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Kenya Resource Pack
The fall of the price of tea and coffee on the international markets, alongside several periods of drought, has created major problems for the Kenyan economy. The long-running regional drought has put millions of Kenyans in need of food aid. This is intensified by the population growth of about 3.8% per annum (one of the largest in the world), which means that the population is expected to double within the last decade of this century. Other serious issues include high unemployment, crime and poverty, with most Kenyans living below the poverty level of $1 a day. On top of this, the Kenyan people have to deal with glaring corruption: despite President Kibaki's pledge to tackle corruption, some donors estimated that up to $1bn had been lost between 2002 and 2005. In 2002, around 15,000 Somalis fled civil conflict in south-west Somalia, running to Kenya in the hope of a better and safer life. Now there are thousands of homeless children in need of education and care. Volunteers have the opportunity to work to help these children as well as contributing within four other sectors of aid. Volunteers have the option to work alongside communities, educating in HIV/AIDS awareness, counselling and teaching English. They can also teach English amongst a Maasai tribe, and those with medical backgrounds may work in a community clinic in Maasailand to increase access to basic healthcare and promote health education in the local community. On my first day I walked the streets of Dagoretti, a slum area, with the home based care team visiting clients who are too sick to visit the clinic. The majority are women who have been infected by their husbands. The slum is overwhelming, rubbish piled high, mud one day and dust the next, no running water and children playing in dirty water. However, there is a sense of hope generated from the staff and the community workers, their hearts are so 'big' and they care deeply about their follow Kenyans." Joy, volunteer. "My experience in Kenya has been unlike any other in my lifetime. I have discovered more than I ever thought about Kenyan culture, food, history, lifestyle, geography and adventure. I have gone from emotions of anxious to discovery, from sadness to happiness. I have truly been able to fix myself in another culture and social life. Kenyans are the most generous and friendly people I have ever met on the face of earth." Lisa, volunteer. .: Easy FactsFor the Kenya Easy Facts sheet, click here..: ArticlesFrom the Safari to the Slum: Choose Volunteering: http://www.volunteer.org.nz/press/articles/jenner.php..: Further ReadingAfrica's Masai Find Kinship with Amish, Others in U.S., Stefan Lovgren, National Geographic News, June 28th, 2004: Peter ole Mankura, a Masai pastor from Kenya, took one look at the Amish farmer milking his cow and exclaimed, "They are our brothers!"http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0628_040628_maasai.html HIV Aid to Africa Will Encounter Obstacles, John R. Graham, The Heartland Institute, September 2003: HIV/AIDS is mostly a tragedy of the developing world. Forty-two million people are infected with HIV, of which only 1.6 million are in North America, Western Europe, Australia, or New Zealand. Of 5 million newly infected in 2002, only 75,500 are from those developed countries, while 3.5 million were from Africa alone. http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=12768 .: Country ProfileFor Kenya's country profile, click here. |
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Machu Picchu