Kenya | Projects
2.5 million
Kenyan CHILDREN aged between 4-17 have never been to school [1]
16 million
KENYANS LIVE ON An income OF LESS THAN $2 PER DAY [2]
56%
of urban-dwelling kenyans live in slum communities [3]
PORRIDGE CLUBS
Kenya was the first country African Children’s Fund worked in and since 2006, our name has become synonymous with our Porridge Clubs. These now run in over 10 primary schools in and around the town of Thika, and enable over 2,100 children to go to school every day instead of working, begging or scavenging for food on the street.
Through Watoto Kwanza - our Kenyan NGO partner - we provide participating schools with a basic kitchen, water and cooking utensils. After that, the schools receive a supply of Uji – a vitamin supplemented porridge – so the children can receive a school meal each day.
A daily mug of porridge has led Watoto Kwanza to report that:
Absenteeism has reduced by over 80%
There are fewer cases of children falling ill due to better nutrition.
Children’s participation in games and physical education activities has improved.
Enrolment within participating schools has increased.
Children are achieving better results in their examinations.
More students are continuing their education with over 90% choosing to enrol into secondary school upon completion of their primary school examinations, presenting yet more opportunities for a prosperous future.
Brenda was an early recipient of the Porridge Clubs programme. She told us her story and explained why she credits Porridge Clubs with her success in adulthood. Read on…
“Porridge has been like a blessing to us. Many pupils are now ever present in school. We perform well in our examinations and many pupils become healthy by drinking porridge. It has been useful to us and we thank you for providing us with porridge.”
Each mug of porridge costs just 9p. For every £9 you donate, 100 children will receive a porridge meal that means they do not have to work, scavenge or beg on the streets.
EDUCATION ALL MONTH, EVERY MONTH
African girls miss school every month – just because they are girls. The problem is a lack of affordable sanitary towels leading to period poverty. Poor families cannot afford sanitary towels or even underwear and feeding their children takes priority. Many girls are forced to use unsanitary rags, animal skins and even chicken feathers as protection while they menstruate. We have even heard of young women digging holes in the ground to sit over in isolation all day.
This makes the prospect of going to school while menstruating impossible. Missing a week’s schooling each month has a massive detrimental impact on a child’s progress and girls fall so far behind that they drop out of school completely, often before they have completed Primary School.
The result: a lack of education, hope and future – for girls and their families.
Education All Month, Every Month offers a solution: it helps girls overcome period povrety by providing them with sanitary protection, underwear and a monthly social education programme at school, enabling them to attend school all month, every month.
Through this scheme, Watoto Kwanza – African Children’s Fund’s Kenyan NGO partner:
Provides sanitary towels to 400 girls in eight schools on a four-weekly basis.
Provides five pairs of locally sourced underwear to each girl annually.
Runs a monthly health and social education programme and discussion forum so girls understand what to expect during puberty.
“Your programme has really made us improve academically since there is no absenteeism like the previous years. The sanitary towels are really helping us.”
A donation of just £5 per month will ensure a Kenyan girl receives sanitary towels and underwear, and can participate in a regular discussion forum, giving hope, opportunity and prospects for a brighter future.
Click here to donate £5 per month
CHILD ADVOCACY
African Children’s Fund Kenya has run Happy Kids International - or HAKI for short (which is also the Swahili word for justice) - a legal aid programme, from its office in Thika since its launch in 2011.
HAKI is the only legal aid provider in Kiambu County, where Thika is located, and has worked hard to:
Provide free legal advice to vulnerable children and their families.
Run community education projects to raise awareness and sensitivity towards children’s rights.
Advocate locally and nationally against child abuse and neglect.
Create a special ‘children’s court’ in Thika to provide a less intimidating atmosphere for children giving witness testimonies or facing prosecution.
A £10 donation will give a mother the legal help she needs to secure a just financial settlement that provides for her children so they can continue their education.
WATER AND MORE FOR THE MAASAI
Many of our supporters still remember the group of Maasai who visited in the summer of 2010, their singing, dancing and storytelling thrilled everyone they met - young and old alike. From donations raised during their visit, they built a bore hole, which - with a system of pumps and pipes - provides much needed water to seven schools and their surrounding communities.
The system is still going strong, with the occasional replacement of pipes, and is a lifeline for the community, especially as the area is often hit by drought.
The group also has plans to build a Girls' Centre to provide refuge for those at risk of child marriage or female genital mutilation until a permanent safe home can be found for them. Currently at-risk girls are often sent to a Centre in the next County for protection, but they would like to help more girls within their community. The Girls' Centre would also enable the group to run regular education programmes aimed at abolishing these practices.
A replacement pipe for the Maasai's vital water system that feeds seven schools and the local community requires a donation of just £20.