Strengthening families in Eldoret, Kenya

This year saw the launch of an SOS Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) in Eldoret, Kenya. With overwhelming support from the community leaders, the programme is fast establishing itself and gaining popularity with the local people.

The main goal of the FSP is to assist orphans and vulnerable children that are living in severe poverty in the community which surrounds the SOS Children's Village. The Programme intends to reach out to households led by people who are terminally ill, siblings and grandparents. "The project is a community-based support programme and its success is based on working with the communities to protect and support vulnerable children" says Ms Lilly Wangui, the programme coordinator. In addition to the protection of vulnerable children, the programme includes a strong preventative component in that communities are informed about various social problems, and vulnerable families are supported and given counselling.

At the moment, there are 222 beneficiaries (185 children and 37 carers). The FSP offers educational, nutritional and health support, and helps families to protect and care for their children. The beneficiaries receive essential food supplies for six months. In addition to being helped with food and medical support, beneficiaries are offered social and psychological support. Capacity-building workshops are also organized to give the families business skills to help them to start income-generating activities. The children are assisted within the environment of their biological family.

The programme coordinator says that they are already facing enormous challenges. She points out that during the survey, there was evidence of a lack of basic infrastructure and limited social services. Drainage is inadequate, there is a lack of proper housing and poor children cannot afford to get a basic education. Nine areas were visited and the results showed that a large number of poor families were in dire need of assistance. There were cases of abandonment, single parents and children who were not attending nursery because they could not pay their school fees. Unemployment was also common among the young people who frequently abused alcohol. This, says Lilly, posed a challenge and they had to re-asses their programme to adjust to their various needs such as food, clothing and social support. Programmes such as a jigger eradication campaign have already been started. (A jigger is a small insect that lays eggs under the skin) Lilly points out, however, that they will need to work with the Ministry of Public Health for the programme to be a success and be sustainable.

When asked about a significant achievement since the launch of the programme, Lilly recalls the story of a nine-year-old boy who had a wound on his leg. "With our support, the boy was taken to hospital and was operated on", she says. His grandmother had apparently refused to take him to hospital for fear of his leg being amputated, so the wound had spread to his knee and he was in a terrible pain. "We are delighted that he is still alive and we are very proud of this result", she notes. The other achievement was the teaching given to about 100 children in preparation for school. She points out that the majority of the children had dropped out of school, so they needed to be prepared to be placed in schools.