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Updated: March 2009

Kenya

Overview | World Vision's history in Kenya| World Vision in Kenya today


Overview

The country of Kenya lies along the equator in eastern Africa, and is bordered by Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Indian Ocean. The terrain features low plains that gradually rise to central highlands, which are bisected by the Great Rift Valley. There is a fertile plateau to the west in the Lake Victoria Basin. Glaciers sit on Mount Kenya, Africa’s second-highest peak. The climate ranges from tropical along the coast to arid in the interior. Natural resources include limestone, salt, gypsum, gemstones, zinc, wildlife, and hydropower.

English and Swahili are the official languages of Kenya, but dozens of indigenous languages also are spoken throughout the country. More than 30 ethnic groups populate Kenya, the largest of which is the Kikuyu, who constitutes about 22 percent of the population.

Paleontologists have discovered some of the earliest evidence of human existence in the Great Rift Valley. In the eighth century, Arab seafarers established coastal settlements, and the Portuguese took control in the early 1500s. Kenya became a British protectorate in 1890 and a colony in 1920—known then as British East Africa. The Mau Mau movement rebelled against the government in 1952.

Independence was achieved in 1963, but the ensuing government, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), entered a 40-year stronghold of power highlighted by widespread corruption. During the 1990s, Kenya’s infrastructure began disintegrating, violence increased and a series of natural disasters occurred.		Kenya map


Kenyan map

 
Country statistics 
Population36.5 million
Land mass224,961 square miles
People per square mile162
Life expectancy55.3 years
Under age 5 mortality rate121/1,000
Literacy rate74%
Access to safe water61%
Average annual incomeUS$580
Religion
Christian78%
Indigenous beliefs 10%
Muslim10%
Other2%
 
KANU’s tenure ended when Mwai Kibaki was elected president in 2002, promising anti-corruption, economic recovery, and free primary education. Kibaki initiated a number of judicial reforms to crack down on corruption and promised to revise the constitution. By 2004 disappointment with Kibaki loomed among Kenyans, as little progress in these areas had been made.
Following the December 2007 presidential election between Kibaki and rival Raila Olinga, violent protests broke out over the outcome and, after two months of ethnic brutality, more than 1,000 people had died. Following a power-sharing agreement, Mwai Kibaki retained the presidency and Raila Olinga became prime minister.

Nearly 75 percent of Kenyans are engaged in agriculture, producing tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, and eggs. However, Kenya is classified by the UN as a low income, food-deficient country. Fifty-two percent of people live below the poverty line, while 58 percent live on less than $2 per day. The unemployment rate is 40 percent— currently the 13th highest rate in the world. Children from households headed by women lack access to education, adequate shelter, and food. Natural disasters in recent years have further undermined food resources and economic recovery. In 2006, Kenya suffered from a drought that left 2.5 million people in need of food.

Another critical issue for Kenyans today is the HIV and AIDS pandemic that is claiming the lives of families and communities throughout the country. Life expectancy has decreased and infant mortality has increased. The prevalence rate among adults is 6.1 percent; 1.3 million people are currently living with HIV and AIDS. There are 1.1 million orphans age 17 and under who have lost one or both parents to the disease.

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World Vision's history in Kenya

World Vision became involved with the people of Kenya through a grant provided to the World Gospel Mission in 1965. Following the Sahel drought in 1973, World Vision established operations and opened an office in Nairobi a year later. The sponsorship program began almost immediately, with 1,400 children from 30 homes and schools. At the same time, nearly $400,000 was allocated for school feeding programs to these children, while two additional projects were opened to help more than 18,000 Turkana people suffering from a famine in the northeastern area of the country.

By 1980, World Vision was sponsoring more than 16,000 children in 75 projects. Activities included health care, education, agricultural assistance, literacy, vocational training, and developing water systems. The Kima Dams project was the largest of these.

From 1981 through 1990, child sponsorship grew to 52,353, emphasizing education, nutrition, and immunization. Accomplishments included: providing food to 20,000 starving people; assisting flood-affected communities in four areas by providing medicines, food, seeds, livestock, and shelter as well as the rebuilding of several primary schools; increasing immunization levels to 85 percent in children under age five in Loitokitok; and improving livestock husbandry, cultivation techniques, environmental preservation, water access, shelter, and health and educational opportunities among the Maasai people.

Kenya, prone to disasters, experienced droughts in eight separate years between 1984 and 2006. Additionally, Kenya saw an influx of refugees escaping their countries’ civil wars. World Vision began work in 2000 at the Kakuma Refugee Camp, home to more than 82,000 refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and other war-torn countries. World Vision constructed in excess of 6,000 shelters and built 30 classrooms for children in the camp. Following the floods in 2002, World Vision provided assistance to more than 10,000 displaced people and an additional 70,000 flood-affected people. Relief work included the distribution of medical supplies, blankets, food, and other necessities.

Projects implemented during 2005 and 2006 included:
  • The Teso Child Survival Project addresses the poor health status of 90,000 women of productive age and children by providing immunizations, health care, training, and HIV/ AIDS prevention education.
  • The Kisii Malaria Prevention Project seeks to reduce the high malaria prevalence rate among 180,000 residents by providing mosquito nets and training people in their use and maintenance.
  • The Lokubae Food Security Program addresses the food insecurity by helping increase production of food for consumption and cash crops. The nutritional status of children will be improved as will the community’s water and sanitation facilities.
  • Kenya Agency for the Development of Enterprise and Technology (KADET) is a microenterprise program offering opportunities to poor Kenyans by providing loans and business training to help launch small businesses, thereby improving the economic status of families.
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World Vision in Kenya today

World Vision is committed to partnering with the people of Kenya to enhance their lives today and to help enact sustainable solutions for the future of their communities, families, and children. Currently, 153,626 children are registered in the World Vision sponsorship program. Several times this number of children and other family members benefit from World Vision activities. Of these registered children, many have World Vision sponsors in other countries. U.S. donors sponsor more than 49,700 girls and boys. In addition, World Vision operates 47 development programs, 13 of which are supported by U.S. donors. Highlights of these efforts include the following:
  • The Soweto Orphans and Vulnerable Children Initiative conducts activities that ensure this targeted group receives the education, food, shelter, psychosocial care, skills training, and other basics they need to overcome the effects HIV and AIDS has had on their families. Children are also trained in HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention education.
  • The Development of the Girl Child and Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Project seeks to reduce the incidence of FGM and early marriage by 45 percent among Maasai girls by increasing awareness of its grave health consequences, promoting school attendance for girls, and supporting advocacy groups.
  • The Kirindon Water and Sanitation Project has brought increased access to clean water and sanitation facilities and a greater awareness of hygiene and health issues to the Kirindon community. Five new health centers have been constructed complete with water tanks for harvesting rainwater. Ten primary schools have been supplied with materials to build multiple latrines, which are in various stages of completion. These projects will lessen the community’s susceptibility to diseases and parasites.
For further information about World Vision’s programs in Kenya, please contact the United States office.

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