Changing Lives of Deprived, Vulnerable and Excluded Children

With support from ChildFund Kenya as its biggest benefactor, Kisumu Development Programme has to date contributed to transforming lives of over 200,000 deprived, excluded and vulnerable children in the counties of Kisumu, Siaya and Busia in Kenya. By implementing child and family empowerment programmes in education, health and nutrition, livelihoods development, adolescent sexual reproductive health and child protection, more school-going children have improved access to schools; many families have been economically empowered; parents’ capacities to better care for their children has improved and the communities have been empowered to detect, prevent and report cases of child abuse and access child protection services. 

High levels of child poverty and illiteracy coupled with grave violations of children’s rights, low access to healthcare and livelihood support systems for some of Kenya’s rural communities is a great hindrance to the achievement of the country’s Vision 2030 that aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment.

Driven by the desire to make a difference, a few community members in partnership with Child Fund Kenya founded the Kisumu Development Programme (KDP) in the lakeside city of Kisumu. KDP contributes to changing the situation of children in the counties of Kisumu, Siaya and Busia by implementing child and family empowerment programmes in education, health and nutrition, livelihoods development, adolescent sexual reproductive health and child protection.

Working in the seven Sub Counties of Nyakach, Nyando, Kisumu East, Kisumu Central, Gem, Ugunja and Funyula, KDP is giving deprived, excluded and vulnerable children aged 0-24 years a better chance in life. These children come from families with monthly incomes below 5,000 Shillings and that do not own any property that could generate regular and reliable income such as land or livestock. They may be completely or partially orphaned, lack basic needs, are discriminated against, or their families are poor and unable to support them to change their situations for the better.

In these areas that are predominantly inhabited by the Luo and Luhya ethnic groups, people practice small scale farming, livestock rearing and fishing. Feedback from community consultations indicates that child poverty derives from the limited accessibility of households to meaningful productive economic resources. Food insecurity, poor environmental and sanitary conditions, and inaccessibility to safe drinking water are major challenges experienced by these children and their families.

KDP’s foundation is anchored in a report published in 2015 by UNICEF entitled “Taking Child Protection to the Next Level in Kenya (2015)”. The report suggests that around 3.6 million Kenyan children are orphans or otherwise classified as vulnerable; and that the most deprived children in Kenya are those living in the poorest 40 per cent of households, in certain regions and counties, and informal urban settlements. It goes on to state that all children in Kenya are potentially at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse. However, some groups are more vulnerable than others due to their gender, social status or geographical location. Children without parental care lack the protective environment and supervision that adult care normally provides. Children in large families may also lack parental attention and can become victims of neglect. Although girls and boys are both subjected to rights violations due to socio-cultural factors, cultural practices and economic constraints, girls are particularly vulnerable to violence, sexual abuse and harmful practices. The situation of children is often worsened by the multiple deprivations that exist within certain population groups and communities, although data and studies on these issues are limited.

Integrated Approach Out of Poverty

KDP’s Education Programme aims at reducing illiteracy levels by enhancing access and retention of children in school and providing life skills training for youth. To enable access, the programme has partnered with World Bicycle Relief to support school-going children – especially girls – with bicycles to ensure that 100% attendance, retention, improved performance and successful transition are achievable. The program also provides bursaries to the most vulnerable children and especially those living with disabilities. Also, KPD partners with other agencies like the National Government Constituencies Development Fund, Presidential Bursary Scheme and County Governments to ensure more vulnerable children receive bursaries to pursue primary, secondary, college and university education.

The Health, Nutrition and Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) interventions seek to provide access to quality healthcare and improve nutritional status among enrolled children and families. The project offers quality care and support to children aged zero to eight years in ECCD centres using caregivers through the nurturing care framework. Through Malezi Bora campaigns the project ensures that expectant mothers and children under five cab attend the monthly clinical visits and receive vitamin A supplements.

KDP also promotes food security and income-generating activities with its Livelihoods projects that primarily focus on sustainable agricultural activities. Families are supplied with certified seeds, improved variety of cassava, orange-fleshed potatoes, tissue culture bananas, quality breed chickens, grafted fruits, large white pigs, local goats and rice farming inputs.

The programme also offers education, awareness, care and support to HIV/AIDS affected and infected people. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, they provide sensitization of school-going children and youth, mainly during school holidays, on HIV/AIDS, drugs and substance abuse, sexual and reproductive health at the community and family levels. 

KDP also supports capacity building of children, parents, caregivers and local administration to better address child protection issues. They assist with the formation and strengthening of Child Rights Clubs in schools and support referrals for affected children within the communities. These activities are undertaken through advocacy and in close partnership with the national government’s Department of Children Services.

Changing Lives Against Great Odds

With support from ChildFund Kenya as its biggest benefactor, Kisumu Development Programme has to date contributed to transforming lives of over 200,000 deprived, excluded and vulnerable children in the counties of Kisumu, Siaya and Busia in Kenya. By implementing child and family empowerment programmes in education, health and nutrition, livelihoods development, adolescent sexual reproductive health and child protection, more school-going children have improved access to schools; many families have been economically empowered; parents’ capacities to better care for their children has improved and the communities have been empowered to detect, prevent and report cases of child abuse and access child protection services. 

Children and families enrolled in the programme receive items such as rechargeable solar lamps to help them with their school homework. They also benefit from skills training opportunities on life skills, entrepreneurship and information and communications technology delivered through the Voluntary Saving and Loaning Programme.

Community members and stakeholders like police officers, teachers and local administrators also undergo training on different aspects of child protection, birth registration of children, positive parenting, provision and access to healthcare and nutrition services in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

Elizabeth Aoko Onyango, a 21-year-old teacher from Kambare in Gem Sub County attests that “I have gained a lot since I became part of the programme. I received bursary support that gave me a chance to go to college aside from the various training opportunities that have inculcated in me useful values and skills. The local goat I was given several years back has been a source of income for my family.” Another lady, Betty Eileen, a 23-year-old nurse from Rang’ala also received direct educational support to pursue a university degree in nursing and currently works at the St. Francis Rang’ala Mission Hospital in Ugunja Sub County.

Godwill Bwire, the Program Coordinator, whose family and education was sponsored by a church-based organization when growing up, explains that “KDP started by giving targeted families handouts that proved unsustainable, forcing it to alter its implementation strategy to focus on building the capacity of communities to support themselves by, for instance, providing training on using improved farming methods to grow food instead of giving them food.” Godwill now has the role of overseeing KDP’s operations and ensuring that all beneficiaries receive the support they need to unchain themselves from the shackles of poverty that they currently find themselves in.

Partnering for Greater Impact

Thanks to a participatory approach, community members have shown willingness to take part in and contribute towards the implementation of their projects. They actively engage in the processes of identifying, implementing and reviewing programme priorities. Community partnerships and networking, as KDP has realized, encourages the development of sustainable solutions to address the dynamic challenges faced by the communities.

In schools, teachers who spend a lot of time with the children contribute greatly to shaping them into becoming responsible adults. They are also key stakeholders in child protection and play the role of patrons to the Child Right Clubs in their various schools.

Support from different departments of the national government comes in the form of facilitation of training, registration and capacity building of community focus and support groups. The Children’s Office in the Ministry of Youth, Gender and Social Services helps with handling cases of child abuse referred to them. The Ministry of Health helps with training and sensitization on adolescents sexual and reproductive health, while the police service and local administrators are a vital link in the fight against child abuse aside from providing security.

The Kisumu Development Program’s governance is led by a Project Coordinating Committee Board (PCC Board) which is responsible for overseeing the overall programme management responsibilities. Also, the PCC Board identifies suitable local and national organizations and government departments to partner with, negotiates partnerships, facilitates annual operational plan processes and development, implementation and monitoring of projects to ensure that KDP’s core outcomes and partners’ interest are convergent.

The board is supported by a three-member Senior Management Team (SMT) consisting of the Programme Coordinator, Sponsor Relations Coordinator and the Finance and Administration Officer. This team plays the role of Secretariat to the PCC Board. The SMT’s role among other things is to ensure delivery of the annual operational plan, prudent investment of donor funds and other resources, mobilization of financial, human and other resources and the management of relationships with sponsors. KDP also has ten other staff providing support in the areas of programme implementation, sponsor relations, monitoring and evaluation, ICT and procurement. 

Mobilizing a Supportive Community

Held back by the challenges of inadequate funding compared to the increasing number of children needing support, competing community priorities, over dependency on donor funding and increasing cases of child abuse in the areas they work in, KDP can only achieve so much. This is a reality they have had to confront forcing them to innovate sustainable livelihood programmes that can be commercialized and replicated such as poultry and banana farming just to name a few. They are also working with other stakeholders such as government administrators and law enforcement agencies to reduce cases of child abuse by training stakeholders who deal with child abuse cases and parents on the channels and linkages in child abuse. KDP is also engaging local fundraising volunteers to help with developing project proposals that best address community needs to supplement the dwindling donor funding.

Despite the challenges, Godwill says, “We feel satisfied when we see children who would otherwise not go to school graduate and become responsible adults. When we go on field monitoring visits and see how families progress with their livelihood initiatives like the Voluntary Saving and Loaning programme; and listen to them express how they have benefited from their sponsors, we get impressed. We are changing lives whenever these children penetrate through the huddles of poverty, acquire good grades in school and even pursue a university education.”

In the coming years, KDP will continue its strong focus on community and child capacity building and sustainable family livelihoods support activities to tackle poverty. Strengthening community involvement in project planning, implementation and evaluation also form part of its long-term strategy. These activities, however, require a considerable amount of resources to expand and sustain, hence the need for stronger partnerships development and fundraising from both local and global donors.

In the advent of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), KDP moves into the future with a clear desire to deepen its contribution towards the achievement of the targets set out under SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), 4 (Quality Education), 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation), and 16 (Peace Justice and Strong Institutions). These are also directly connected to a contribution to the achievement of national priorities under the social and economic pillars of Kenya’s Vision 2023.

To become a supporter, donor or to volunteer for the Kisumu Development Programme visit their office situated along Aga Khan Walk, in Kisumu’s Milimani neighbourhood. You can also reach them by email at info@kdpkenya.org, call +254 057 2021334 or find them on Facebook as Kisumu Development Programme, on Twitter as @KisumuProgramme and Instagram as @kisumudevelopmentprogram. You can also reach out directly to Godwill Bwire, the Programme Coordinator at +254 725 176633 or gbwire@kdpkenya.org.

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This story was written pro bono by Nelson Opany as part of his Communications Volunteering Series during the COVID-19 public health emergency to give a spotlight to grassroots organizations creating positive change in communities across Africa. Nelson is a Public Relations and Communications Management professional and a Scout with a passion for volunteering. (nelochop@gmail.com). Additional editing by Ray Saunders, an Information and Knowledge Management consultant based in Geneva, Switzerland.