Time To Care Project Overview
Across Kenya, care work keeps families and communities running. Cooking, cleaning, and caring for children, older persons, and people with disabilities are essential tasks that sustain everyday life. Yet this work is often invisible, undervalued, and carried mostly by women and girls.
The Time to Care project seeks to transform the landscape of social equity in Kenya by dismantling systemic barriers that disproportionately burden women and girls engaged in both paid and unpaid care work. By fostering the widespread adoption of gender-equitable social norms and empowering both community and workplace leaders with the tools to recognize, reduce, and redistribute care responsibilities, the project aims to create a more balanced and supportive care infrastructure. Ultimately, these shifts in mindset and policy are designed to build a robust care economy that advances gender equality and unlocks new opportunities for women and girls across the country.
Implemented in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, and Nakuru, the project brings together young people, care workers, employers, and community stakeholders to rethink how care work is valued and shared. Through dialogue, training, organizing, and advocacy, the project supports care workers to strengthen their voice, build collective solutions, and participate in decision making spaces that shape policies affecting their lives.
The project promotes the 5R framework of care work which includes Recognize, Redistribute, Reduce, Reward, and Represent. By encouraging communities to see care work as a shared responsibility, the project contributes to building systems where care workers are respected, protected, and supported.
Why This Work Matters
Care work is essential for society, yet it is rarely recognized as work. In Kenya, women spend five times more hours on unpaid care and domestic work than men according to a Time use survey, a study that was conducted by KNBS in 2021. This unequal burden limits women’s opportunities to pursue education, paid employment, leadership, and rest.
Domestic workers and other care workers also face challenges such as low wages, limited labour protections, and restricted access to justice and social protection. When care work remains invisible, these inequalities persist.
Strengthening care systems is therefore critical for gender equality and inclusive development. By supporting care workers to organize, access information, and participate in public decision making processes such as budgeting and community planning, the project helps ensure their experiences and priorities are reflected in policies that affect their lives.
Our Approach
The Time to Care Project strengthens community dialogue, collective organizing, advocacy and conduct research and evidence generation around care work. Youth Alive! Kenya creates spaces where domestic workers, employers, young people, and community members reflect on the value of care work and explore how care responsibilities can be shared more fairly. These conversations encourage reflection on dignity, rights, and the support systems needed for care workers.
The project engages employers through Employers’ Communities of Practice. These spaces bring employers together to learn, exchange experiences, and promote fair labour practices while contributing to positive shifts in attitudes and social norms around care and domestic work.
The project also supports domestic workers to organize through Village Savings and Loan Associations. Through these groups, members save collectively, access small emergency loans, and strengthen mutual support and financial resilience.
Youth Alive Kenya facilitates connections between the Care Workers Federation and institutions that provide legal aid and other support services, helping care workers access information and assistance when needed. Care workers are also supported with training on public budgeting processes and opportunities for civic engagement so they can participate more effectively in decision making processes.
Young people are engaged as allies in advancing the care agenda by documenting stories, supporting advocacy efforts, and amplifying conversations on care work within their communities.
Change and Impact So Far
So far, the project has reached 1500 participants directly and over one million participants indirectly through mainstream and social media
Established 4 Employers’ Communities of Practice, constituting 30 employers in project counties (Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, and Kiambu) that are now leading conversations aimed to protect the rights and well-being of domestic workers at the community level.
Formation of 6 Village Savings and Loan Associations among domestic workers, enabling members to save collectively and access emergency loans to support them in their day-to-day financial needs.
Strengthened collaboration between the Care Workers Federation and key institutions, improving access to legal aid and financial support.
Increased knowledge among care workers on public budgeting processes and civic participation, enabling them to meaningfully engage in public participation and present memorandums and petitions to influence policy decisions.
Development and use of Care Workers Social Accountability Tools that support care workers to engage in public participation and budgeting processes.
Conducted Time and Labour saving research to identify solutions that reduce unpaid care burdens. The findings informed partnerships with private sector actors, including Mama Fua, hence expanding access to care-supportive services.
A Human Story
“Before joining the group, many of us did not know that we could participate in public meetings or speak about the challenges we face as domestic workers. Through the training on social accountability,legal provision and budget making process, we have gained confidence and we know our voices matter.” – Domestic worker, project participant
What’s Next
The project will continue strengthening the voice and leadership of care workers and young people in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, and Nakuru. The next phase will focus on expanding participation in public budgeting processes, advancing advocacy for stronger care systems, and promoting fair labour practices and protections for care workers.
We welcome strategic partnerships with government, civil society, private sector, and development partners to help scale this work through collaboration, advocacy, and resource mobilization.
