Children in general, and Orphans and Vulnerable Children specifically, form a significant proportion of the vulnerable population in the area of operations of our organization. The other vulnerable populations include the elderly, People with Disability (PWDs), people with chronic illnesses, Women-Headed Households, street families, food-insecure households, unemployed youths and marginalized populations. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of Orphans and vulnerable children. In Makueni County alone, over 56% of the children are classified as multidimensional poor (County Government of Makueni, 2023), meaning they are disadvantaged in terms of educational opportunities, access to housing, nutrition, access to water, and child protection.

The vulnerable children are also generally disenfranchised of their basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed by the Constitution. The proportion of multidimensional poverty among children in Makueni County is even higher than the national average, which stands at 52.5%. The situation in Kajiado is not any better although available statistics (County Government of Kajiado, 2018) does not readily reveal the exact proportions.

To better the above situation, we work through informal community based child protection mechanisms to protect children from all forms of harm and abuse while at the same time striving towards improving and strengthening them. It also sustainably links these informal mechanisms to the formal ones that are operated by the government.