When COVID19 stops schools reopening what happens to the children? In Kericho County, Kenya the children are working in the fields, collecting water and firewood, vulnerable, tired, hungry and open to exploitation. They are losing out on their childhood, losing out on learning. This project will change that by supporting community based learning groups to bring children together in small groups where they can learn, thrive and be safe for part of everyday.
Schools in Kenya closed in March and will stay closed until January 2021. Families in Kericho County, Kenya survive on subsistence farming in an area without access to clean water, electricity or adequate health care. COVID-19 has resulted in unemployment and no household income. Children are working in the fields alongside their parents. They are exhausted, sadness and tiredness can be seen in their eyes. They are losing their childhood. We have a duty to protect their right to education.
This project will set up community based learning groups of 15 children with 2 volunteer teachers. The children will be enabled to focus on their school subjects as well as life skills, time for play and social skills. They will be fed every day with hot food because they are hungry with many families struggling to make ends meet. Girls are especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation while schools are closed - this project will protect them with support and a safe place to be.
This project will keep the benefits of education alive for 1,000 children and their teachers. It will protect the children from becoming part of the 'lost generation' that will result from COVID-19. Without education their choices and opportunities are limited and their futures bleak. Parents will be supported by this project to celebrate their children's childhood and encourage the value they place on school which in the long term is their best way out of poverty and onto a brighter future.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
