Sponsorship in Kenya
CFCA has served in Kenya since 1989. Children of all ages are sponsored in primary schools, secondary schools, orphanages, and centers for homeless children and those affected by HIV/AIDS. CFCA also serves aging persons in the Kenya projects.
At the remote Matiri project, most people are farmers. As one part of their benefits, sponsored families receive a female goat for milk and breeding. The goats produce kids, which can be sold to purchase food, pay for children’s high school or college fees, or meet other needs. The families also receive benefits that assist with educational and nutritional needs.
In the Nairobi project, CFCA works with community-based programs in and around the capital. Child sponsorship helps cover school fees, boarding fees and school supplies for children and youth, as well as food and medical care, and nutrition for the children, youth and aging, among other benefits. The project also works with groups of mothers of sponsored children to increase their participation in the program. Through the mothers groups, women are building individual savings, gaining access to small loans, becoming more involved in the selection of their children’s benefits, and developing a sense of pride and belonging in their own small group.
The Juja project assists high-risk children, many of whom are Somali refugees. Benefits include the payment of school fees, which offsets the high cost of education in Kenya and allows them to attend school when they otherwise would not have been able to. The project also assists both sponsored children and aging with nutrition, medical care and other benefits.
In Timau, which is also located near Mt. Kenya, the CFCA program focuses on education for sponsored children and adult literacy for the aging. The Timau project has a strong program for young people to gain technical skills such as carpentry and tailoring, in addition to providing nutritional and medical benefits.
Read a letter from Peter Ndungo, Nairobi project coordinator.
 About Kenya
Kenya, in East Africa, is a country of beautiful coastlines, arid plains and fertile highlands. Eighty-five percent of the Kenyan population resides in the central highlands, which make up one of the most fruitful agricultural regions in Africa.
Kenya is known for its exotic birds and abundant wildlife, including big-game animals, which are found in Kenya’s many nature reserves. The Indian Ocean coastline and its exotic wildlife have made Kenya a popular tourist destination, with tourism accounting for a large part of the country’s gross domestic product.
Three-fourths of the people live in rural areas, and most people are dependent on agriculture. However, the economy is reasonably diversified, including the manufacture of small-scale consumer goods.
Kenya has long been known to be a country of relative political stability since its independence in 1964. Although the country experienced devastating violence and upheaval following the elections in December 2007, people have worked hard to stabilize the country and renew a sense of peace. Endemic corruption and low commodity prices in the world market pose major obstacles to economic development.
Although Kenya has experienced some successes in its economic and educational systems in the past decade, high unemployment, poverty and diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria remain serious problems. Widespread HIV/AIDS infection has caused Kenya’s death rate to soar.
The people
The majority of Kenya’s population is made up of indigenous Africans who belong to about 40 different ethnic groups. Each group has its own language and traditional way of life. Mainstream Kenyan culture is influenced by Asia, Europe and other parts of Africa.
Kenyans place a high value on large families, and have historically had many children to help with farm work. The traditional extended family system creates close-knit communities, especially in the rural areas. Farmers work very hard but still make time for social interaction with their neighbors, often expressed in communal music and dancing. Village and town markets are vibrant centers for communication and social life.
Small farm settlements dot the rural areas, where many families struggle just to produce enough food for survival. Most rural dwellers live in small houses with thatched roofs, earthen floors and walls made of mud bricks.
 Education
The 2002 presidential election in Kenya brought about significant changes in the educational system. The first act of the newly-elected president was to declare universal free education in the public schools at the primary level. While school administrators have made efforts to address the flood of students into the primary schools, overcrowding remains an issue.
Primary and secondary school children in Kenya attend school from January to December, and institutions of higher education are generally in session from September to July.
The Kenyan government pays the salaries of teachers in all registered schools throughout the country. However, all other costs associated with running a school are the burden of the parents. Officially, primary education is free, but there are many other school-related expenses to cover additional and incidental expenses, including notebooks, uniforms and other costs.
Most parents value education and see it as the key to a better life for their children, but the cost of education is often more than families can afford. Secondary tuition is exceptionally high, and only about one-quarter of students advance to the secondary level.
Sponsor a child in Kenya
Sources:
World Factbook
MSN Encarta Encyclopedia
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