Plan Kenya Progress Report 2009

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ISRAEL

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IRAQ JORDAN KUWAIT

A YEAR IN SAUDI

KENYA ARABIA

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SUMMARY REPORT

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A sponsor visit to a small community

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GOOD REASONS why Plan works in Kenya

• 23% of the population live in poverty – surviving on less than 1 US dollar a day • Nearly one in eight Kenyan children die before they reach the age of five

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• HIV/AIDS is a major killer, yet in some of the poorer communities only a quarter of mothers take steps to protect themselves

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• Supporting the rights of all children to a good education

SOMALIA

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• Promoting household economic security

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• Supporting people living with HIV/AIDS

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• Developing Kenya’s voluntary and social organisations

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• Working for healthy and empowered communities

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Country Office Programme Unit

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KENYA

A school day begins in Kenya.

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KENYA FACTS Capital: Nairobi Language: English, Kiswahili, various indigenous languages

between March and May, and moderate rain in October and November. The temperature remains high throughout these months.

Climate: Kenya has a tropical climate. It is hot and humid at the coast, temperate inland and very dry in the north and northeast parts of the country. There is however a lot of rain

Economy: Kenya’s economy is market-based, with some state-owned infrastructure enterprises, and maintains a liberalized external trade system. The economy’s heavy dependence on

Population: 34.5 million

rain-fed agriculture and the tourism sector leaves it vulnerable to cycles of boom and bust. The agricultural sector employs nearly 75 percent of the country’s 37 million people. Half of the sector’s output remains subsistence production.

“We appreciate sponsors’ commitment and genuine support as we endeavour to work towards reducing poverty and for the survival and development of all children.”

– Else Kragholm, Plan’s Country Director

A YEAR IN

KENYA SUMMARY REPORT

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FOCUS ON: PROMOTING HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC SECURITY Our aim is to reduce poverty by enabling families to generate income, gain access to markets for their produce and get financial services.

We work to improve production of crops and livestock and make sure that agriculture is sustainable.

We also support small businesses and help families to save for the future.

GIVING HOPE TO MOTHERS AND CHILDREN WITH HIV

A

s anyone who has started their own business will tell you, it has its ups and downs.

Especially if you’re a poor woman living in the slums of a developing country like Kenya.

The brother of a sponsored child plays with a toy

The Bigger Picture

Banks and other lenders won’t lend to people like Paradine, which is why Plan-backed self-help groups which provide loans have proved such a hit.

Plan is working with children, families and whole communities to address the problems that Kenya faces. This report can only tell a small part of that story. As a further insight, last year we also:

Mukamaka is one such self-help group, based in the slums of Nairobi. It began with the support of Plan, who provided skills training and guidance. The 375 members include men, women and teenagers who earn a living from small-scale businesses.

• Launched a child emergency telephone line to report abuse – the first of its kind in Kenya

Start-up costs

• Trained almost 5000 farmers on how to improve crop, fishery and livestock production • Trained 4,315 care-givers on looking after AIDS orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS • Following the violence from December 2007 to January 2008, we distributed nappies, warm clothing and other supplies to 20,000 displaced children in the Rift Valley.

Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these positive results. So on behalf of the communities, partner organisations, and most of all the children we work with – thank you!

“By repaying the loan for my brother, I was able to save our ancestral land.”

To learn more about Plan’s work in Kenya visit www.plan.org.au/ourwork/southernafrica/kenya

Produced for Kenya by the Australian National Office.

Paradine borrowed her first loan of 6,000 Kenyan shillings (about £48) in 2007, which she used to start a vegetable business. But, says Paradine, the business did not do well at first. “I decided to take an additional loan of 24,000 shillings to boost my business. I used 10,000 shillings to buy vegetables at the wholesale market but the money was stolen in Nairobi City Centre.

“I went back home miserable and took a further 2000 shillings [to spend on more stock] but unfortunately the vegetables I bought got lost in the public transport I boarded.

“This made me stay home for a month without knowing what to do. I shared my problems with the Mukamaka officials and my colleagues, who encouraged me not to give up.”

Mukamaka operates by businesslike rules, so Paradine had to repay the borrowed loan even though the money was lost. But she was able to extend the repayment period from 10 months to 14 months.

“I shared my problems with the Mukamaka officials and my colleagues, who encouraged.” me not to give up”

Perseverance pays off Paradine was later introduced to a necklacemaking business by one of her friends. After learning the skills, she bought beads to make necklaces, as well as pictures and carvings. The business started slowly but she was patient.

Paradine says: “After 10 months, I borrowed 40,000 shillings and later another loan of 46,000 shillings following a purchase order I got from one of my clients. This was supplemented by other small sales that I had been making. I have been able to repay my loan back and then borrowed a further loan, since I am able to repay my loans very fast.”

For Paradine, the biggest benefits of her improving business fortunes have been to her family.

Previously she depended on bursaries to educate her children. Through her businesses, she is now able to educate her three children – two in private schools and one in a public secondary school.

Importantly to her, she was able to pay back a loan that her brother had taken from a commercial bank using the title deed of their family’s ancestral land as collateral.

Paradine says: “My brother was unable to repay the loan and the bank threatened to auction our land. So by repaying the loan for my brother, I was able to save our ancestral land.”

She and her children have moved from a mud-walled house to a two-roomed stone house. Paradine says: “It is from this family house that I’m also doing my business and paying rent. My vision is to buy a machine to make some beauty items. I am also now using my skills to teach other women to use locally available materials like old magazines to make beautiful necklaces.”

Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy purposes.

plan.org.au