Kenya

Inclusive Education (IE) in Garissa

Garissa is located in eastern Kenya. Here education is not a given. The area's educational institutions have been attacked several times by the Islamist jihadist group al-Shabaab, which originated from a former Somali Sharia Court, which has since been disbanded into smaller sections. There is therefore a need to create a safe educational framework and continuously to draw attention to the importance of children's schooling.

Garissa is located in the Tana River area, where a large portion of the population live as nomads. They move around, depending on where there is water and grass for their cattle. This means that the children have an interrupted schooling and at times do not go to school at all. That is why we focus especially on girls and children from the area's nomadic cultures.

Likewise, girls are often not prioritized when it comes to schooling. There is a tradition that they help in the home until they get married and then have to take care of their own household. We are therefore also working to improve the educational opportunities for girls in the area.

We work with the local schools, the children's parents and the Ministry of Education. Through advocacy among ministries and religious leaders, we are pushing to ensure that politicians and those in power are engaged and live up to the country's laws and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the country ratified in 1990.

The work of inclusive education in Kenya is part of the program, which is also being implemented in Tanzania, Sudan and South Sudan. It is financed through CISU (Civil Society in Development) with DKK 12.8 million over three years.

Human rights in Nakuru and Baringo

Since 2008, IAS DK has worked with peace, reconciliation and human rights in the area around Nakuru. The area was exposed to violent demonstrations and ethnic tensions after the 2007/2008 presidential election, and there was a great need for conflict mediation. Since 2013, human rights work has spread to the neighboring area of ​​Baringo. Together with our local partner, IAS DK here has a special focus on sexual and gender-based violence and on abolishing harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage.

Local civil society is being strengthened in their knowledge of rights and in this way they can put pressure on the government at a regional and national level. Government institutions are being strengthened in dealing with violations of rights and in living up to their responsibilities. Through loan-saving groups for women, families' finances are improved as part of the work to combat poverty.