Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

We walked the 10 km on Spring Bank Holiday Monday through Thorndon Park in Brentwood. We enjoyed ourselves - but we also did it because we are all committed to the work of PENHA. Thank you to those who have given - and we hope that those who have not so far, will give. The reason is given below.

The Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) is an international organisation led and inspired by Africans, mostly from the Horn Region. It was founded in 1989.

PENHA's mission is to reduce poverty among the pastoralists in the Horn of Africa through the empowerment of communities and to foster sustainable and dignified livestock-based and non-livestock-based livelihoods. 

Our objectives are the fostering sustainable livelihoods requires a co-ordinated approach at the grassroots and policy levels. PENHA therefore has commited itself to two goals:
•    To empower pastoralist communities and their institutions to play a full role in their own development
•    To influence development policy and development programme design to foster sustainable livelihoods among pastoralists 

The organisation is self supporting through a high level of self-sacrifice and commitment of its staff, volunteers, and trustees and with the support of a wide range of donors. Since its formation, it has since achieved a considerable track record in the region. 

With a small head office in London, PENHA has established country offices in Uganda, Somaliland, Eritrea, and Sudan and has links in Ethiopia and Kenya. The country offices are mainly led by local professionals who are supported by an international team at the HQ. The country offices are part of a quite decentralised structure leaving space for PENHA locally to create its own strategies and agendas that are based on the specific needs and circumstances of the respective countries. This has given PENHA the reputation of an international organisation with a regional and local character.

Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa
The countries of the Horn of Africa are some of the poorest in the continent. All of them have significant numbers of pastoralists, and it is among these people that PENHA works. There are over 25 million pastoralists in the Horn of Africa - varying from one twentieth of the population in Uganda to over half in Somalia.

Nomadic pastoralists are herders of cattle, camels, sheep and goats and live in the very dry regions of Africa and Asia. They have to move for the water and pasture necessary for their animals. Some have permanent bases with the men and animals leaving their bases for the three to six months of dry weather. Others move as complete families. Governments, which are based on settled communities, have great difficulties in dealing with them. As a way of using available resources and not overgrazing the land, pastoralism is a rational and environmentally friendly way of life. However, it is also very uncertain and subject to the variations in weather conditions from year to year.

A number of the studies which have been done – on education, on health, on communications such as roads and on the participation of pastoralists ino the decision-making processes of their countries – show that pastoralists and pastoral areas have historically been neglected.

However, changes are gradually beginning to take place. Some countries are beginning to recognise that as well as deserving to be supported and properly considered in national planning, pastoralists can and do make significant contributions to the economies of their countries. With the help and support from NGOs such as PENHA, community based organisations and international donors, pastoralists are becoming more effective in demanding their own rights in addition to adapting their way of life to take advantage of a changing world. PENHA and its many local partners have played and continue to play a significant part in the development of pastoralist policy and livelihoods.

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