Programs in Kenya
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) works to ensure the protection and well-being of conflict-affected populations, refugees, and the host community of Kenya. We do this through advocacy, emergency relief assistance, capacity building and comprehensive health and HIV/AIDS programming.
The IRC in Kenya’s overall strategy for refugees is to increase their skills and knowledge so they can administer camp programs themselves and then utilize these skills when they are able to repatriate.
HEALTH & HIV/AIDS The IRC has been providing essential health care in Kakuma refugee camp since 1992 and has managed the camp’s entire health sector since January 1997. We offer curative and preventative health, nutrition, community outreach, HIV/AIDS and environmental health programs. For example, we manage a 120-bed hospital complete with laboratory, run 3 clinics, and operate a center for basic occupational therapy. We treat malnourished children at our feeding centers, train community health workers to raise awareness about good health practices, and ensure safe sanitation and pest control.
From our office in Lodwar, the IRC runs a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention and control program in the Greater Turkana District. We work with local partners, including the Kakuma District Hospital, to offer services including voluntary counseling and testing, as well as home-based care. In February 2008, we gave the hospital a CD4 Count Machine which allows staff to monitor a patient’s immune system, analyze the progression of HIV, and determine whether they need anti retro-viral drugs.
We also provide HIV education and prevention messages through community mobilization campaigns to groups including humanitarian workers, refugees, local communities, the Kenyan Army, commercial sex workers, and truck drivers.
EDUCATION The IRC offers a range of adult education classes for refugees in Kakuma camp. The curriculum includes everything from English and Kiswahili to literacy and numeracy. Students can learn practical business management skills such as record-keeping and finance, as well as subjects such as peace and reconciliation, community development and general life-skills. Women-only classes have substantially increased the number of female students, and we work hard to help students with disabilities attend mainstream classes. We also provide a Train the Trainers course for non-IRC staff.
LIVELIHOODS The IRC is planning a new livelihoods program in the Greater Turkana, Nairobi and Trans Nzoia Districts. We will work with communities to develop sustainable solutions that provide income and alleviate poverty.
URBAN REFUGEES Female refugees in Nairobi are particularly vulnerable to poverty and human rights abuses. The IRC therefore helps seven women’s groups to access legal advice, human rights education and small business grants. For example, we’ve helped several women to establish biscuit-making businesses or start up tailoring services. We also advocate for refugee rights and raise awareness about the Refugees Act 2006, including training police officers and government officials.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE Hundreds of thousands of Kenyans were displaced by violence that followed presidential elections in December 2007. We worked in the Trans Nzoia District to provide more than 30,000 people with clean water, safe sanitation, education, protection and measures to combat gender-based violence. Now that the majority of displaced people have returned home, IRC remains on the ground helping communities to cope with the emotional and physical aftermath of the violence.
The IRC will maintain its emergency response capacity, making it ready to respond immediately and efficiently to future emergency situations.
KEY FIGURES
• We educated almost 7,000 people — both refugees and host community members — on HIV/AIDS prevention in Kakuma refugee camp in 2007.
• We trained 295 water committee members on how to maintain their water sources in 2007. Some 42% of trainees were women.
• We helped 984 female refugees and 1,501 male refugees within Nairobi access legal advice on asylum procedures.
• We helped 25,000 internally displaced people by constructing 276 latrines and 111 bathrooms in camps for people in West and East Kitale between February and June 2008.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Kellie Leeson, Country Director (ircnbi@kenya.theirc.org)
