier and successfully reach an extensive number of community members. This approach is unique because it uses homegrown innovations that will be picked within the confines of the community. The organization is not planning to use any sophisticated approaches because it will be pegged on the community participation in song and dance.

Firstly, we will be creating a source of entertainment. Secondly, we will be finding ways of appreciating and rewarding local composers, dancers and singers. Lastly, we will easily pass our message of GBV far and wide considering that it will be a popular activity in the community. This approach is easily replicable in any instance based on the premise that having dancers and singers in the native language can be used at any location provided their is prior mobilization of the community members.

The implementation plan will involve having a consultative meeting with the top leadership of West Pokot County and outline our plan. Secondly, have the same meeting with the ministry of social work, tourism and culture to communicate our intensions. Thirdly, have a joint meeting with the sub-county, ward and village, and religious leadership on our agenda. Then, source for creative arts from the community members, which will be vetted in conjunction with the ministry of culture and come up with a group of composer, singers and dancers. Publish the list of the intended groups and work out any logistic involved. The expectation is to have everything done within 90 days after receiving the grant. We will need support of vehicles, personnel, stationary, meals and allowances, airtime, meeting halls, public address systems, translators, cameras, and video equipment. We are foreseeing initial resistance from the community members especially men, which we plan to have various incentives to have them involved in our initiative.

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