ECOS: Blue Economy and Coastal Ecosystem in Kenya

Dear Donors,

We are glad to share with all of you the first updating report of this project. Our project “ECOS: Blue Economy and Coastal Ecosystem in Kenya”, on one hand aims to support children in condition of vulnerability in Kilifi County and on the other hand wants to rise awareness promoting fair and environmentally friendly behaviors. Our local colleague Francesca, based in Kilifi, has realized an analysis of the local association and organizations that work with children in need in the County in order to start new collaborations.

We looked for an organization whose mission is respecting the rights of each and every child. We are really happy to start a new joined path with the local association “Kesho Kenya” as a partner in our pilot environmental project. Kesho was born in 2004 thanks to a small group of locals expressing their shared concern about the lack of educational opportunities for children in Kilifi. They set up a small committee and begun paying fees for some children. During the years the beneficiaries has grown and now their mission is advancing access to education and employment for vulnerable young people living in the coast of Kenya, through a long-term holistic integrated approach. The wider vision is living in a coast of Kenya where all young people are educated, fulfil their potential and broaden their experience of the world, irrespective of poverty, ethnicity, gender, religion or special needs.

Education sponsorship is the backbone of Kesho programming since the children in charge without a financial support would not have the opportunity to join school or may drop out. Moreover, during the holidays, the local organization provide training and enrichment activities for the beneficiaries (for example, career guidance, sexual reproductive health and rights mentorship, leadership and ICT). Kesho also runs a resource center where boys and girls can find time to read, have group discussions, interacts and share experiences among themselves with their peers and mentors.

You can read more about Kesho Kenya at the following link: https://keshokenya.org/

According to this premise, Aleimar has recognized in Kesho an important local partner and for these reasons we want to include its recipients in the environmental education paths and intercultural workshops organized within the project “ECOS”. We really hope that this partnership will lead to a really positive impact on the local community.

All of you can chose to support our joint mission and become part of our project!

Thank you!