RAPEMO is a community based organization working with the rural communities in the Nyanza Province of Kenya along Lake Victoria. We particularly address the plight of women who are the major environmental actors (fetching firewood and water for cooking, tilling land for food production, burning charcoal for income etc..),  and whose reproductive concerns and health have to be addressed in context.

High prevalence rate of illiteracy among women in the community mitigates against their basic human rights to information, health care, economic opportunities, which in turn promotes irreversible over-exploitation of the environment as they strive for the survival of their families. In the community, it is a tradition that a child belongs to the woman, and today, many women bear the burden of  extended families as they take up responsibility of orphans left as a result of loss of parents through HIV/AIDS related deaths.

HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the community is high, and with the added responsibility that mothers have to bear, their knowledge, skills and attitudes towards food production, basic hygiene and reproductive health/services  and HIV/AIDS education (prevention, home based care) need to be addressed.

The organization advocates for the rights of women to access information that empower them to make informed decisions about issues affecting their lives (reproductive health, HIV/AIDS prevention, education and economic) as they struggle to feed their families while safeguarding the environment. We invite you to share with us best practices on cause-effect of population and environmental concerns in this context