KISORA is a social movement network established in 2007 and made up of grassroots organizations and individual human rights defenders in Kisumu County, Kenya. Currently the network is composed of 45 community-based groups constituting a total of 2500 individual human rights defenders and activists, including women groups, youth groups, Self-Help Groups and Special Groups (i.e. People With Disabilities Groups, HIV/AIDS support groups).
KISORA aims to enhance the capacity of vulnerable community members (women, people with disability, those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children) to effectively and directly advocate for their economic, social and cultural rights. It does this through “mobilizing communities to positively influence policies, laws and practices that deny people their fundamental rights.’’ KISORA’s thematic areas of focus include land rights, housing rights, equality and non-discrimination of women as well as public participation and accountability.
Currently, KISORA aims at building the capacity and skills of communities to ensure they effectively participate in planning processes as well as building women’s capacity on laws and policies to ensure they engage with duty bearers to emphasize their rights to ownership and control of matrimonial properties and right to land for effective economic progress. They are also working to ensure development projects do not affect the rights of communities.
