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Kenya   Why children in Kenya need your helpForty per cent of Kenyan families live on less than $2 a day, and the recent prolonged 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 and AIDS is also having a devastating impact on children in Kenya, with over one million children orphaned and more than 100,000 children living with HIV themselves. Many of these children struggle to find the care and support they need. Country factsKenya achieved independence from Britain in 1963, with Jomo Kenyatta, of the Kenya African National Union Party, becoming thefirst President of independent Kenya. 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. Despite this, Kenya continues to suffer from issues of governance, ranking 147 out of 181 on Transparency International's CPI Index. 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.
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With many families eking out an existence as subsistence
farmers, the situation for many children is dire: diarrhoea,
respiratory infections, malnutrition, malaria, HIV and AIDS are
contributing to the country's high child mortality rate. Twenty
per cent of children under five are underweight.
