Imagine a land where over half of the population lives in poverty. Where seven percent of the adult population is living with HIV and the life expectancy is 49 years of age. Where school enrollment continues to decline and health standards have reached a new low. Where per capita annual income is $371 and a 12 percent inflation rate is strangling the working man’s economy...

... Kenya is a country in Central Africa, slightly larger than France in area, bordering Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan and the Indian Ocean. It is a place rich in culture and promise, but has a long history of colonial rule by non-Africans including the Portuguese, Omani Arabs, the Dutch, Germans, and British. During the British rule of Kenya in the early 20th century, European farmers settled in the Kenyan highlands to grow coffee and tea, while the land claims of indigenous populations were ignored. Local peoples were forced to work as laborers on European farms in order to pay British imposed taxes.

In October 1952 the six-year Mau Mau rebellion against British rule began. Although unsuccessful, it ultimately led to open elections that, in 1963, brought about independence under the rule of Jomo Kenyatta and the Kenya African National Union (KANU). After Kenyatta’s death in 1978, Daniel arap Moi presided for 23 years. Charges of corruption and a weakening economic situation eventually led to fair and open elections in December 2002. Moi stepped down after Mwai Kibaki of the National Rainbow Coalition defeated KANU by running on an anti-corruption platform.

Today government programs are in place aimed at alleviating poverty, improving access to healthcare and increasing primary school enrollment, but more help is needed in this struggling region of the world than the government of Kenya can provide.

Watoto Wa Dunia is working to help the people of Kenya break the cycle of poverty and improve the standard of living. The sponsorship program helps disadvantaged children enroll and stay in schools. The microenterprise program allows people to start their own home businesses and create their own employment opportunities, which creates the necessary conditions for their children stay in school. Each and every day in Kenya, Watoto Wa Dunia is helping local communities tackle the lack of education, healthcare, and employment that they face. You can read about their work and some of the people whose lives have been changed in the following articles.

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