not parents’ wish to send children to work or leave them alone at home but when there is barely enough food for even one meal a day, their options are limited.

Kesho Kenya works closely with children, schools, families and other duty bearers in the county to raise child protection awareness and to undertake case management.

Covid-19 pandemic: Cash Transfers to beneficiaries and home visits

We issued weekly cash transfers to 94 beneficiary families for a period of six weeks to cushion our beneficiaries from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The livelihood support initiative was in a bid to help vulnerable families to set up tippy taps as hand washing stations, purchase seedlings for planting to ensure they have food security. Furthermore, we conducted home visits to identify risks associated with Covid-19 pandemic on beneficiary families. A total of 190 children were visited, and psychosocial support where necessary was offered.

Advocacy and County Influence 

We participate in several Area Advisory Council (AAC) meetings at the Kilifi County level and Ganze and Kilifi North Sub-County level. We also attend Kilifi Law Court Users Committee (CUC) meetings and are part of the community sensitization forums on children’s rights and education organized by Ganze Sub-county AAC (in Jaribuni and Ganze wards). In 2020, the department additionally attended 4 Area Advisory Council meetings, 6 County Stakeholders Forum meetings, and 1 Court Users’ Committee meeting. Kesho Kenya was part of the committee mandated to develop a county reporting tool that captured all Sexual Based Violence cases reported during the pandemic period. 2020 year’s theme for the Day of the African Child was “Access to a child friendly justice system”. The day was virtually facilitated and moderated by Kesho Kenya.

Promoting Child Protection in schools 

We try to increase further the number of schools we work with to implement Kesho Kenya School Safeguarding Policy Guidelines and to reach as many children as possible. in 2020, trainings and sensitization meetings were conducted at the beginning of the year where 27 head-teachers and the school board of management chairs from 15 schools were reached. A child protection training was conducted to community members in one of our project schools where 136 parents and 93 women from community clusters attended.

Child Protection workshops

We host on average of 6 workshops for parents and beneficiaries a year. In 2020, a total of 10 workshops and training were conducted. They are tailored to suit children from age 7 upwards plus parents too. We cover The Rights of the Child, Child Protection, and Sexual and Reproductive Health plus how to preserve evidence and report abuse when it arises. In 2020, we furthermore held training on Sexual Reproductive Health and, together with the Children’s Department, conducted child protection training for Child Protection Volunteers who work at the grass-root levels

Community Child Protection Cluster Groups 

With Kesho Kenya parents as members they enjoy meeting regularly to discuss how to overcome challenges of child protection in their community. Often the women invite others and are inspired to form their own saving merry-go-rounds to help them manage their money and make better choices for their children.

Case management 

Cases include neglect by parents, sexual abuse, physical abuse, truancy, emotional abuse, drug/substance abuse, trauma, school dropouts, suicide attempts, child marriage indiscipline, and petty theft. We are well placed to deal with cases with sensitivity and professionalism. in 2020, a total of 25 females and 26 male children’s cases have been handled, most of te cases were due to indiscipline, truancy and parental neglect.

Street Business School

SBS empowers parents of our beneficiaries and other interested adults to generate income. During class, they learn all they need to know to identify and implement a successful business. In one-to-one coaching sessions, SBS members are advised on their businesses or how to improve their lifestyle. In 2020, we conducted three trainings for cluster groups in Mtwapa and Malindi to help them kick-start businesses that would generate income. A total of 93 women were reached during the reporting period.