Kenya Country Information

Fact and Figures

Location - East Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, Sudan and Tanzania

Capital - Nairobi

Population - 40 million

People - Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%

Language - English, Kiswahili, numerous indigenous languages

Religion - Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, indigenous beliefs 10%, Muslim 10%, other 2%

Literacy rate - 85.1%

Life expectancy - 58.8 years

% Living below $1.25/day - 20%

Sources The CIA World Fact Book 2008, Compassion International, www.news.bbc.co.uk

Kenya

Kenya, revered by many as the ‘cradle of humanity’, is justly famous for its expansive game reserves, the magnificent Rift Valley and the powerful Maasai Mara tribes. But it is also home to a nation struggling under the weight of abject poverty, high unemployment, crime and drought.

Kenya achieved its independence from Britain in 1963 and after years of violent unrest, corruption and political power-wrangling, international pressure saw the restoration of the political scene to multi-party politics in the early 1990s. The beginnings of economic recovery accompanied the landslide victory of President Mwai Kibaki in 2002, but just three years later the party splintered and a new opposition coalition was formed.

Kibaki's re-election in December 2007 brought charges of vote rigging from the opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, and unleashed two months of violence in which as many as 1,500 people died. Power sharing negotiations eventually brought Odinga into the government in the restored position of prime minister.

Although the tourist industry is thriving, life is a daily battle for Kenya’s poor. With more than half the population living on less than 60p a day, many young people move to the cities in search of employment, only to end up on the streets. An estimated 250,000 children roam the streets and AIDS has orphaned many more, with about 14 per cent of the population infected. 1.9 million children have been forced into working as casual labourers without pay, leaving them bereft of educational opportunities and their childhood.

Compassion’s church-based projects are seeking to reverse this trend, setting children at a place of importance at the table of Kenya’s future. Currently there are over 70,139 registered children in more than 287 projects since Compassion began work in Kenya in 1980.

Compassion Kenya currently has 32 Child Survival Programmes.

Over 70,139 children are currently being assisted in more than 287 Child Sponsorship Programmes in Kenya.

Compassion Kenya currently has 261 active Leadership Development Programme students.