PROJECT NAME: Opportunities for Children in Western Kenya

PROJECT LOCATION: Western Province, Kenya

PROJECT PARTNER: Western Education Advocacy and Empowerment Programmes (WEAEP)
PROJECT PERIOD: April 2010 – March 2011
GRANT REF: 10/014

This important project aims to increase participation in primary education of the most
disadvantaged boys and girls in Western Kenya.

Project Aims and Objectives

This project aims to increase participation in primary education of the most disadvantaged boys and girls in
Western Kenya through (1) increasing access to primary schools for street children, orphans, young carers
and their siblings; and (2) increasing levels of household income for parents/guardians of disadvantaged and
vulnerable children and child headed households through business training and provision of revolving funds
to establish income generating activities. The project will provide the following services: (1) enrolment of
street children, orphans and their siblings in primary schools/education; (2) support for young carers (girls) to
attend/return to school; (3) provision of marketable vocational training, savings mobilisation and revolving
funds for guardians, parents and child heads of households; (4) provision of child rights workshops and
dissemination; and (5) awareness raising activities and advocacy initiatives.

Executive Summary
Opportunities for Children in Western Kenya (OCWK) provided educational and protection support services
through two Drop-in Centres (DICs) and two Child Support Centres (CSCs) to 1,320 street children, orphans,
children living with disabilities, and young carers. These children were supported in primary education
enabling them to benefit from free primary education. Furthermore, the project engaged over 10,296
children and their headteachers in 15 primary schools through child rights club activities and child rights and
positive discipline training. Children are promoting child rights in schools; they have engaged parents and
school management committees in issues of child rights and abuse. Teachers are starting to realise the
harm of child abuse and corporal punishment, although it will take time to measure change since child rights
is still a very new concept in schools and community in the region and throughout Kenya. Community care
groups proved vital in supporting young carers by helping with household chores, freeing up time for them to
attend primary education. Provision of sanitary towels improved the confidence of poor girls and increased
their school attendance and participation. The project increased access to finance through revolving funds
for parents, guardians and young heads of households, which enabled 226 of them to become self
employed, resulting in a regular and predictable source of income to support their children’s needs. In
addition a total of 60 young heads of households, guardians and street children received vocational training
of which 55% are now self-employed or engaged in apprenticeships.

Achievements

Increasing access to primary schools for street children, orphans, young carers and their siblings
During year the project made sigificant progress in supporting disadvantaged children to enroll or continue in
primary education in the three districts of Western Kenya. The number of children supported rose to 1,320
from 635 in the previous year enabling many children to benefit from free primary education. Project staff
and volunteers conducted community awareness meetings to reduce stigma of children living with disabilities
and their families and encouraged enrolment of those children in primary school education. Working in
partnership with St. Martin’s Matungu, Shianda and St. Mary’s Centres that have specialised
knowledge/experience in disability issues, WEAEP identified and assessed 41 children living with disability,
22 of whom were enrolled and supported in primary school education. Monthly follow-ups with the schools,
discussions with teachers and end term reports revealed that performance and attendance increased by
20% and most children scored above 60% in all examinations.

To enhance vulnerable girls’ participation in primary education, 315 girls were provided with sanitary towels
(each girl received two packets of sanitary towels). The provision of sanitary towels enabled girls to actively

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participate in group activities and reduced absenteeism, thus improving class attendance and retention in six
schools supported. Joina, aged 14, a beneficiary at Ekambara Primary School said that:

“I had suffered a lot during my menstruation days because my grandmother could not
afford sanitary towels; I stayed away from school five days each month, which affected my
class performance. Whenever I resumed school, corporal punishment was the order of the
day and no teacher understood my problems. I thank God for WEAEP; I can now attend
school without fear and stigma and my performance has drastically improved”.

Two former street children, supported by WEAEP, sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in
November 2009 and scored 322 out of 500. WEAEP secured two full secondary school scholarships to pay
their fees from Form 1–4. The cases studies below highlight the children’s progress.

Chiumbo
Chiumbo is 14 years old. Following the death of his father in 2003, Chiumbo and his five siblings were left in
the care of their mother who is a casual labourer. His two sisters and three brothers were forced to drop out
of school and either get married or become bicycle taxi drivers (boda boda). His mother could not support
the family on her own, therefore Chiumbo was forced to work on farms and beg on the streets so that his
mother could buy enough food for the whole family. Chiumbo’s performance in school continued to decline
and eventually he dropped out after completing standard seven. In 2006, he moved to the streets of Mumias
where he joined a gang.
In November 2008, a WEAEP social worker encouraged Chiumbo to visit the Mumias Drop-in Centre. Here
he was provided with shelter, food, clothing, and educational support. WEAEP also helped to trace his
family, which restored his confidence and self-belief. He was enrolled in a primary school where he worked
extremely hard. Having been registered for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in 2009, he scored
324 out of 500. WEAEP secured sponsorship for his secondary school education and he is now pursuing his
secondary education at Chebuyusi Boys High School. He now dreams of becoming a teacher one day.
‘’I had given up hope in life to pursue my education after dropping out of school but now l
am happy that l have rediscovered myself and l have the potential to fulfil my ambitions,
hopes and dreams in life. WEAEP staff are understanding, caring, encouraging and loving.
I know that my life will change because they have offered me an opportunity to further my
education which is a key to a better life.’’
Without WEAEP’s support, Chiumbo thinks that he would have turned to a life of crime. He has been
reunited with his family and now receives assistance from the project as he continues with his secondary
school education.

Kilo
Kilo is 15 years old. His father was the sole bread winner for the family up until he died in 2005. Since then
Kilo’s mother who is physically disabled has struggled to support them family on her own. Kilo’s sisters were
forced to drop out of school to get married and Kilo also dropped out of school to start work in a hotel. Not
long after, Kilo moved to the streets when life at home became too unbearable.
In March 2009, Kilo visited the Mumias Drop-in Centre where he was given temporary shelter and the
support he needed to get his life ‘back on track’. After attending remedial classes at the centre for a number
of weeks, he was enrolled in a Muslim primary school. Kilo now wants to become a doctor.
‘’I had lost all hope in life and all my dreams were shattered while leading a street life. I
knew that l was going to die through mob justice because of pick-pocketing people on the
streets. WEAEP gave me hope and I am optimistic that life would never be the same
because I have an opportunity to go to school.’’
Without the support from WEAEP’s dedicated team, Kilo thinks that he would now be dead or in prison. He
has been reunited with his family and receives ongoing support as he continues with his secondary
education.

2 Opportunities for Children in Western Kenya 21/04/2011

OCWK project staff conducted weekly outreach visits to the streets of Kakamega and Mumias, during which
they referred 82 street children to the drop-in centres for psychosocial support. The psychosocial activities
included play, one-on-one interviews, and drama. DICs are also enabling street children to access non
formal education, peer mentoring, and child rights education. At the DICs, parents and guardians receive
advice and support to enrol/support children in primary school education. The project recruited 24 new
volunteers in addition to the existing 64 volunteers who conduct home visits, monitor children’s safety, and
provide support services at the DICs and CSCs.

Expanding the Drop-in Centre

WEAEP made progress on an extension of the DIC; although completion was delayed due to increased
costs caused by inflation and a drop in the exchange rate. Construction of the extension will continue over
the next three years and will be completed as planned. Completed sections of the DIC are now in use and
providing services to up to 500 children and 320 guardians/parents each month, including vocational training.

Training Community Care Groups (CCG) and volunteers in child protection and counselling and
supporting young carers
During the period 18 CCG members and 32 volunteers received on site training in child protection, rights and
participation. Members and volunteers are confident enough to take on more children and help in preventing
incidences of child abuse at the village level. They are now providing care and support to 630 young carers
and orphans. The CCGs were formed to support children living alone with household chores in order for
them to have time to attend school. However, the groups are evolving to also provide extra financial support
to these children; 11 out of the 18 CCGs have set up a fund or income generating projects, in which every
member contributes funds to support children joining secondary school education. Ekama CCG has
mobilized up to £450 to support secondary education of orphans and young carers.

OCWK supported 21 grandparents and older guardians’ families with child support incentives, such as farm
equipment including seeds, fertilizer and tools,, to ensure production of enough food to feed vulnerable their
families.

Providing 154 desks per year and three toilets per school in 14 schools
A total of 36 toilets were constructed, 18 for boys and 18 for girls. The number of toilets constructed per
school increased from three to six due to the urgent need for toilets in those schools. This has made the
school environment more conducive, especially for girls who now have access to safer toilets and privacy.
Orphans and children from poor families, who had dropped out of school due to the inability to pay toilet
construction fees, returned to school as their fees were waived by school authorities. The six schools
supported had previously received a warning from the Ministry of Public Health to shut down the schools,
due to poor sanitation and inadequate number of toilets.

Newly constructed school toilets

The Vulnerable Children’s Fund (government project) complemented OCWK by providing three schools with
60 desks each (a total of 180 desks) while the Government’s Constituency Development Fund provided four
schools with 50 desks each (a total of 200 desks). According to schools reports and attendance registers,

3 Opportunities for Children in Western Kenya 21/04/2011

this support has enabled schools to admit and maintain more children. In addition children were more
motivated to attend classes thereby increasing enrolment/retention rates.

Providing temporary shelter and remedial classes to 42 street children/year

Temporary shelter was provided to 61 children through the DICs, compared to 47 in the previous year.
OCWK staff and volunteers reintegrated 26 of these children with their families of which 23 were successfully
re-unified and supported to enrol in local public primary schools. To date, a total of 40 children have been
successfully reintegrated with families and enrolled in public schools. At the centres, volunteer teachers
provided remedial classes 3-4 times a week, which enhanced children’s learning, writing, numeracy skills
and general comprehension and helped them articulate issues affecting them, which prepared them for
(re)integration in public primary schools. The project provided support services to 771 children compared to
635 in the previous year. These services benefited street children, orphans, young carers and disabled
children. Follow-up visits were conducted; guardians and parents received advice on good parenting and
child protection through monthly home visits. Guardians were encouraged to improve their care to street
children through provision of educational packages for at least one sibling in the family.

Remedial classes (left) and handing our school uniforms (right)

Parents and guardians monthly motivation meetings

OCWK held four motivation meetings in Makunga, Sangalo, Kakamega and Mumias and encouraged
participants to explore the reasons for child poverty, child labour, and non-enrolment/school drop out in the
respective areas. They received training on responsibilities and child rights. The numbers of parents and
guardians subsequently seeking advice and support on enrolling/supporting their children in primary school
education increased substantially at the CSC and DICs.

Increasing levels of household income for parents/guardians of disadvantaged children and child
headed households through business training and provision of revolving funds to establish income
generating activities
The project engaged 18 CCG members in weekly meetings and savings activities. Members met on a
weekly basis, discussed child support and protection issues, savings and investment, and management of
their businesses. They contributed weekly savings of Ksh2 (2p) per member to mobilise funds to support
children in secondary education. The 18 CCG members have access to WEAEP’s savings and loan
facilities. To ensure efficiency and accountability, each CCG received a ledger book, receipt book and
member passbooks. Each CCG has a chairperson, secretary and treasurer who oversee activities. The
project has linked 760 members to a WEAEP revolving fund, of which 226 are involved in various
businesses such as farming, tailoring and running market stalls with an average income of £23 per month.
Parents interviewed noted that an increase in their income built their confidence and enabled them to buy
clothing, food, scholastic materials, pay school levies and provide medical care for their children.

Vocational training/apprenticeships to heads of households and street young people

The project enabled 34 orphans, young guardians and heads of households to enrol in tailoring and
computer skills training; 26 trainees were linked to WEAEP’s garment production unit to gain experience in

4 Opportunities for Children in Western Kenya 21/04/2011

tailoring. A catering training unit is yet to be established due to a delay in the completion of a kitchen. It is
expected that the kitchen which will be completed in January and catering courses will start in March 2011.
WEAEP will seek more funds to establish this activity. The project also provided vocational training, through
local companies, to 24 older street children, young heads of households and guardians as follows: motor
mechanics/engineering x 4; bicycle repair x 3; carpentry x 3; and tailoring x 14. In total, 60 young heads of
households, guardians and street children are being supported to gain practical skills this year.

These milestones were measured through semi-structured interviews with parents/guardians, beneficiaries
and monthly project field reports.

Motor-mechanics training for older street children

Increasing retention of boys and girls in neighbourhood schools and reducing child sex abuse and
violence
OCWK supported/is supporting 10,291 children in 15 primary schools, school authorities and Parent Teacher
Associations (PTA) in child rights and protection to end corporal punishment and reduce violence against
children in child rights and protection; it improved health and sanitation in six schools by building 36 toilets;
and provided sanitary towels to 315 girls resulting in an increase in school attendance of both boys and girls.
The project held a workshop for headteachers from 15 schools, police representatives and education
authority officials. They were trained in child rights and postive discipline in schools. A consultant from the
UK and the ICT Promgrammes Officer facilitated the training. The participants prodcued draft guidelines on
child rights and postive discipline in schools, which will be finalised and piloted in 15 schools working with
WEAEP. After the training the participants had the following messages:

“I came in with punishment and I am leaving with positive discipline.”

(Headteacher, Muroni Primary School, Mumias District)

“We are leaving the course really enriched. I wish this programme was spread to all
schools in Kenya. Then schools in Kenya would really change for the better.”
(Deputy Head, Mwichina Primary School, Mumias)

“The behaviour we see in our children shows they are undergoing a lot of punishment and
violence but if we have teachers who know how to handle a child positively we will change
the future of our nation.”
(Cornelius Alubisia, Programmes Manager, WEAEP)

The project also trained representatives from nine local children’s organisations and WEAEP staff on child
rights and protection to increase knowledge on child protection and ensure a safe organisation. WEAEP will
network with these organisations and promote child protection issues in Western Kenya.

Child Rights Clubs

OCWK established three Child Rights Clubs (CRCs) during the period, increasing the total number of CRCs
to 15. Each club has a membership of 40 pupils comprising of orphans and their friends. The CRC

5 Opportunities for Children in Western Kenya 21/04/2011

facilitators conducted weekly meetings with club members in their respective schools to implement club
activities. The CRC members used drama, dance, song and art to communicate key messages on stigma,
child rights, and protection to parents, school authorities and the community. The messages created
awareness of child abuse and the need to stop such practices occurring. They used theatre to raise
awareness of the effects of corporal punishment and child abuse during Parent Teachers Association (PTA)
meetings and child focused functions. During the period, CRC members developed a number of themes and
messages on child protection, which were printed on t-Shirts to create awareness of child abuse, rights and
protection.

Through the CRCs, 24 cases of child abuse were reported, five of which were sex abuse cases. These
cases were reported to police, education authorities, Department of Children and WEAEP. Sex abuse cases
are being handled by the Federation of Women Lawyers Association (FIDA) and Kakamega Court. The
Kenya government passed laws making teacher-pupil sex abuse a crime, ensuring that teachers found guilty
are liable for prosecution. This law will help reinforce CRC activities and reduce child abuse in schools.
School officials will be trained in child rights and protection at the end of the year, to help contextualise child
rights and protection activities. The implementation of child rights in schools and communities is a very slow
process as this is a relatively new issue in Kenya’s rural areas and many organisations are unaware of child
rights and protection. To overcome this, ICT will provide close support to the local partner in terms of
training and linkage with child rights networks at the national level.

This milestone was measured through semi-structures interviews and monthly field reports.

Budget
Activity Budget Expenditure Variance
Capital Costs
Equipment and furniture £ 4,380 £ 4,380 £ -
Construct three toilets per year in schools £ 625 £ 650 -£ 25
School desks x 153 £ 1,112 £ 1,156 -£ 44
Scholastic materials £ 1,600 £ 1,666 -£ 66
DIC/Vocational Centre auxiliary works £ 8,039 £ 9,140 -£ 1,101
Activities
Healthcare provision £ 1,990 £ 1,990 £ -
Staff Salaries
Healthcare Centre Nurse £ 2,290 £ 2,231 £ 59
Programme Facilitator £ 1,964 £ 1,960 £ 4
Social Worker £ 738 £ - £ 738
Care Assistant £ 1,611 £ 1,611 £ -
Guards x 2 £ 1,236 £ 1,347 -£ 111
Overheads
DIC and CSC running costs £ 2,371 £ 2,371 £ -
Admin & monitoring
Administrative costs £ 836 £ 836 £ -
Monitoring & evaluation costs £ 1,988 £ 1,988 £ -
Total £ 30,780 £ 31,326 -£ 546

Budget notes:
1. The over-expenditure for DIC/Vocational Centre is due to inflation on costs of building materials following
the economic downturn;
2. Social Worker costs were covered by BIG Lottery following additional economic downturn support; and
3. The project had an over expenditure of £546 due to increased costs caused by a drop in exchange rate
and inflation. The variance was covered by local fundraising initiatives.

6 Opportunities for Children in Western Kenya 21/04/2011