 |
    |
 
Kenya   Why children in Kenya need your helpMany Kenyan families live on less than $1 a day, and the long-running regional drought has left millions of people short of food. Rains when they do appear often result in severe flooding, causing further damage to crops and livestock.
The incidence of HIV/AIDS is also having a devastating impact on children in Kenya, with over one million children left orphans with no means of support. HIV/AIDS is largely responsible for the decrease in life expectancy in the country. Country factsKenya achieved independence from Britain in 1963, with Jomo Kenyatta, of the Kenya African National Union Party, becoming the country's first black president. He was succeeded by Daniel Arap Moi, who remained in power for 24 years. Following international pressure and internal unrest, multi-party politics were eventually reintroduced with current president Mwai Kibaki becoming president in 2002. The cultures, religions, traditions and languages of more than 40 tribes bring Kenya to life. But this diversity has its own problems, with food insecurity resulting in groups conducting cattle raids on neighbouring tribes in rural areas. The ensuing violence has resulted in the displacement of thousands of people, who leave their homes in search of safety elsewhere.
|
With many families
eking out an existence as subsistence farmers, the situation for
many children is dire: diarrhea, respiratory infections,
malnutrition, malaria and HIV/AIDS are contributing to increasing
child mortality. Twenty per cent of children under the age of
five are underweight for their age.
