A civil rights group has launched the second phase of a campaign dubbed Climb For Justice to amplify the work of defending human rights in Kenya.
The second phase was launched on Saturday 8th February 2020 at Kudu Hills Nature Park in Kajiado County.
A total of 113 Kenyans participated in hiking Kudu Hills to highlight and symbolize the challenges that human rights defenders face while doing their work.
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Climb For Justice, an initiative by Defenders Coalition, was launched in August last year to give an opportunity to Kenyans to lend a hand in championing for social justice.
The initiative also aims to raise funds aimed at setting up a facility for human rights defenders in Kenya.
The facility will offer services such as safety, security, training, research and general wellness to Kenyans and civil society groups.
Speaking during the launch, Defenders Coalition’s Executive Director Kamau Ngugi noted that the campaign had received overwhelming support from the general public.
“Kenyans have turned up in large numbers to support of the work that activists do in the country. Notably, an 8-year-old being the most consistent and youngest supporter of the campaign.”
Mr. Ngugi also said that the campaign enjoyed success within a short time since its launch.
“We launched the campaign and executed its activities within the last quarter of the year, which was technically a very short time to make the campaign’s components fully operational.”
The critical aspect of the campaign this year is to raise a deficit of Kshs. 40 Million that it had fallen short in 2019 after mobilizing funds up to a tune of Kshs. 10 Million from local philanthropy.
“This second phase will attempt to raise the deficit of the Kshs. 50 Million target through local philanthropy. We appeal to Kenyans to contribute to the cause because the dream is about a just society for all Kenyans,” adds Mr Ngugi.
The first phase of the activities culminated to summiting of Lenana Peak on Mount Kenya on Jamhuri Day, with 28 climbers making it to 4985 meters above sea level.
The second phase aims to expand the campaign to East AFrica and purposes to be culminated by summiting the tallest mountain in Africa- Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania- later in the year.
