Street children in Kenya are perceived as ‘chokora’ – a Swahili word associated with scavenging for food from rubbish tips. Nairobi’s street children are from diverse backgrounds. Some are from abusive homes or have been abandoned by their parents. Others have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS or dropped out of school to support their families.
AMREF’s Dagoretti Child in Need Project is a model for community-based child-care and support for street children as well as for children from slums and other disadvantaged backgrounds. The project involves a process known as the 4-Rs: Rescue, Rehabilitation, Re-socialisation and Reintegration.
AMREF operates a centre in Dagoretti, which caters for 180 children. It assists the children in re-joining the Kenyan school system or to begin vocational training programmes. The children visit the centre on a daily basis and are given food, health care and counselling. They are also helped to find and reunite with their families. Where this is not possible, AMREF searches for suitable guardians within the local community.
The children can also take part in the theatre rehabilitation programme which allows them to find self-confidence and self-expression though acting, dancing and other theatre forms.
Main aims of the programme:
- To rescue, rehabilitate, resocialise and reintegrate abandoned and vulnerable children back into the family unit and community
- To increase community understanding and awareness of the rights of children as a way of stemming the flow of children on to the streets
- To increase vulnerable children’s access to basic education and vocational training opportunities
- To increase vulnerable children’s access to basic health services and information
- To establish a sustainable child-care and support model for street children, which could be scaled up and replicated in other communities
Key achievements:
- Over 300 children have been given educational opportunities; approximately 100 have received vocational training
- Improvement in the health and social status of the children in Dagoretti - at least 500 children can now access health care and health education
- 20 active life skills clubs have been established in the community
- Increased community participation in the promotion of child rights and well being
