BACKGROUND

Kalkal Human Rights Development Organization (KAHRDO) is a Non-Governmental, Non-Political, Non-Partisan, and Non-Profit youth-led human rights organization  established on 7 July 2013. With over 10 years of experience, KAHRDO works to protect and promote human rights, advance women’s rights and gender equality, empower women and youth, strengthen access to justice, support child protection and GBV prevention, conduct research and advocacy, and implement inclusive humanitarian, peacebuilding, and development initiatives across South-Central Somalia.

VISION, MISSION, GOAL & CORE VALUES

VISION: A society that respects the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people for sustainable development.

MISSION: To contribute to a sustainable future by improving the social, economic and environmental well-being of communities, while promoting human rights, peace, protection and progressive realization of human rights.

GOAL: To build individuals and institutions that understand their rights and work together to enhance the development of their communities.

CORE VALUES

1. Transparency: 

Open and responsible management of institutional and programme resources.

2. Neutrality:

Non-partisan action guided by humanitarian and human rights principles.

3. Accountability:

Clear responsibility to communities, partners, donors and public institutions.

4. Non-discrimination:

Equal respect for all people, including marginalized and vulnerable groups.

5. Participation:

Inclusive decision-making that values community voice and ownership

6. Commitment:

Consistent service to communities affected by crisis, rights violations and exclusion.

7. Partnership:

Mutual respect and collaboration with humanitarian, development, human rights and media actors.

8. Cultural respect:

Integration of positive Somali culture and Islamic values that support dignity, peace and social cohesion.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH

KAHRDO’s strategic objectives are designed to link community protection, human rights, resilience and sustainable development. The organization prioritizes community engagement, evidence-based advocacy, service delivery, stakeholder coordination and institutional accountability.

• Plan and implement humanitarian responses according to clearly identified community priorities.
• Maximize sustainability of interventions, including during emergency response operations.
• Proactively engage communities and draw on their lived experiences to inform programme design.
• Protect vulnerable rural, urban and displaced populations from violence, exploitation and rights violations.
• Promote equal access to justice and provide services to victims and survivors of human rights violations.
• Monitor, investigate and document human rights abuses and violations in a responsible manner.
• Raise public awareness on human rights, civic rights, child rights and protection concerns.
• Build coalitions and networks to strengthen coordinated human rights and protection action.
• Advocate for policy and legislative reforms that uphold human rights standards.
• Provide human rights education, training and capacity strengthening for human rights defenders and community actors.

Implementation Principles

GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE

KAHRDO operates in South-Central Somalia with particular focus on Bay, Bakool, Lower Shabelle and Benadir. The organization collaborates with community structures, local authorities, civil society networks and humanitarian actors to address the specific needs of each location.

GOVERNANCE, STAFFING AND ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

KAHRDO is governed by a three-member Board of Directors consisting of a Chairperson, Secretary and Member. The Board meets quarterly and provides oversight on strategic direction, institutional accountability, financial stewardship and policy implementation.

Operationally, KAHRDO is led by the Executive Director and supported by senior management, programme, operations, finance, procurement, human resources, security, MEAL and technical sector teams. The organization maintains 21 permanent staff and recruits project-based personnel according to programme size, scope and donor requirements.

Organizational Structure

PARTNERSHIP, COORDINATION AND NETWORKING

KAHRDO views partnership as a collaborative relationship built around shared objectives, mutually agreed division of labour, learning and joint accountability. The organization prefers long-term, flexible and evolving partnerships that support impact, strengthen institutional systems and improve the quality of community-level programming.

KAHRDO is an active member of the Somalia NGO Consortium and participates in relevant humanitarian coordination platforms, including General Protection, GBV, Child Protection, Housing, Land and Property, Human Rights and Education cluster or forum structures at field and wider coordination levels.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL CONTROLS

KAHRDO maintains financial policies and procedures to guide financial transactions, budget control, donor reporting and accountability. The organization operates separate bank accounts for received funds and uses two to three signatories to strengthen internal control and reduce reporting errors.

Financial reports are prepared according to approved budget lines, grant contracts, expenditure categories and sources of funding. This system supports KAHRDO’s ability to meet donor reporting requirements and strengthen financial accountability.

PROCUREMENT POLICY AND PRINCIPLES

KAHRDO’s procurement approach is based on open and effective competition, equal opportunity for prospective suppliers, value for money, transparency and public accountability. The organization applies prudent procurement methods to obtain goods and services in a manner that is fair, documented and aligned with donor expectations.

GENDER, PROTECTION AND GBV MAINSTREAMING

KAHRDO mainstreams gender, protection and GBV considerations across its programmes. This includes collecting sex-disaggregated statistics and qualitative information, conducting gender analysis, and assessing differences in roles, resource access, participation and decision-making power among women, men, boys and girls.

The organization considers diversity factors such as age, socio-economic status, displacement status and vulnerability when designing interventions. In WASH and community infrastructure interventions, KAHRDO applies protection-sensitive siting of facilities such as water points and latrines to reduce exposure to violence, harassment and other protection risks.

Mainstreaming commitments