Gender Director
Currently, Caroline Sakwa works at Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) as the Gender Program Director. Before joining SHOFCO in March 2018, Caroline worked with Heshima Kenya (currently changed name to Ref-She International) as Program Manager –Safe House since March 2012. She also worked with Carolina for Kibera (CFK) as Head of Social Services Programs and Binti Pamoja Center Director for years. She has an extensive background in community-based development, Gender development, refugee work, youth and management of non-governmental organizations.
Caroline has also worked with GIZA prosyr project as Consultant in South Africa working with the youth on “SUNGURA” module. Also a peer trainer for reproductive health issues and HIV/AIDS advocacy, she was a volunteer facilitator with the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) HIV/AIDS project. She also held key leadership roles with the Nairobi Youth Counseling Centre, National Youth HIV/AIDS Theatre Outreach Program (NYATOP), and the Kenya Voluntary Development Association (KVDA). In 2002, she worked with Save the Children (UK) as a co-consultant training youth from the slums in peer education, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and Gender issues. Also, Caroline was a youth representative for a study tour in Eritrea with the UNFPA Kenya office, represented Kenya in a conference on peace, conflict resolution and reconstruction in Harare, Zimbabwe with UNESCO.
In 2008, Caroline attended the UN Gender commission summit in New York sharing best practices in managing Safe Spaces program for girls in Kibera slums, traveled to Bolivia to share with partners on the importance of financial literacy education for young women. Caroline has a BA in Social Sciences and Human Praxis from the Catholic University of East Africa, MBA from the University of Nairobi.