Kenya
Kenya is the primary financial and communications hub of East Africa. It also serves as the regional headquarters for HelpAge International's work in Africa.
Despite its strategic importance, many Kenyans live in poverty and have inadequate access to education, health services and food. Kenya, like other African countries, has also struggled with the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
There are currently 1.1 million children orphaned by HIV and AIDS in the country, many of whom are cared for by their grandparents or older people in the community.
Working closely with partners, we:
- carry out HIV and AIDS education
- campaign on pensions and economic support for older people
- raise awareness on rights violations against older people
- educate the younger generation on the contribution older people make
- support an older citizens monitoring programme - in which older people record whether peers are getting social benefits
- coordinate and collaborate with partners for emergency relief efforts targeting older people.
Life story: Hareda Sheikh Yakub, 87
Hareda Sheikh Yakub, 87, is a widow from Mandera, Kenya. She is a pastorialist and is blind in one eye.
Gacheru Maina/HelpAge International 2011
Hareda Sheikh Yakub, 87, is a widow from Mandera, Kenya.
She is a pastorialist and is blind in one eye. She used to have 50 cattle but most of them have died.
She receives food vouchers, worth around $16USD as part of a HelpAge programme run with partner RACIDA.
She says: "During my life, animals always used to have pasture. There was enough milk and meat for us. Now the farms are dry and the rain patterns unpredictable. I have a dairy goat but it is not producing any milk.
"With my food voucher, I buy sugar, maize meal and tea leaves. If there is a small balance, I treat my grandchildren and buy them chewing gum. I look after my late son's daughter.
"She is 12 years old but does not go to school. We can't afford it. She is my eye and my helper. I pray for her to have a better life."
The difference we made in 2010-11
- We helped older people in drought-stricken areas by providing food and other items.
- As a result of advocacy work including HelpAge's Age Demands Action campaign in 2011, the Kenyan government increased the amount allocated to the Older People's Cash Transfer programme to Kshs. 1 billion.
- We raised awareness through the media on witchcraft accusations against of older people.
What next?
Over the next year, we will:
- Influence and promote change in national policies and government action, local authorities and non-state actors to ensure the rights of older people are better protected.
- Build older people's knowledge on how to access healthcare.
- Work with the media to advocate older people's issues, including access to social protection, the impact of HIV and AIDS and inclusion in emergency responses.
- Raise awareness of older people's needs in emergencies with humanitarian actors.
Our affiliates
HelpAge Kenya, Kenya Society for People with AIDS (KESPA)
Our partners
Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP), Rural Agency for Community Development and Assistance (RACIDA), District Pastoralists Association Wajir (DPAW), Pastoralist Integrated Support Programme (PISP), Anglican Church of Kenya, Mt. Kenya Region Christian Community Service, Ahero Joot Social Services (AJSS), Assumption Sisters of Nairobi (IAP), St Francis Asumbi HelpAge Program
Our donors
Academy for Educational Development, European Union, UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women), Big Lottery Fund, HelpAge International, National Aids Control Council, Age UK, American Jewish World Service (AJWS), Africa Women's Development Fund (AWDF), Australian Overseas Aid (AUSAID), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, BMZ - German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), CORDAID, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Comic Relief, Community Development Trust Fund (CTDF), Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF), Danish Government - Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Department for International Development (DFID), European Commission (EC), European Commission - Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), Ford Foundation, Guernsey/Jersey (Island Donors), Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), Mensen met een Missie (People on a mission), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), NZ AID, New Zealand, Rocker Feller Foundation, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Stephen Lewis Foundation, United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (UNOCHA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), UNIFEM, United States Agency for International Development USAID (also through PEPFAR), World Food Programme (WFP), World Bank
