Mathare is home to a large informal settlement in the heart of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. There are more than 2500 sponsored children in this urban community, which faces very different challenges to rural areas. People have no access to land to grow their own food and have to rely entirely on what they can buy, but work is often hard to come by and many families face the constant threat of hunger as the cost of living rises.
The area is also often the place where violent protests and civil unrest erupts, including the riots in mid 2023 over rising costs. Many homes are built using whatever materials can be found on the edge of the river and floods and fires caused by illegal electricity connections frequently cause widespread destruction. There are higher rates of HIV than in other parts of the country as a result of prostitution, and significant child protection problems like abuse and child marriage. These are compounded by the transient nature of the community, as families tend to relocate often in search of better opportunities, making monitoring children’s wellbeing challenging.
Child sponsorship is working to help families establish reliable livelihoods so they can provide food, a home, education and other essentials for their children. The savings for transformation programme is working in the community to help mothers and caregivers to create a plan for how to earn an income, and save, borrow and manage the money they need to bring it to life. They also have the chance to learn new business skills and apply for start up capital through the project. Families with children with disabilities are a special target for the project because of the additional challenges they face in supporting their families, from the extra costs of medical care to the loss of income earning opportunities caused by the extra time needed to care for the child.
Sponsorship has been a lifeline for Rebecca, Sandra and their whole family
Sandra is 12 years old and was born with cerebral palsy, the youngest of 5 children. Her father and two older brothers abandoned the family when she was diagnosed as a baby, saying she was a curse and leaving her mother to look after her and support the family alone. Life was very difficult and in 2020, her mother became sick and died. Sandra’s older sister Rebecca had to drop out of school to care for her and her 13 year old brother. Now with 3 children of her own, Rebecca and her husband, who has irregular work as a mechanic, fight a daily battle to feed and care for the family of 7.
Sandra’s condition means she needs medication, regular therapy, and incontinence diapers, which all come at a high cost for the family. They live in one room on the top floor of a seven story building, which makes it difficult to move Sandra around. She needs constant care and so Rebecca can’t leave the home to work, putting further financial pressure on the family. Sandra is malnourished and often sick, and then needs extra medication that they can’t afford.
World Vision sponsorship is helping Sandra to get the support she needs. The local community development facilitator works closely with the family, providing counselling as well as advocacy, even negotiating with their landlord when they were locked out of their home for late payment of the rent. A GN has helped Sandra to get a wheelchair, nutrition supplements to help her get to a healthy weight and assistance to pay for her medication.
World Vision is now helping Sandra to be assessed and certified as a person with a disability and for Rebecca to be legally recognised as her guardian so they can access badly needed government assistance. Rebecca has also received psychosocial and trauma support to help her cope with the mental toll of the situation, and training and start up capital to start a small fish farming business to supplement the family’s income. However, she has to rely on customers coming to her as Sandra’s restricted mobility means she cannot open a store elsewhere.
Though the family’s situation is still precarious, Rebecca says World Vision has cared for them in their darkest times and helped them survive. Sponsorship has been a lifeline for Rebecca, Sandra and their whole family:
- Giving love, care, counselling and emotional support for Rebecca
- Providing a wheelchair, nutritional supplements and medication for Sandra
- Supporting Rebecca to be legally recognised as Sandra’s guardian so they can access government support
- Helping Rebecca to start her own business to earn a regular income.