Update from Mweiga, Kenya

World Vision is helping to provide families in Mweiga with the tools and training needed to make positive changes in their community. Economic empowerment is also helping to stabilise families and improve children’s wellbeing. 

Across Kenya, there are many problems which violate the rights of children, like early marriage, female circumcision and violence against children.

In Mweiga, 1,000 children in 20 schools have been trained in life skills and children’s rights. The children are passing this knowledge onto their peers and family members.

Fifty community members and faith leaders were also trained in children’s rights, growing their understanding of all forms of violence against children.

World Vision is helping people learn to identify child protection issues and teaching them how to identify, report and avoid incidences that violate children’s rights. We partner with local law enforcement and government, so that they can respond appropriately to these reports.

Collective awareness of children’s rights and ways to handle abuse is important to break the ongoing cycle of violation of children’s rights. By working alongside communities to raise awareness of child rights, World Vision aims to make communities safer places for children to grow up.

Training has equipped 1,257 people to set up and operate savings groups. These groups help members to work towards a financial goal, anything from paying school fees for their children to starting a small business. Savings groups help parents plan their finances better, so they are more prepared for financial strain and can support their children’s needs.

Working alongside government officers, 20 farmer groups have been trained to improve their produce, access better markets and attract better prices. 200 youths have learned about youth entrepreneurship, developing their business skills and receiving financial training. Sixty-two health volunteers have been trained in maternal and child nutrition and are sharing their knowledge with mothers’ groups in the community.

As the community works together, it creates a halo effect of economic growth that can benefit the entire region. The end goal is a more prosperous community, where families have the resources to provide a good life for their children.