Kenya Kenya straddles the equator in East Africa and is a former British colony, with English and Swahili languages being widely spoken. A relatively peaceful country despite recent political and ethnic tensions, Kenya is home to more than 40 different tribal groups, representing many cultures and languages.
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| Promoting Child Rights in Kenya Children still face major challenges in Kenya, ranging from child labour, harmful traditional practices like forced early marriage and female genital mutilation, poor access to education and healthcare, and a lack of protection from many different types of abuse.
In response, World Vision works with communities to teach children, their families and the wider community about children’s rights, with the objective of reducing and halting child abuse.
World Vision is advocating for children’s rights particularly through support of Area Advisory Councils (AACs) in partnership with the government of Kenya.
These Councils were created under the Children’s Act of 2001, which provides a framework for the protection of children by monitoring, co-ordinating and protecting children’s rights at a community level. |
Major health care challenges There are an estimated 1.9 million orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya as a result of HIV and AIDS, which remains the country’s single biggest health care challenge. While the epidemic has put a strain on national health systems, there are encouraging signs that the infection rate is slowing down, and is now at about 6% of Kenya’s population.
Malaria is another major health challenge in Kenya, especially among children under five. However, the malaria infection rate among these children has also been dropping significantly thanks in part to a massive national campaign that has distributed insecticide-treated nets to pregnant mothers in malaria-prevalent areas. Vulnerability to food shortages While once able to feed its people and sell surplus food to its neighbours, Kenya has suffered the strains of rapid population growth, particularly in rural communities and slum areas of major cities and towns.
Soil and weather conditions, including prolonged and recurring droughts, pose a major threat to food supply, leaving families in many areas struggling to grow enough food. Only 17 % of Kenya’s land is suitable for farming.
Political tensions and post-election violence in January 2008 forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in the Rift Valley, known as Kenya’s “bread basket”, The interrupted farming activity on prime agricultural land led to soaring food prices and deepening hunger within many communities around the country. World Vision in Kenya World Vision started working in Kenya in 1974, during a time of severe drought and famine that affected most parts of the country. World Vision then moved into longer-term community development activities and now works with communities in all eight provinces of Kenya, directly benefiting more than 140,000 children. Currently, World Vision is:
• providing emergency food relief to households affected by prolonged drought, as well as working with farmers to introduce more productive farming methods and drought-resistant crops. Small loans are also helping more than 16,500 small scale farmers to finance small business activities.
• fighting malaria by distributing treated mosquito nets and spraying households in areas where the disease is prevalent.
• helping prevent ‘Mother to Child Transmission’ in HIV-positive women, while equipping families and communities to care for orphans and other vulnerable children and provide life-skills training to those affected by HIV and AIDS.
• helping children go to school by building and repairing classrooms, training teachers, and supporting with tuition fees, uniforms, and school supplies.
• improving access to healthcare, providing training to community health workers, and teaching mothers about child nutrition and disease prevention.
• locating sources of clean, safe water for drinking and cooking, teaching ways of ‘harvesting’ and using rainwater, and educating families about the importance of personal and household hygiene in reducing waterborne diseases
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