Join us to celebrate Nicole’s wonderful life.

The Nicole Kenton Memorial Project is a development initiative that aims to continue the priceless work of Nicole Kenton's legacy in her memory and advance her community development works among the dryland communities in East Africa. This will truly leave a lasting legacy.

Who was Nicole Kenton?

Nicole, as an experienced international development practitioner, devoted her life to promoting sustainable development among the dryland communities. She worked for the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in empowering communities, including through development communication and participatory approaches. She studied Modern Languages (French and German) at the University of Wales and completed a postgraduate course on Community Participation in Professional Practice at the University of Edinburgh. Working for IIED, she was the coordinating editor of the Haramata Journal and accompanying Drylands Issues Papers (in English and French) and a co-editor of the international journal Participatory Learning and Action (PLA). In 2016, Nicole joined PENHA’s Board of Trustees and, in 2018, was part of a strategic visit to PENHA’s Somaliland office and to Samara University in the Afar region of Ethiopia, where she delivered a lecture on the challenges and opportunities of pastoralism at an international conference. She was also a trustee of Charushila, an international environmental design charity, which works with communities to transform underused public spaces for food growing and wellbeing. Nicole has published journal articles and policy briefs and was a reviewer of Development in Practice.

This initiative is being launched with the support of Nicole’s family, colleagues, friends, and others who are interested in advancing her true causes. As a small-scale pilot project, the funds will be collected through donations.

Project Overview

Pastoralist communities predominantly inhabit the Afar Regional State in Ethiopia, and PENHA has been collaborating with many partners in the region, especially Samara University, the regional university. Furthering its work, the Nicole Kenton Memorial Project is being implemented in collaboration with the university. Given that Nicole previously visited the Afar region and connected with community members and stakeholders, these communities would be close to Nicole's heart. In consultation with Samara University, the specific target group was therefore identified. The project supports young women at the university.

Supporting the education of Afar girls unlocks incredible potential, empowering future leaders and enriching our entire community. While many students have been affected by the recent conflict, our focus is on institutions in the Samara area. Samara University requires our most urgent support for sanitary provisions. Verified data confirms that over 600 female students at the university lack reliable access to sanitary napkins and soap. This critical shortage directly threatens their health, undermines their dignity, and forces them to miss classes, disrupting their education. By prioritising university students first, we strategically direct resources to where the documented need is most acute and immediate, ensuring the most significant possible impact.