Kenya
For over thirty years, we have been working in this African country to promote the development of local communities, working with the poorest sections of the population. To this end, In partnership with our founding members, we focus on education and training in the suburbs of Nairobi, in Kibera, one of Africa's largest slums, and in Dadaab, the most populated refugee camp on the planet.
Founding members
"Even in the most desperate situations, from the misery of the slums to the refugee camps, there is always hope. We saw people being reborn. Now, they are adults with a family and a job. We have established schools and works that support thousands of people, thanks to a path that has people at its core, making them capable and responsible"
AVSI in Kenya is working with several local partners to implement projects and manage works in the capital, Nairobi, and in the refugee camp at Dadaab, near the border with Somalia, and in rural areas.
St. Kizito's School. St. Kizito's School is one of three professional schools run by AVSI in Kenya. Situated on the outskirts of Nairobi since 1994, each year, it offers 350 boys and girls the opportunity to obtain a vocational qualification. The school works alongside 30 local businesses to provide training with businesses, internships and job placements. These works were carried out thanks to co-financing from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), the European Union and private donors.
The Little Prince and the commitment to education. In addition to vocational training, we have also done some educational work, such as creating and supporting the Little Prince Primary School, a primary school with attached kindergarten that welcomes more than 300 children, Cardinal Otunga secondary school, a secondary school with 120 students in Nairobi, and San Riccardo Pampuri Primary School, a primary school in the village of Mutuati, with 350 children. The schools were built and are supported mostly through private donors.
For orphans and children most at risk. Every year, thanks to the distance support program, more than 3,000 orphans and vulnerable children will be supported by way of significant socio-educational work that enables children to go to school and provides households with more nutrition and hygiene information, and strengthens their professional capabilities. It works alongside 800 schools. USAID and UNICEF are donors who have co-financed works to help these families.
Agri-business, nutrition and electricity in rural areas. In the village of Mutuati, in the county of Meru, we have started by supplying cows to families with malnourished children and creating a cooperative of farmers to collect and sell the surplus of milk, and set up a savings and loan credit union involving 700 families and directly employing 32 people. Works to provide electricity to rural areas, in partnership with an Italian business, and to increase the capacity of local farmers are ongoing in the county of Meru.
In Dadaab for Somali refugees. AVSI has operated inside the Dadaab refugee camp since 2009, where we have been recognized as a leader in the fields of education and teacher training. Here, we have trained about 2,000 teachers and renovated or built 327 new primary school classes, also thanks to the close cooperation we received from institutional and local partners. Today, AVSI is working on training projects for 1000 primary school teachers, proposing refresher courses and courses in the Somali language. These are officially recognized by Government authorities and financially supported by the European Union, UNICEF and the US Government (BPRM).