Kenya
In Kenya, HI’s programme delivers assistance to vulnerable people in refugee camps. It is also taking steps to improve education, employment opportunities and political participation for people with disabilities.
Refugees in Dadaab camp, Humanity & Inclusion Kenya | © B. Blondel / HI
Actions in process
In Kenya, HI’s teams work in refugee camps to improve the living conditions of refugees, particularly the most vulnerable among them, by guaranteeing equal and protected access to healthcare, training and employment opportunities and civic engagement. In particular, the programme is running a project aimed at micro-entrepreneurs to help them develop their businesses. Participants receive training in communication, management and business administration, meet financial institutions and potential partners at events organised by HI and take part in peer exchange groups.
The programme also provides refugees with rehabilitation and psychosocial support services. Several care centres are run in the camps and mobility aids are distributed, such as walking sticks, prostheses and walking frames. Our teams work with partner organisations and with representatives of the communities themselves to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable populations are taken into account - older people, people with disabilities, young children and women - and that they benefit from services and protection adapted to their situation.
They are also working with various actors to enable Kenyan professionals, particularly those with disabilities, to benefit from scholarships to train in partner countries.
Finally, HI’s programme supports education actors to enable them to cater to children with disabilities in the best possible conditions, providing training and pedagogical initiatives on inclusive education. To this end, our teams develop and provide adapted materials and work to make classrooms more accessible for children with specific needs. Good practice exchange sessions are also organised to enable education actors - parents, teachers and the administration - to learn from each other.
The programme also covers the children’s travel costs, provides them with uniforms and raises awareness of disability issues among their families and entourage.
Areas of intervention
concretely
Situation of the country
In Kenya, inequalities persist and successive droughts threaten the population's food security.
A former British colony, Kenya gained independence in 1963. In 2020, Kenya was ranked 143rd out of 189 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index. The increase in gender inequality has had a negative impact on human development and the population's economic growth, particularly in terms of access to employment, education and appropriate healthcare. As a result, the rights of people with disabilities and vulnerable people are often neglected, contributing to increased poverty and substandard living conditions.
Since 2017, the situation in Kenya's arid regions has deteriorated considerably due to drought. Floods, landslides and locust infestations have also had a negative impact on crops, household food supplies and sources of income across the country. This has led to increased food insecurity and a deterioration in the health and nutritional status of the population, at a time when political instability has also increased.
In 2021, an evaluation report highlighted worsening food insecurity, drought and the nutritional situation in many Kenyan counties. In September 2021, the President declared the drought a national disaster.
Number of HI staff: 62
Programme created in: 1992
