Inuka Project

Strategic Shift- Impact driven

Previously, our program enrolled beneficiaries from CTC clinics and community referrals. While family social profiles were analyzed through home visits, the referred beneficiary was solely enrolled in the program. The family`s social and economic profile was less worked on. This led to long-term immediate support for children or adults enrolled in the program, while there was no impact on family resilience.

One lesson learnt, for a family to become socially and economically resilient, there should be a well-connected intervention.  The intervention integrates income, health, and education because they are interconnected. Economic stability reduces stress. Better health enables learning. Education secures the future.

With the transition to Uzima Organization, we now believe that if families are supported to strengthen their livelihoods, improve their physical and mental health, and keep children and youth in school, they will then become more resilient and self-reliant. That is our new approach.

What is INUKA Project?

The INUKA Project is a family resilience initiative that integrates income, health, and education support to transform families from vulnerability to resilience. The initiative has been built into five phases that aim to transform the social and economic profile of targeted families by putting the community and beneficiaries at the lead.

By 2029, we aim to build 500 families with sustainable income, better health, children at schools, and youth earning income through skills learnt.

INUKA Resilience Model

PHASE 1: Community Alignment and Family Mapping

Uzima begins by working with communities to jointly identify vulnerable families.  Families are mapped through schools, health facilities, and community structures. Home visits are conducted to assess family health problems, education risks, and livelihood constraints. We believe that communities that define their priorities take responsibility for outcomes.

Key Outputs

  • Community-endorsed family lists
  • Integrated family profiles (economic, health, education)
PHASE 2: Immediate Stabilisation

Uzima addresses the most urgent barriers affecting families—health access, psychosocial distress, school absenteeism, or extreme financial stress—using referrals, temporary support, and problem-solving with caregivers. At this stage, we aim to reduce pressure before capacity building. Therefore, we prevent children dropout, treatment default, and disengagement.

Key Outputs

  • Improved school attendance
  • Improved health service uptake
  • Reduced caregiver stress
PHASE 3: Family Capacity Building through Groups

Many studies have shown that individual changes happen faster through mobilized groups. At this stage Caregivers are organized into multi-purpose family groups that combine:

  • Savings and lending (VSLAs)
  • Financial literacy and household coaching
  • Psychosocial peer support
  • Parenting and education engagement

Also, children and adolescents receive parallel life skills, income-earning skills and mentorship support through groups.

Key Outputs

  • Functional savings and support groups
  • Improved household decision-making
  • Stronger caregiver engagement in child education
  • Youth with income-earning skills
PHASE 4: Systems Linkage and Opportunity Expansion

At this stage, Uzima connects families to the existing public system to ensure sustainability. We aim to be a connector rather than a service substitute. Families are linked to:

  • Markets and livelihood opportunities
  • Health and social protection systems
  • Schools, vocational pathways, and mentors

Key Outputs

  • Stable income pathways
  • Sustained school retention and transitions
  • Reduced dependency on Uzima support
PHASE 5: Autonomy and Light-Touch Exit

This stage Uzima impacts scale through people, not projects. Families and groups operate independently. Experienced caregivers mentor new families joining groups.

Community institutions are mentored continue monitoring with Uzima providing periodic learning and quality assurance. Replication happens horizontally, without proportional cost growth.

Key Outputs

  • Self-managed family groups
  • Peer-led replication
  • Sustained outcomes beyond funding cycles