ASREP Welcomes Wanjiru Mburu as Gender & Youth Empowerment Manager

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ASREP Africa is pleased to welcome **Wanjiru Mburu** to the team as **Gender & Youth Empowerment Manager**, strengthening the organisation's commitment to inclusive, community-led development across Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands.

Rooted in the communities she serves

Born and raised among livestock-keeping communities in Isiolo, Wanjiru — affectionately known as **"JAJABDU," meaning "Young Strong Woman" in Borana** — has spent nearly a decade championing gender equality, youth leadership, and the bold advancement of grassroots women in Northern Kenya.

Her appointment reflects ASREP's conviction that the people best placed to drive change in the ASALs are those who understand these landscapes and communities from the inside. Wanjiru's work will help ensure that women, youth, and other often-excluded groups are not just beneficiaries of ASREP's programmes but leaders within them.

Advancing inclusion across every programme

Gender and youth inclusion cut across all of ASREP's thematic areas — from the Waso Eco-Champions restoration work to peacebuilding dialogues and civic governance. In her new role, Wanjiru will help deepen that integration, ensuring ASREP's evidence-driven, community-led model continues to expand opportunity for the next generation of drylands leaders.

Please join us in welcoming Wanjiru to the ASREP family.