Grassroots Action for Development (GAD)

Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment

Building financial resilience through VSLAs, entrepreneurship training, youth mentorship, and sustainable income generation opportunities for vulnerable households.

Our Approach:

We support vulnerable households, especially women and youth, to transition from subsistence livelihoods to more resilient, diversified income sources through:

• Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs): Community-based financial groups that enable women to save collectively and access affordable credit for business investment.
• Entrepreneurship Training: Business skills, market linkages, and mentorship for youth and women entrepreneurs.
• Youth Skills Development: Vocational training in agriculture, manufacturing, and services sectors.

Impact: Over 900 women and youth have benefited, with average household incomes increasing by 38% within 12 months of program participation.

Cross-Border Peace & Cohesion

Fostering peaceful coexistence through dialogue, conflict resolution, community leadership strengthening, and collaborative resource management.

Our Approach:

Turkana experiences cross-border tensions and resource competition. We address this through:

• Peace Dialogues: Structured dialogues between Kenyan and Ugandan communities to build understanding and reduce tensions.
• Conflict Resolution Training: Community leaders trained in mediation and restorative justice approaches.
• Collaborative Resource Management: Joint water and pasture management initiatives that benefit all communities.

Impact: 12+ successful peace dialogues facilitated, reducing inter-community conflicts by 40% and enabling collaborative trade.

Gender & Social Inclusion

Advancing women's rights, preventing GBV, ensuring disability inclusion, and empowering marginalized groups to participate fully in development.

Our Approach:

We work to ensure no one is left behind by:

• Women's Empowerment: Rights awareness, economic empowerment, and leadership training for women.
• GBV Prevention: Community awareness and response mechanisms to prevent and address gender-based violence.
• Disability Inclusion: Ensuring persons with disabilities can access programs and participate in community decision-making.
• Youth Engagement: Creating pathways for young people to lead development initiatives.

Impact: 180+ women trained in rights and entrepreneurship; 120+ youth engaged in community leadership.

How Akai's Savings Group Transformed Her Village

The Challenge: The Turkana region faces extreme poverty and limited economic opportunities. Grace Akai, like many women in her pastoral community, had no access to credit, capital, or business skills to escape poverty.

The Solution: In 2025, GAD established a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) in Akai's community. Grace joined and committed to saving just 100 KES weekly—a small amount that transformed her life.

The Impact: Within twelve months, Grace's savings group had accumulated 75,000 KES. Using group loans, Grace started a vegetable garden and now supplies local markets. Her income increased from 2,000 KES monthly to 8,500 KES. More importantly, her savings group members—now 25 women—have collectively invested in their children's education, paid unexpected medical bills, and started 12 small enterprises.

The Legacy: Today, Akai serves as an informal advisor to three other VSLAs in neighboring communities. "When we started saving together, we thought we were just saving money. But we learned we were building ourselves," Grace reflects proudly.

Building Bridges Across Borders

The Challenge: For decades, communities in Turkana, Kenya and Karamoja, Uganda have engaged in cattle raids and resource conflicts, leaving dozens dead annually and limiting cross-border trade and development.

The Solution: In 2026, GAD initiated peace dialogues bringing together pastoral leaders, women, and youth from both sides of the border. Using structured dialogue processes, communities shared their grievances, fears, and aspirations.

The Turning Point: A joint water management committee was formed. Communities agreed to jointly manage the Lokori water source, a crucial dry-season resource. Instead of competing for access, they created equitable sharing agreements and invested together in water conservation.

The Impact: Within one year, inter-community raids dropped by 40%. Trade between the two communities increased by 60%, with Turkana pastoralists now regularly trading livestock for agricultural products from Uganda. More importantly, children from both communities attended the same market days without fear, and community leaders now meet quarterly to address emerging tensions before they escalate.

The Vision: What began as a peace initiative has evolved into a broader cross-border development partnership, proving that "when communities invest in each other's prosperity, everyone gains."

From Unemployment to Entrepreneurship

The Challenge: In Turkana, youth unemployment exceeds 50%. Many young people, especially those without pastoral livestock, see no viable income opportunities in their community.

The Solution: GAD's Youth Skills Development program offers 6-month vocational training in agriculture, solar technology, and small-scale manufacturing, paired with business mentorship and startup capital grants.

The Impact: Over 320 young people have completed the training. 60% (190 youth) started income-generating activities within six months of graduation, including:

• Vegetable farming and agri-business cooperatives
• Solar energy product sales and installation services
• Small-scale food processing and retail
• Digital services and mobile money agency operations

Success Story Within the Story: Ibrahim, 24, completed our solar technology training in 2026. With a 50,000 KES startup grant, he opened a solar products shop in Lodwar. Today, his business generates 70,000 KES monthly in revenue and employs three other youth from his community. He's now training three younger entrepreneurs using the same mentorship approach he received.

The Lesson: "Skills plus capital plus mentorship equals opportunity. That's the formula that works," Ibrahim explains, embodying the hope of a new generation in Turkana.

Partner With Us

We believe in collaborative development. If you're interested in partnering with GAD, please fill out the form below and we'll be in touch shortly.