KENYA
If you’ve ever fantasized about Africa – sleeping in the bush surrounded by wildlife beneath the broad African sky or walking with tribal people through places the first humans called home – then Kenya is for you. Kenya’s incredible natural environment and cultural heritage is almost unmatched in Africa. Revered by anthropologists as the ‘cradle of humanity’, Kenya is wild and a little dangerous. If you’re adventurous – and sensible – it promises the globe’s most magnificent wildlife parks, unblemished beaches, thriving coral reefs, memorable mountain scapes and ancient Swahili cities.
While Kenya’s beauty goes unchallenged, it is a country that is compromised by a cluster of developmental problems. Extreme poverty is a major problem as many are forced to live on less than $1 per day and as a consequence are denied access to education, food, clean water, basic shelter and clothing. HIV is also a major problem which undermines the family unit structure of society and thus, the working of society as a whole. Kenya has also recently experienced major floods and drought which lead to food shortages that were deemed a national crisis. Whereas Kenya’s ethnic diversity has produced a vibrant culture, it is also a source of conflict that has led to ethnic fighting. Kenya is a country that needs support so its people can advance towards the same opportunities as others take for granted around the world.
LOCATION
Geographically Kenya lies across the equator on the East Coast of Africa. It borders Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south and the Indian Ocean to the east. Kenya covers an area of 225, 000 sq miles; slightly more than twice the size of Nevada, U.S.A. Its has a population size of 36,913,721 (2007 est.).
ECONOMY
Kenya is considered to be the regional hub for trade and finance in the East Africa region. However its dominance has long been hampered by corruption and a reliance on several primary goods – tea, coffee, horticultural products, fish, cement – whose value has remained low. Since 1993 the government of Kenya has implemented a program of economic liberalization and reform. With the support of the World Bank, IMF and other international donors these reforms led to a turnaround in economic performance following a period of negative growth in the early 1990s. From 1997 however, economic performance was hampered by the government’s failure to continue reform and stomp out corruption. Severe drought also caused problems creating water and energy rationing and reducing agricultural output. It wasn’t until 2002 when the Kibaki government took power that improvement came. The current government still has much work to do to halt corruption but they have had economic success with GDP growing more than 5% in 2006.
Long-term barriers to economic development include electricity shortages, the government’s continued and inefficient dominance of key sectors, endemic corruption, and the country’s high population growth rate.
EDUCATION
It is the goal of Kenyan children to get an education so they have the skills to overcome poverty and advance towards a future where their voice is heard. The Kenyan education system aims to achieve the goal of quality education for all.
Following a promise made in 1963 the Kenyan government made primary education free in government schools in 2003. Since then enrollment rates have skyrocketed and schools have been left unable to cope. Overcrowding is rampant and there are not enough trained teachers to fulfill all the positions needed. As a result, children are not getting the required attention and grades are slipping. Strategies to achieve basic, quality education for all in Kenya are not succeeding. It is estimated that only 24 percent of Kenya’s children advance to secondary school. While only about 2% attend university and other higher education institutions.
