Piggs Peak Institutional profile

Before the intervention of Gender Links, gender issues were sidelined in the council. This can be attributed to the fact that councillors were misinformed about gender and the myths around gender issues. There has been a change since GL came in, even though it is slow. Behaviour change does not happen overnight. The council is involved with the community, to sensitize them on gender issues. In the council meetings the councillors raise issues of gender for discussion. Due to the sensitization on gender that has taken place, in the care points there are males cooking in the soup kitchen; that is an achievement for the council. To add to that, two of the men in all soup kitchens are also early childhood care givers.

The adoption of an employee’s wellness plan now fully operational; this has been one of the changes brought about since the intervention of GL. Additionally, for the first time there is a budget for the HIV policy. The council has programs in the community for dialogues and support group meetings. Further acknowledgement for the care workers is very important; now they are given incentives, which is something new for them. Very importantly, the council now has a budget for home based care supplies, including protective clothing.

For young people, the council successfully organised concerts to create awareness on gender stereotypes. The council has continued to introduce Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) in schools to strengthen their gender mainstreaming.

This COE believe in including primary schools in our work to instil the understanding of gender at a very young age. Apart from that, there are separate meetings held strictly for men and women called Fatherhood Dialogues and Motherhood Dialogues. They also have refresher courses once in a year for the care workers, and monthly reporting meetings. The council is currently preparing an income generation program (IGP) to give caregivers about E10 000.00. This money will help them establish their own IGP. The biggest challenge for the council has been a lack of sufficient resources; sometimes caregivers run short of home based supplies. There is also lack of participation by men in these programs, which the council is working to address. They believe that reinforcing partnerships and injecting funds would make a real difference to implementing the plans of the council.