With a population approaching 42 million, of which just under half are deemed to be living below the poverty line, Kenya continues to face a legacy of civil unrest following the post-election violence in 2007, and problems caused by lack of education, drought and famine.

Workaid has been working with projects in the rural areas, especially in Western Kenya, and also in the inner-city slums of Nairobi. By working with projects in the poorest regions Workaid has been able to tackle poverty in a practical way, empowering people to learn trade skills that will help them find employment or establish small businesses.

Over the years we have established many good contacts with Kenyans who are our representatives in-country. Mr Christopher Otsinde, Education Secretary for the Catholic Diocese of Kisii is our main partner and is responsible not only for making assessment visits to applicants but also for handling the release of our shipping containers and organising the distribution of goods to the projects.

Another representative is Rev. Daniel On’gayi of Chritoco Resource Centre in Emuhaya District. He has extensive training in working with disabled people and assesses projects for Workaid especially those supporting people with physical and learning disabilities.

Update

Unfortunately, as of mid-2020 we are no longer sending containers to Kenya making Container Irene our last. This has come as a result of mounting regulatory requirements imposed by the Kenyan Bureau of Standards (KEBS) which now stipulate that each container needs to be packed and sealed in a single day under the supervision of an approved inspector. It’s an increased pressure on our volunteers manoeuvring heavy equipment and difficulty finding suitable outdoor storage space before its final packing. With great reluctance, we have had to withdraw our support in Kenya but this will not impede our commitment to the projects we support in the countries where we work in.

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