Update: Kenya Post-Election Violence
4/02/2009
In November we updated you on ChildFund's emergency response to the post-election violence that occurred in Kenya one year ago. Our focus in the last report was primarily on emergency response. But much of our work also involved improving the community's ability to protect its women and children now and in the future.
ChildFund worked in partnership with local and national government authorities, community leaders and other international NGOs to provide services and address key child protection issues. Two senior ChildFund Alliance specialists in Gender Based Violence and Child Protection provided training support.
The first task was to assess the nature of risks threatening children and families and how the community was currently dealing with abuse and similar issues. To obtain community support six community meetings were held involving an estimated 600 community representatives. This community involvement was pivotal to the success of the project.
Protecting women and children
Because the violence had resulted in a dramatic rise in the number of women and girls being raped, project staff and social workers were trained in child protection and Gender Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response. This meant that they could teach people how to protect themselves and their families, and how to respond to the aftermath of any abuse.
In detail:
- Three Child Well Being Committees were set up composed of well respected community volunteers. Thirty-one of these community volunteers were trained in child protection and GBV prevention and they passed on their knowledge through outreach activities to a total of 607 youth and adults. In turn, 160 youth who were trained then conducted 12 community protection activities reaching a total of 1,654 people.
- Twelve community protection committees were set up to assess problems, provide advice and liaise with agencies such as ChildFund and the UN's Peace Volunteers programme.
- Three social workers were given specialised training in child protection, GBV prevention, counselling and referral services.
- To aid survivors of violence referral networks were mapped out involving 30 service providers including teachers, health workers, police, social workers, counsellors and para-legal officers. This means that survivors have people they can turn to for support, treatment and justice.
Safe spaces for children and mothers
ChildFund set up Child Centred Spaces in three informal settlement areas (often referred to as slums) in Nairobi with the goal of helping to protect children and help them cope.
ChildFund New Zealand's Laura Patterson visited the Mathare slum at the end of last year and spoke to children, adults and volunteers.
"A young girl said that attending the Child Centred Space helped her to learn about the care and protection of her body. It made her much more aware of her rights and how to stay safe," says Laura.
Children also came face to face with children of other tribes. The political situation had divided communities along tribal lines, but the children came to realise that they were not different.
One child said: "We thought people had different blood, but we found out people have the same blood. I found friends and learned how to look after them.'
When the Child Centred Spaces (CCS) were established, they were supplied with tents, chairs, tables, mats, play and learning materials, safe water dispensers, mobile toilets, and food. Twenty-four activity leaders were recruited and trained to lead age-appropriate recreation and informal learning activities. They used different activities to accommodate very young children, youth and young mothers.
Activities for mothers were not originally planned but it became clear that the CCS provided a perfect opportunity to educate and support them. As a result, mothers attended lectures on child protection, child development and nutrition, positive parenting, reproductive health and preventative healthcare.
During discussions, mothers voiced their appreciation for the chance to learn more and also for the chance to meet and socialise with their peers – especially those outside their own ethnic and religious affiliations.
Successful outcomes
By the end of the project, an average of 1,221 children and more than 200 mothers were regularly attending the three CCSs. The children benefited from a safe play environment, while the mothers learned the importance of child protection and health issues.
Children also learnt life skills around personal hygiene, how to react to inappropriate touching, and learning where safe havens and risky areas were in their community.
Supervised play promoted mental and emotional well being of the children. At the start of the project, some children from different ethnic backgrounds refused to play with each other. However, by the end of the second month, all children were freely mingling and interacting happily with each other.
Children became more aware of their rights and more active in their own communities. Children from Korogocho formed a 'Bunge la watoto' or children's parliament and engaged parents, teachers, NGOs in a debate on child protection issues. As a result the local MP opened a children's desk at her constituency office for children to voice their concerns.
The CCSs were funded until September. When Laura Patterson arrived in November one of the CCSs was still going with the help of volunteers. Community members were so impressed with the positive impact of the CCSs that they are determined to continue the good work.
