Vision Africa - Give a Child a Future. Providing education, food and welfare for children and orphans in the slums of Kenya.

Vision Africa - Give a Child a Future

Fact File

 

Map of Kenya Kenya lies astride the equator on the eastern coast of Africa and covers an area of 583,000 sq. km (225,000 sq. miles).  Kenya is bordered in the north by Sudan and Ethiopia, in the east by Somalia, on the southeast by the Indian Ocean, on the southwest by Tanzania and to the west by Lake Victoria and Uganda.

English and Swahili are the official languages and are taught in schools throughout Kenya. Many vernacular languages are also spoken in various parts of the country.

Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. Nairobi's name comes from the Maasai Ewaso Nyirobi, meaning "cool waters".  The majority of Nairobi's urban population of 1.9 million lives in the vast shanty settlements that surround the central business district.

Kibera is the largest slum in East Africa.  Its population of over one million (half of whom are under age 15) are crammed together in appalling conditions, living in an area of about 1sq. mile.  Basic government services, such as water provision, education, health care, and sewage disposal, do not exist. Ethnic tensions arise from identity politics and patron-client relations between the major ethnic groups (Nubians, Luo, Luhya, and Kamba).

Here are some statistics for Kenya:

  • 70% of the population live in 2% of the physical space.

  • 2.2 million people in Kenya are HIV positive - one person in every thirteen.

  • Every day 700 Kenyans die of HIV/AIDS related diseases.

  • Over 50% of the population live below the poverty line.

  • There could be as many as 930,000 orphans under age 17 in Kenya due to AIDS.

In Kenya, many people lack education regarding Aids, and superstition has also hindered prevention efforts.   In Kibera, children are sexually exploited and youths turn to sex as their only pleasure because books are too expensive and there are no playgrounds for sports.  Aids has been declared a national disaster in Kenya.

Many hundreds of thousands of children have been orphaned by the Aids epidemic, which has exposed them to widespread abuse. Many Kenyan youngsters are forced out of school to become breadwinners, or to fend for themselves, when family members fall ill or die as a result of contracting Aids - forcing many of them into dangerous jobs, including prostitution, which for some girls is the only way to make a living.

Vision Africa - Give a Child a Future is working to try to secure a better future for some of these children.  The task is almost overwhelming and your support is greatly appreciated.

"It's like being born in a prison - only there is no end to your sentence"
Vera Packard, Vision Africa Field Director.

Updated May 5007

Copyright © 2007 Vision Africa - Give a Child a Future

e-mail:  info @ vision-africa.org