Written by: Isaac B

Kenya is a country in the East of Africa. Their Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.601 meaning that their HDI is in the 60s percentage wise. GDP is the amount of money a country makes per year, it gives a brief overview of how well a country is doing and how many jobs may be available in a country. Kenya has a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of 98.84 Billion dollars USD which is a lot which tells us that Kenya is doing well in money and has a lot of jobs available for its population of 53.77 million people. 81.5% of Kenya’s population are literate meaning they can read and write so about 43822550 citizens of Kenya can read and write while 9947450 can’t.

There are quite a few Non Government and Not For Profit Organisations trying to help Kenya but the one that stood out to me the most was one about shining a light on child abuse in Kenya. Child abuse is a really terrible issue around the world. ‘Shine a Light on Child Abuse in Kenya’ aims to give children the opportunity to seek help from child abuse by making Kenya a safer place for them. They have provided over 200 children refuge from an abusive family which is a lot. Their goal is to raise $200,964 dollars and so far they have 67.4% of that goal, that's $135,449, they are $65,515 dollars away from reaching that goal, here is a link if you would like to donate https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/shine-a-light-on-child-abuse-in-kenya/

A charity that I think would help Kenya a lot is one to raise money to better children's education and help to educate the 22.7% of Kenya’s population who are illiterate. This charity would help Kenya a lot to make more money as a country and have more jobs available. It would add to the economic growth exponentially and would just make the whole society of Kenya better. The greater effects of this charity would be that the unemployment rate would drop with more people being educated which would in turn lower the rate of homelessness because people would have enough money to buy or rent a place to live.

These charities I have talked about today will work to better the safeness and hospitality in Kenya and will make the unemployment rate drop exponentially. They will also help to bring in more money to the country which will in turn make the country a nicer and more affordable place to live. I hope everyone that reads this will be moved to donate to these charities to make the overall wellbeing of Kenya so much better.

Bibliography:

Shine a Light on Child Abuse in Kenya, written by Martha Sunda

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/shine-a-light-on-child-abuse-in-kenya/

Date accessed: 1st June 2022

GlobalGiving, Author unknown

https://www.globalgiving.org/search/?size=25&nextPage=1&sortField=sortorder&selectedLocations=00kenya&loadAllResults=true

Date accessed: 1st June 2022

GDP current Kenya, Author unknown

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=KE

Date accessed: 29th May 2022

Written by: Sean M

Human Wellbeing In Kenya

By Sean Munjeri

5 key statistics about Kenya:

• Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020 was around 101 billion USD (GDP (current US$) - Kenya | Data, 2022)

• Kenya currently has a population of 56 million (Kenya Population (2022) - Worldometer, 2022)

• Kenya’s literacy rate of people aged 15 and over is around 82 % (Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - Kenya | Data, 2022)

• Kenya’s current Human Development Index (HDI) score is 0.579. (Human Development Index (HDI) by Country 2022, 2022)

• In 2021 16% of Kenya's population was making less than 1.90 USD per day. (Kenya: extreme poverty rate 2017-2021 | Statista, 2022)

Kenya’s human wellbeing is rated very low as its human development index score was only 0.579 making it 143rd in the world. This is due to its high rates of poverty, poor healthcare system and low economic productivity. Over 43% of the population is living in poverty. The nation’s health is a major factor of why it has a low HDI as people suffer from many infectious diseases such as HIV,tuberculosis, and malaria. (cdc.gov)

Asante Africa Foundation:

A non-government organisation(NGO) that addresses human wellbeing in Kenya is the Asante Africa foundation(AAF). They are a non-profit organisation whose aim is to empower youth by providing them with education in 88 rural schools. This initiative includes providing scholarships, educational and life skills for youth, and with the help of mentors building self confidence, teaching financial literacy and leadership skills. Based on their work and programs I think the AAF is very effective in improving human wellbeing in Kenya as it will produce more educated adults entering the workforce in the future and will result in higher employment rates in the country . With only a 53% secondary enrolment in the country NGO’s such as the AAF are vital for improving wellbeing in the country. (Kenya - Asante Africa Foundation, 2022)

Proposed Initiative:

To improve human wellbeing in Kenya I would propose an initiative to improve water and sanitation. Access to clean water is a factor that should be of very high priority to all countries. My initiative would involve providing wells, water tanks, the building of dams and improving water pipe connections to rural and urban areas to provide better access to clean water. It would also involve reducing the costs for water as they are much more expensive in rural areas than urban. Doing these things would result in an improvement of Kenya’s wellbeing. If people had access to clean and affordable water it would also improve people’s physical health, it would also improve the agriculture of the country as there would be enough water for farmers in rural areas to water plants and give to animals. Although an initiative like this would be costly it would create plenty of employment opportunities and would be a good boost to Kenya's struggling economy therefore greatly benefiting human wellbeing in the nation.

Bibliography:

Asanteafrica.org. 2022. Kenya - Asante Africa Foundation. [online] Available at: <https://asanteafrica.org/kenya/> [Accessed 3 June 2022].

2022. [online] cdc information Available at: <https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/kenya/why/default.htm#:~:text=In%20Kenya%2C%20where%20over%2043,HIV%2C%20tuberculosis%2C%20and%20malaria.> [Accessed 1 June 2022].

Data.worldbank.org. 2022. GDP (current US$) - Kenya | Data. [online] Available at: <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=KE> [Accessed 31 May 2022].

Data.worldbank.org. 2022. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - Kenya | Data. [online] Available at: <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.LITR.ZS?locations=KE> [Accessed 31 May 2022].

Statista. 2022. Kenya: extreme poverty rate 2017-2021 | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227076/extreme-poverty-rate-in-kenya/#:~:text=Some%2016%20percent%20of%20Kenya's,downward%20trend%20observed%20since%202017.> [Accessed 1 June 2022].

Worldometers.info. 2022. Kenya Population (2022) - Worldometer. [online] Available at: <https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/kenya-population/#:~:text=The%20current%20population%20of%20Kenya,the%20latest%20United%20Nations%20data.> [Accessed 31 May 2022].

Worldpopulationreview.com. 2022. Human Development Index (HDI) by Country 2022. [online] Available at: <https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/hdi-by-country> [Accessed 31 May 2022].

Written by: Flynn H

What is the level of Kenya’s wellbeing?

Kenya’s human wellbeing is pretty poor, as it ranks in the bottom third of wellbeing amongst all index countries, with its Human Development Index (HDI) ranking at 0.601. Even though Kenya has the most developed economy in Africa, its human wellbeing is low mainly because of the high poverty rate with 16.1% of the population in Kenya living below the international poverty line. Due to Kenya’s high poverty rate they also suffer high crime rates, kidnapping and civil unrest against the government, which is increasing at an alarming rate. Across the whole country, Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 101.01 billion US Dollar, telling us that income is extremely low. The monthly pay for an average worker in Kenya is horrific being $76 per month, meaning the average working hours per week in Kenya is 40 to 52 hours which is significantly higher than the average working hours across the world. 29% of the total population lives on less than $3.20 per day. Furthermore, Kenya has a high population density of 94.74 people per square kilometre, which means people are living in close proximity to each other. Additionally, only 59% of people in Kenya have access to safe drinking water, which is another contributing factor of poor human wellbeing. Overall Kenya has a stable but corrupt economy and government, but it has reasonably developed infrastructure and has the strongest education system in Africa . Furthermore, the people of Kenya are generally pretty happy and friendly but the country as a whole possesses a large crime rate, due to major economic inequalities.

A initiative that addresses human wellbeing issues in Kenya

The Kenya National commission on human rights (KNCHR) is a government organisation located in the main city of Nairobi Kenya. Its aim is to uphold and provide education on how to provide human rights to all. They can connect with people on call or in person in the various KNCHR centres across Kenya and the company has six different programs to fulfil their goal. The organisation particularly targets migrants to face challenges such as assisting them with language barriers, family difficulties and unpaid domestic work, as well as the right to equal political, economic, social and cultural opportunities. Furthermore, the company's main aim is to promote and protect human rights for everyone, particularly migrants.

The KNCHR is effective in improving wellbeing in Kenya. The initiative specifically targets migrants facing financial stress, lack of education or unemployment and family difficulties. Overall, they help reduce violations of the basic human rights and support the country and government to safeguard all human rights to everyone. The KNCHR could be effective in boosting the national literacy rate as they have different programs educating migrants and the unemployed to learn to read and write. Additionally the KNCHR could also reduce the poverty rate by giving people advice and aid. With their literacy programs it would reduce the unemployment rate and lessen the 16.1% of people in Kenya living below the poverty rate. This would overall enhance the wellbeing of citizens in Kenya and give them a sense of purpose and secure knowing their human rights are in safe hands.

A new initiative that addresses one aspect of Human wellbeing in Kenya

Out of 53 million people, 15 million Keyans lack access to safe water and 41 percent of Kenyans lack access to basic sanitation. This has been one of Kenya’s main issues for a while and it is only getting worse. Rural Kenya and the slums in Kenya is where the people really suffer from this issue, as they have little to no water pipes in the slums and next to no dams in rural Kenya.

My initiative will involve creating man made dams that will collect and store rainwater, as well as adding water pipes that will go throughout Kenya. This will ensure everyone in Kenya receives a sufficient amount of clean water to do basic household duties such as cooking and washing clothes.

Creating man made dams will improve human wellbeing in Kenya as it creates more jobs and gives people assisting a sense of purpose knowing they are helping their country. Having access to clean water will make people happier and less stressful about worrying about their scarce water supply. Boosting Kenya’s water supply will make the economy flourish as having clean water increases farming, energy production and tourists as they don’t have to worry about limited access to clean water.

Bibliography

Kenya, H., 2022. Health information to enhance families' wellbeing in Kenya. [online] Red Cross EU Office. Available at: <https://redcross.eu/projects/health-information-adds-to-families-wellbeing-in-kenya> [Accessed 3 June 2022].

Water.org. 2022. Kenya's Water Crisis - Kenya's Water In 2021 | Water.org. [online] Available at: <https://water.org/our-impact/where-we-work/kenya/> [Accessed 2 June 2022].

EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa - European Commission. 2022. Kenya: Protecting and promoting human rights for every person - EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa - European Commission. [online] Available at: <https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/all-news-and-stories/kenya-protecting-and-promoting-human-rights-every-person_en#:~:text='The%20KNCHR%20continues%20to%20play,head%20of%20the%20NCM%20secretariat.> [Accessed 1 June 2022].

Youthindex.org. 2022. Kenya | The Global Youth Wellbeing Index. [online] Available at: <https://www.youthindex.org/country/kenya#:~:text=Kenya%20ranks%203rd%20for%20this,tobacco%20use%20(14%20percent).> [Accessed 4 June 2022].

Written by: Brayden H

About Kenya

Kenya is a country in East Africa with a coastline on the Indian Ocean. It encompasses a vast savannah, Lakelands, the dramatic Great Rift Valley and mountain highlands. It's also home to wildlife like lions, elephants and rhinos.

Key Statistics about Kenya

In Kenya, there are variations of wellbeing statistics to show whether this country is developed, underdeveloped, has a good education or employment rate, etc. The exact statistics that were found for Kenya state that their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been named one of the fastest-growing economies with a significant annual growth rate of 5.9% between 2010 and 2018, equivalent to $95 USD refers to (Figure 2). The most important statistic used for identifying a country's wellbeing is its literacy rate such as reading, writing etc. According to recent data people aged 15 years and above were able to read and write simple statements by roughly 81.5%. Human Development Index (HDI) refers to the life expectancy of the country as a whole. The rating for Kenya however, falls quite low at 0.601 which is not the worst but ranges close to the middle threshold compared to somewhere like Norway which is 0.957 the highest-ranking leaving them with the highest life expectancy.

The mortality rate is better known as the adult ‘death’ rate for a country. For Kenya, this rate is really low at 42.15% per 100 population due to the lack of access to proper healthcare and diseases such as HIV/AIDS refers to (Figure 3). In Kenya, their unemployment rate stands at 7% in the middle of 2022. This has significantly dropped since late 2020 making their employment system more efficient compared to their neighbour countries such as South Africa which leads the world in the highest percentage of unemployment at 23.5%.

What Level of Wellbeing is Experienced by Kenya's Population and What is its Ranking? Why?

The level of wellbeing in Kenya scores a 19 which falls in the bottom third of the Global Wellbeing Index (GWI) as seen in (Figure 1). This is because of their low rates of education, economic opportunity, health, and information and communication technology (ICT) domains. Kenyas’ unemployment rate has stayed relatively stayed the same over the past 20 years but compared to other countries it has lacked any improvement. The business growth rate comes in at 26% which far exceeds the global index average which is 15% but is still unable to form consistent business development around the country and is also unable to provide jobs for the youth. However, when looking at the education side of things Kenya comes in at 24th because it has an enrolment rate of 68% and a literacy rate of 86% but the country spends more than any other index country on education at 21% compared to the average of 16%.

Kenya is placed 23rd for health which ranges in the middle of the Index scale. Reasons for that include the high fertility rate of 90 births per 1000 women aged 15 to 19 which far outpaces the average rate of 42 per 1000 women. In contrast, Kenya then performs better in terms of health indicators such as their mental health/stress levels coming in at 41% and their smoking/tobacco use at 14%. Finally, Kenyas’ low ranking of computer and ICT services at 13% and mobile phone subscriptions at 81 per 100 people and weak internet access and service place them at a low 26 on the Index scale (Figure 4).

Support Networks in Kenya

Basic Needs Kenya is a non-government organisation that dedicates its work to helping people with mental health. Formally established in 2016 as a national NGO of Kenya. Their priorities are to dedicate resources and capabilities to protect and promote the basic needs and rights of persons struggling with mental health challenges as a basis for identifying and addressing the inequalities, dehumanisation and discrimination that these people may face in their day to day lives. Their work pursues social justice as an approach to enable a transformation in the spaces they call home. They achieve this by gathering ‘change’ agents who help build Basic Needs Kenya into a bigger and more recognisable organisation to help develop the image that the help is there for these people when they seek it.

Basic Needs Kenya and other lifelines such as Lifeline and Kids Helpline (which are Australian based) all initiate the same message which is to reach out when possible and get the help needed because they are there to help everybody who can't find an option to talk to. The way that these organisations are effective is that they provide 24/7 service, help demonstrate good ways of keeping your physical health up to date and most of all let you have a voice when your need to let out the build-up of hatred, anger or just sadness. It helps everyones’ wellbeing by giving access to endless care and social support.

New Initiative

Kenya may be receiving a huge amount of support for their health and communities but what about the little necessities that a country needs to be successful that is water availability to drink and wash with and other essentials. This initiative will involve many positives by providing sustainable amounts of water each month delivered directly to the poorest communities that don't even get looked at by the government. This will also strive in a way that helps preserve used water from cleaning or flushing the toilet and will be disposed of through a filter tank and into the lake built on the edge of these communities. It will provide easier access for the people around it and will be checked regularly to insure health and safety throughout the years. This simplistic yet quite constructive task is made to boost the health system as well as happiness amongst fellow citizens.

Written by: Tyler M

Kenya is a country in East Africa with a coastline on the Indian Ocean. Kenya has one of the world's largest refugee populations.The majority of refugees are coming from Somalia, many of the refugee camps are set to close any day now without the international commitments promised in the 2018 Global Compact on refugees. Until the COVID-19 pandemic hit Kenya was one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, with an annual average growth of 5.9% between 2010 and 2018. The gross domestic product (GDP) of Kenya worth around $98.84 billion (USD) as of 2020. The country has recently reached lower-middle income status, meaning it is becoming a diverse and dynamic economy, there is a very small wealthy urban area while the majority of the country is rural and farming. According to the most recent census conducted in kenya in 2019, only 3.5% of the population had tertiary education (university) as the highest level completed. 7% finished a middle level or technical and vocational training (TVET) after secondary while 9.3% of the population had zero education.

The Kenyan adult literacy rate was at the level of 81.5% in 2018 up from 78.7% in 2014. Kenya has a Human development index (HDI) of 0.61 positioning it at 143 out of 189 countries and territories around the world,showing that it still has a long way to go in its development and is not nearly as developed as the majority of other countries.

Schools in Kenya follow an 8-4-4 system with 8 years of primary education until age 13 which is mandatory for all kids to complete. In Kenya the average gross income as of 2020 was $1,436, a 0.57% increase from 2019, which includes basic pay, and other benefits like housing and transport, which means it's a lower-middle-income economy. 49% of youth surveyed in a recent study felt that the government did not care about their wants or needs, and only 14% rated violence as a top concern impacting their wellbeing, whereas in reality the actual rate of youth violence is very high. Mental health is a major issue in Kenya and is surrounded by a lot of stigma. Depression is common and substance and alcohol abuse is rising.

It is hard to generalise the wellbeing of a country with very varied living conditions, there is affluent city areas with no concern for basic needs, the majority of the country is presumably living a peaceful content farming life and then there is such a large proportion of refugees who aren't even having their basic needs of food, housing and clothing met.

Kenya has a population of 45.5 million, 598,646 of those people are refugees or asylum seekers. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief and development non governmental organisation aiming to help those in need. The IRC started work in Kenya in 1992. The IRC’s mission is to help those whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. It has provided health care, women’s protection, legal rights, education and nutrition services to hundreds of thousands of refugees and their host communities. They also work with kenyan government to support health, nutrition and conflict resolution programs.

The IRC is consistently praised for the effectiveness of the work they do and the efficient use of donor funds.

A good way to improve wellbeing for those in Kenya would be to implement food banks that large companies and industries around the world can donate to in order to give each person in Kenya enough food and nutrition. This would drastically improve the health of those living in Kenya and by relieving the stress associated with providing for their families would also have a massive impact on mental health. There are already a lot of charity organisations providing food relief in Kenya but this needs to be addressed on an international level, where world leaders join together to have a massive impact on not only those facing starvation but also those who are just struggling in everyday life.

Bibliography;

faria, j., 2022. Kenya: population by highest level of education | Statista. [online] Statista. Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/1237796/distribution-of-population-in-kenya-by-highest-level-of-education-completed/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20most%20recent%20census%20conducted%20in,technical%20and%20vocational%20training%20%28TVET%29%20after%20the%20secondary.> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

International Rescue Committee (IRC). 2022. Kenya. [online] Available at: <https://www.rescue.org/country/kenya> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

Knoema. 2022. Kenya Human development index, 1990-2020 - knoema.com. [online] Available at: <https://knoema.com/atlas/Kenya/Human-development-index> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

World Economics. 2022. Kenya | GDP | 2021 | Economic Data | World Economics. [online] Available at: <https://www.worldeconomics.com/Country-Size/Kenya.aspx> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

The Facts Institute. 2022. 26 interesting facts about Kenya - The Facts Institute. [online] Available at: <https://www.factsinstitute.com/countries/facts-about-kenya/> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

Written by: Urhaan S

1. Kenya is a developing country in East-africa, home to most wildlife animals including lions, elephants and rhinos. The population of Kenya at the present time comes to around 53.77 million people. Out of those 53.77 million people there are another 25% or 11.5 million people who are going through poverty. Living through harsh and difficult conditions including, staying in underdeveloped dwellings, the water scarcity and food insecurity, there are many people who are slowly dying everyday.

Food insecurity is very serious in Kenya because it ranks 86 out of 117 countries on the Global Hunger Index. Out of all the population of Kenya only 35% of those people suffer from one of the most common issues in Kenya: food insecurity,and malnourishment each year.

Kenya had a steady economic growth by having their GDP(Gross Domestic Product) growing on average at the rate by about 5.6 percent over the past 5 years between (2014-2018). However in 2019, Kenya’s economy started collapsing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and from there, their GDP growth was expected to slow down to 1.4% from 5.4% in 2019.

Kenya’s HDI(Human Development Index) value during 2019 was about 0.601. This rate ranks Kenya in the medium development categorization.

Situations regarding Education in Kenya is still an issue that many people are facing.

According to UNICEF, the government of Kenya has devoted a specific amount of budget towards education, that means not many Kenyans are able to afford the education for their kids allowing them the chance to pursue their own careers and have a bright future.

In Kenya there are over 43% of the population who are living in poverty. Those people are suffering through difficult health challenges, many people in poverty are carrying a high burden of infectious disease such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. There are less opportunities for people who are under the conditions of poverty in Kenya and they have a low access to job opportunities,very low income of money, less access to healthcare and education and a great amount of food insecurity.

2. The Youth Index states that in terms of economic opportunity, education, health and (ICT)Domains, Kenya ranks in the bottom third of the index countries in those categories.

The government of Kenya has been looking forward to improving its weak precedence areas for the country such as food insecurity, affordable housing for everyone and wide variety of health facilities.

Due to this improvement, life expectancy has been increasing significantly over the past ten years so that means people in Kenya tend to live longer and healthier lives.

Kenyan youth were surveyed on their understanding of the wellbeing in their country and their responses included 81% of them being satisfied with their education, 49% of them feeling that the government doesn’t care about the people’s needs and 14% of those youths rated violence as a top concern impacting their well-being.

Kenya’s relation with climate change has the majority of the time been vulnerable. National disasters such as droughts have been caused frequently due to climate change. This has also caused an issue towards wild animals such as lions, elephants to become disoriented looking for food and water far away from their habitat.

3. Clean water is the most important/basic necessity for every country and this is where Kenya lacks in this area in terms of human wellbeing the most. The issues that lead from water scarcity can cause illnesses in people with the increased risk of diarrhoeal disease, typhoid fever, and trachoma(eye infection). Out of all places in Kenya there is approximately 48% of its agricultural population/land with no access to drinking clean fresh water. This issue has had an impact on most of the population especially women and children, as they are forced to take over 2 hours everyday walking around searching to collect water, this amount of time could’ve been spent indulging in productivity such as spending the time to earn a living or involve in educational activities. One way of helping Kenya grow its techniques of helping wellbeing could be working on its lack of water and improving access to clean water is by constructing clean water systems, safe (water) storage tanks, handwashing stations and facilities such as community education workshops in basic hygiene utilisation. These services ease up the avoidance of such diseases which in return, could decrease the number of mortality rates and health disadvantages. Sufficient access to safe water and cleanliness is guaranteed for better health and wellbeing in Kenya.

Bibliography:

1. CARE Australia. 2022. Kenya Aid Charity | Donate Today | CARE Australia. [online] Available at: <https://www.care.org.au/country/kenya/> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

2. Youthindex.org. 2022. Kenya | The Global Youth Wellbeing Index. [online] Available at: <https://www.youthindex.org/country/kenya> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

3. Statista. 2022. Topic: Kenya. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/topics/2562/kenya/#topicHeader__wrapper> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

Kenya, H., 2022. Health information to enhance families' wellbeing in Kenya. [online] Red Cross EU Office. Available at: <https://redcross.eu/projects/health-information-adds-to-families-wellbeing-in-kenya> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

Written by: Lara B

Statistics Show...

For a country that has a population of 56,002,502 (worldometers) the gross domestic product (GDP) is only 107 billion (trading economics). This is extremely low in comparison to Australia, which has a population of 27.10 million and a GDP of 1.331 trillion. This shows that Kenya’s economy is extremely poor and cannot adequately support all the people living in the country. This is also clearly reflected in the poverty rates, with 35.5% of Kenya’s population living below the poverty line (The Borgen Project), meaning they are earning less than $1.90 US, per day. Despite all of this, Kenya scored 0.601 (The Next Frontier) in the human development index (HDI) which reflects key dimensions of human development. This score places Kenya in the medium category. Kenya scored 45.2 (up 0.1% from 2018-2019) in the Happy Planet Index (Happy Planet Index.org). This score places them just above the average of 43.1 but it is stated that a reasonable score is 58.2. Overall, these statistics show that Kenya experiences high poverty rates. However, Kenya’s wellbeing falls around average, but there is definitely room for improvement.

The Borgen Project

The Borgen Project is a non-government organisation that’s aim is to combat poverty. The Borgen Project uses 3 key areas to improve poverty in Kenya. These include improving the education system, reducing poverty in rural areas and focusing on construction and infrastructure. Improving the education system gives the children better opportunities. This helps to decrease the poverty rates as more youth enter the workforce well prepared. This increases economic growth. Rural regions in Kenya experience the highest poverty rates, therefore, this initiative places emphasis on mobile money and telecommunication which dramatically increased economic growth in this region. The improvement of infrastructure and construction provides safer residential areas, improving the living conditions and also provides a large amount of jobs which increases the economy. This initiative has been proved effective in improving the wellbeing of those living in Kenya as the country’s poverty rate is currently decreasing by 1% per annum. This is a result of increasing the economy, providing safer living areas and improving education which allows for better futures and decreases the poverty rates in Kenya.

New initiative

Kenya’s poverty rates are alarmingly high which can impact the level of well-being experienced. Only 59% of people living in Kenya have access to clean drinking water which leaves 41% without. Clean water is a necessity for people in order to stay alive and healthy. According to the UN, nearly 1,000 children die globally per day due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrheal diseases. My new initiative involves using three simple, but effective steps in order to achieve better access to clean water. These include rainwater harvesting, bicycle water purifiers and personal filter straws. Rainwater harvesting is a great way to gain safe drinking water. These systems work by capturing rain on a roof and then leading it into a storage area where the necessary purification can occur and then the clean water can be available for people to use. The initiative would provide the necessary resources (the catchment, onveyance, roof washing, storage, purification and distribution equipment) to set up a large amount of rainwater harvesting systems around Kenya. Bicycle water purifiers are another fantastic way to access clean water, especially in rural areas. It can produce enough water for one whole family. Bicycle water purifiers clean and purify the water when you pedal the bike, water is forced through a series of filters. The initiative would provide a water purifying bicycle to every family without access to clean water in rural Kenya. The last action the initiative would make to improve access to clean water is to provide a very large amount of personal filter straws around Kenya. Personal filter straws allow individuals to drink from most water sources (excluding salt water) as the straws remove up to 99% of bacteria and contaminants in water. This is a highly simple and cost-effective way to provide lots of clean drinking water to those in Kenya. When all three elements of the new initiative are put in place, Kenya’s well-being would increase due to a significant increase in the number of people having adequate access to clean drinking water. Projects similar to this have been effective in other developing countries around the world.

Bibliography

• Worldometers.info. 2022. Kenya Population (2022) - Worldometer. [online] Available at: <https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/kenya-population/#:~:text=The%20current%20population%20of%20Kenya,the%20latest%20United%20Nations%20data.> [Accessed 28 May 2022].

• The Borgen Project. 2022. 3 Ways Kenya Works to Drop its Poverty Rates - The Borgen Project. [online] Available at: <https://borgenproject.org/drop-its-poverty-rates/#:~:text=Building%20up%20communities%20has%20become,arise%20all%20around%20the%20country.> [Accessed 28 May 2022].

• BORGEN. 2016. 10 Clean Water Solutions For Developing Countries - BORGEN. [online] Available at: <https://www.borgenmagazine.com/10-clean-water-solutions/> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

• Vikaspedia.in. n.d. vikaspedia Domains. [online] Available at: <https://vikaspedia.in/energy/environment/rainwater-harvesting-1/introduction-to-rainwater-harvesting> [Accessed 2 May 2022].

Written by: Sienna C

Background and Statistics

Kenya is located on the eastern coast of Africa, next to Tanzania (shown in Source A). In source C, Kenya’s unemployment rate escalated in 2020 to 10.4%, meaning there is not enough funds to support their growing community. Kenya’s Human Development Index (HDI) value as of 2019 was 0.601, meaning their population is not supported enough. Kenya is overpopulated as it has 56.2 million people but has a low gross domestic product (GPD) of 107 billion. They are a developing country with individuals only living up to 67 years of age, which is significantly different from other countries. 25% of the population live in undeveloped housing and only 29% have access to improved sanitation facilities and Kenya’s mortality rates (shown in source B) remains high, resulting in children dying within their first month of life. Much of this country experiences extreme climatic conditions like drought, which has devastating effects on the environment and livelihoods of some of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities. Due to all these statistics, Kenya’s has proven to have a low level of wellbeing.

A Government Organisation

Save the Children: Save the Children is an organisation that has been providing help to the children in Kenya since 1950 through development and humanitarian programmes. They provide programmes that are based on health and nutrition, food security and livelihoods (by providing life skills training to young people and delivering cash transfers. They also offer financial services through savings groups and train women and youth on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and production), child protection, education, adolescents and youth (by ensuring that the youth realise their rights by giving them a voice and a platform to engage with their leaders), and humanitarian response. Save the Children organisations have proved themselves helpful to Kenya (for 72 years) by supplying many programmes and funding for Kenya. Save the Children was also awarded the ‘multi year grant’ award from the Pfizer Foundation for increasing the immunisation of diseases to children from the age of 5 and reaching more than 430,000 children. This organisation continues to effectively support Kenya’s community and is proven by the statistics above.

A New Initiative

Kenya is being provided help and support in many areas, but one area that is important to focus on is health and sanitation. Oxfam is an organisation that focuses on helping underprivileged or developing countries have access to clean water and sanitation. One consequence caused by consumption of dirty water is that 800 children under the age of five die from diarrhoea each day. So Oxfam operates by ensuring individuals have equitable access to water in quantity and quality, preventing disease and sustaining lives. They provide sanitation resources and safe hygiene practices to maximise the benefits for their communities. Providing help in this area to Kenya contributes to their life expectancy statistics, by then increasing their HDI value, creating a more happy and healthy life to live for individuals. Supplying access to clean water and sanitation will decrease Kenya’s mortality rates as well. Overall, Oxfam would be a great new initiative to bring to Kenya’s community, by focusing more on health and sanitation, ultimately improving their wellbeing.

Bibliography:

Statista. (n.d.). Kenya: unemployment rate 2019-2020. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1134370/unemployment-rate-in-kenya/.

Oxfam International. (2020). Water and sanitation. [online] Available at: https://www.oxfam.org/en/what-we-do/issues/water-and-sanitation.

Save the Children | Kenya. (n.d.). Save the Children | Kenya. [online] Available at: https://kenya.savethechildren.net/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2022].

Mwenda Ntarangwi and Simeon Hongo Ominde (2019). Kenya | Culture, History, & People. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/Kenya.

World Bank. (n.d.). Demographic Transition and Growth in Kenya. [online] Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/opinion/2010/04/28/demographic-transition-growth-kenya#:~:text=Kenya.

www.who.int. (n.d.). Kenya. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/countries/country-details/GHO/kenya?countryProfileId=26e47f18-038f-4560-8c78-0c70e7ebdfe8.

Written by: Keisha D

KENYA’S KEY STATS:

The level of wellbeing in Kenya is quite low as it is a developing country. Kenya’s population is 53.77 million people, making it the 7th most populated country in Africa. The total land area of Kenya is 580,370km². Kenya’s large population lives in a small land area, resulting in the country being overpopulated. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is just over 139.44 billion AUD, which is a very small amount for the large and overcrowded population. This leaves 16% of the population in extreme poverty, surviving on less than 2.70 AUD each day. Those in extreme poverty would have no access to healthcare, shelter, clean water or other essential services. Kenya’s Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.601 points, placing them 143rd out of the 189 countries measured. Kenya’s economic instability and overpopulation contributes to its low HDI, in comparison to other countries. Rural Kenya’s student to teacher ratio is very low, being 50:1, and consequently, the country is struggling to provide a strong education system within their communities. These statistics all demonstrate the low level of wellbeing in Kenya, showing us how the country is struggling to help provide a healthy and stable lifestyle for the community.

KENYACONNECT: ARE THEY CHANGING RURAL KENYA?

KenyaConnect is an example of a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) that is helping to improve the wellbeing in Kenya, by funding and supporting education in rural areas. KenyaConnect is partnering with 55 schools to help provide access to technology, including STEM and art programs and implementing online learning to be up to date with modern technology rather than solely learning from books. KenyaConnect has funded the purchase of 30 computers per school. These computers enable students to be up to date with technology, including coding and 3D printing. The introduction of this technology within the rural schools is an effective way to improve wellbeing, as barriers are removed for students by providing access to modern technology and enhancing their skills. KenyaConnect has significantly improved the wellbeing of many rural Kenyan families, providing educational opportunities that are staying in touch with 21st century technologies. The organisation is trying to ensure that students in rural areas are not disadvantaged and have the same opportunities as others their age in more developed nations.

NEW INITIATIVE: WILL IT IMPROVE KENYA’S WELLBEING?

My new initiative to improve the wellbeing of people in Kenya is helping the families as well as students in rural areas. The initiative would improve the overall health and social aspects of some of these communities, therefore improving wellbeing. One night a week, after the students have finished a day of school, there could be a community space created for families to come together and be provided with a meal. The initiative would involve a community centre or hall to be built in the school grounds, so that families had somewhere to gather and socialise. It is a great opportunity socially, because everyone is together and interaction levels between families would increase.

Providing a healthy and nutritious meal to the families once a week would improve their wellbeing significantly, as their normal day-to-day meals may not provide them with the right nutrients and energy. Funding would be needed to provide food for every family, including the cost of meal preparation. This initiative could also provide an opportunity for students at the school to learn some cooking skills, understand the benefits of nutrition and they could also help prepare the meals for the families. If this initiative was to be implemented, the wellbeing of Kenya would improve, especially in rural areas. The community’s health would increase dramatically, because the correct nutrients and energy are being provided to them. My initiative is adding another dynamic of assistance to these rural communities to further improve the wellbeing of Kenya.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

GlobalGiving. n.d. Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!. [online] Available at: <https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/computer-literacy-for-kenyan-schoolchildren/> [Accessed 31May 2022].

KenyaConnect. 2022. Home - KenyaConnect. [online] Available at: <https://www.kenyaconnect.org/> [Accessed 31 May 2022].

Statista. n.d. Kenya: extreme poverty rate 2017-2021 | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227076/extreme-poverty-rate-in-kenya/#:~:text=Some%2016%20percent%20of%20Kenya's,downward%20trend%20observed%20since%202017.> [Accessed 31 May 2022].

countryeconomy.com. n.d. Kenya 2022. [online] Available at: <https://countryeconomy.com/countries/kenya#:~:text=The%20last%20annual%20rate%20of,table%20of%20189%20countries%20published.> [Accessed 31 May 2022].

Written by: Sophie E

Background

Kenya is a small country on the eastern coast of Africa surrounded by Tanzania and Somalia as well as Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia (shown in source 1). Kenya’s population according to the World Population Review is just under 56.2 million, the 26th highest in the world. Data Commons states that the GDP (gross domestic product) in Kenya is 98.84 billion USD. In Kenya around 35.5% of people are living below the poverty line including young kids creating a tough environment for families to thrive and live in a happy and healthy environment. The life expectancy in Kenya is around 67 years old which is almost a 20 year difference between Australia. Kenya’s population increase isn’t being supported by the HDI (human development index) showing that the rate is only 0.601 as of 2019. The wellbeing in Kenya is poor due to lack of healthcare, technology and different economic opportunities which need more support for the growing country that is only developing at a rate of 0.601 compared to Australia’s 0.944 HDI.

Current Support in Kenya

Raising futures Kenya is a government organisation originating from the UK which focuses on supporting young children to grow and provide them with better opportunities. The organisation provides different classes in technical vocational, business and technology. They also provide mental health support to increase wellbeing. They have successfully been supporting Kenya for 20 years. They have been effective in achieving their goals so far 2,500 young children have been educated and 92% of their graduates have moved into jobs. 82% of graduates have also used their education and the opportunities they have been provided to support their families. Raising futures Kenya has been very successful as they have also won the Improving Impact award at the Charity Governance Awards. They continue to effectively support children in Kenya by providing them with opportunities. The statistics provide us with evidence that the organisation is effective in Kenya.

New Initiative

Kenya may be receiving support with education for young children and adults within Kenya but what about their health care. There are medical services supporting Kenya but they are larger organisations who aren’t focused on Kenya. Kenya needs an organisation that will focus on building a healthcare system that is accessible and affordable for everyone in Kenya. Having a smaller healthcare service operating in Kenya that would focus on providing good access to healthcare for poorer individuals within Kenya would greatly help increase health and wellbeing. An example of this type of service is the non-government organisation, Zim Health. This organisation was established by Zimbabweans But is located in Geneva, Switzerland. It is still a helpful service and provides for Zimbabweans inside and out of Zimbabwe. In Kenya, the organisation would be set up all over the country providing centres for individuals to get the support they need as well as even setting up a volunteer program to support people who don’t have the means to travel. By providing both inside and outside centre programs the amount of people cared for will be maximised. If a government or non-government organisation was to provide this type of support allowing people who need health support to be able to receive it then the life expectancy would increase as well as the HDI creating a more happy and healthy country.

Bibliography

• Faria, J., 2021. Kenya: adult literacy rate | Statista. [online] Statista. Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/1233484/adult-literacy-rate-in-kenya/#:~:text=According%20to%20most%20recent%20data,the%20level%20registered%20in%202000.> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

• Raising Futures Kenya. 2022. Raising Futures Kenya. [online] Available at: <https://www.raisingfutureskenya.org.uk/> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

• Unknown Author. 2020. The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene. [online] Available at: <https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/KEN.pdf> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

• Unknown Author. 2020. Kenya - Place Explorer - Data Commons. [online] Available at: <https://datacommons.org/place/country/KEN?utm_medium=explore&mprop=amount&popt=EconomicActivity&cpv=activitySource%2CGrossDomesticProduction&hl=en> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

• Unknown Author. 2020. Kenya Population 2022 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs). [online] Available at: <https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/kenya-population> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

• Unknown Author. 2022. Kenya | The Global Youth Wellbeing Index. [online] Available at: <https://www.youthindex.org/country/kenya> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

• Unknown Author. 2022. Kenya Life Expectancy 1950-2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KEN/kenya/life-expectancy> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

• WHO. 2022. Kenya. [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/countries/country-details/GHO/kenya?countryProfileId=26e47f18-038f-4560-8c78-0c70e7ebdfe8> [Accessed 4 June 2022].

• Zim Health. 2022. Zimbabwe Network for Health – Europe – Zimbabwe Network for Health. [online] Available at: <https://zimhealth.org/> [Accessed 4 June 2022].

Written by: Matilda E

background information

A country's well-being score is used to determine optimism for the future and ultimately the social and economic success of the country. In order to determine the well-being of Kenya, the following factors have been considered; Gross Domestic Product (GDP), poverty levels, literacy, morality, Human Development Index, and employment rate.

Kenya’s GDP in 2020 was 200 million (USD), making Kenya one of the fastest-growing economies (33rd in the world), with an average growth of 5.9% between 2010 and 2018, (figure 2). Kenya has a literacy rate of 81.5%, indicating that the population of 15 and above are able to write and read a simple sentence, this level has been slowly increasing. Mortality rate refers to the occurrence of death throughout a country, Kenya has a mortality rate of 42.15% per 100 population, this has fallen from 41.9% in 2015. The human development index (HDI) measured social and economic development. Kenya's HDI is stable at 0.601 (figure 3), Kenya has still improved slightly since 2018 (0.59). Kenya's unemployment rate is currently 7%,(2021), unemployment in Kenya has risen since the third quarter of 2019 (5.3%), this may be due to the pandemic. Based on the data considered Kenya’s well-being is slowly improving, however, there are still great opportunities to have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of people in Kenya.

Government Initiative to improve Wellbeing

Kenya has embarked on an ambitious social development plan called Kenya Vision 2030 aspiring for a better society by the year 2030, with the expectation of amongst other things having an impact on poverty, GDP, gender inequality and income. Though it can be seen that poverty rates have dropped slightly, the downward trend has been interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic. The Kenya vision 2030 aims to drop poverty rates even more significantly.

Education

Kenya Vision 2030 provides free primary education for children. Many people living in Kenya are living in remote areas making it difficult to easily access education. As a result, there is a focus on providing more access and availability to primary education through increased funding and reconstruction of primary schools in more rural geographic areas. Education is an essential part of well-being and should be accessible to everyone. Kenya Vision 2030 is working on incorporating parents and teachers associations into the management of schools, as well as increasing funding for teaching and learning materials, this benefits children who are living in poorer households that cannot afford basic school supplies. Kenya Vision 2030 is also implementing secondary school bursaries (funding), this enhances access equity and retention in high schools, these bursaries target vulnerable groups such as orphans, girls, and children from poor families in slum areas. They are also implementing curriculum development review which ensures quality and relevance in learning content.

New initiatives proposed for Human Wellbeing

The sustainable development goals were set up by the UN as an overarching call to action to end poverty and protect the planet.

I have focused on SDG - gender equality. Gender equality requires action to eliminate the root causes of discrimination that still curtail women’s rights. In Kenya, there is a high level of inequality between men and women from education, to medical decisions, to income and ownership of property. Many women are not able to control what happens to their incomes from their labour. I suggest that the Kenyan government may consider increasing its focus on reducing this discrimination toward women. There appears to be a lack of information/education provided through the education system as well as consequences of identified inequality creating a culture of acceptance of the current status quo. I suggest the following;

1. Great access to paid work for women,

The government could consider opportunities for women to access paid work and also support pathways to allow women to access these opportunities.

2. Fair pay for fair work across men's and women's occupations.

I suggest an industrial relations system similar to Australia called Fair Work where the minimum wage is set and breaching the minimum/agreed wage would result in significant financial consequences for the employer.

3. Focused education curriculum

The education curriculum would need to have a greater focus on fairness between girls and boys. College education for educators also needs to be targeted to start changing the culture that boys deserve greater education and opportunities than women. Having an impact on the education system will need to be achieved in small steps, we are impacting generations of communities who believe that women do not deserve to be paid, to have an education and sole existence in order to have children and be at the mercy of their fathers/husbands for wellbeing.

bibliography

• Vision2030.go.ke. 2022. About Vision 2030 | Kenya Vision 2030. [online] Available at: <https://vision2030.go.ke/about-vision-2030/> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

• Tradingeconomics.com. 2022. Kenya GDP Annual Growth Rate - 2022 Data - 2023 Forecast - 2004-2021 Historical. [online] Available at: <https://tradingeconomics.com/kenya/gdp-growth-annual> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

• Statista. 2022. Kenya: extreme poverty rate 2017-2021 | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227076/extreme-poverty-rate-in-kenya/#:~:text=Some%2016%20percent%20of%20Kenya%27s,downward%20 trend%20observed%20song%202017> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

• Chokerah, J., 2022. UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework and national poverty eradication: The experience of Kenya. [online] Un.org. Available at: <https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2021/05/Chokerah_Paper.pdf> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

• Hdr.undp.org. 2022. The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene. [online] Available at: <https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/KEN.pdf> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

Written by: Harry A

Background information

Kenya is a third world country located on the east coast of Africa. According to the World Bank, Kenya's Gross Domestic Product is 101.01 US billion dollars as of 2020 and GDP per capita was $1,878.60 US dollars (2020). This is compared to Australia’s GDP per capita for 2020 that was $51,812, a significant difference.

According to macrotrends, Kenya’s literacy rate for 2018 was 81.54%, a 2.8% increase from 2014. This stat is understandable due to the amount of education that is available and the fact that not everyone can afford education.

According to the UNDP Kenya’s Human development Index ranking is a lowly 143 out of 189 countries. This statistic exemplifies that Kenya is an underdeveloped country and shows it is in the bottom quarter of the world.

Poverty is another concerning issue in Kenya with 43% of the population not being able to afford the basic needs according to CDC Global Health.

The economic freedom ranking for Kenya is 138 out of 177 countries according to the heritage ranking list. Compared to Australia who are ranked twelfth, this statistic makes me feel very fortunate to be a citizen of Australia.

Investigation into a NGO that address well-being issues in Kenya

Who are they?

Major well-being issues in Kenya include the lack of education, which can then also lead to poverty. In Makuyu, Kenya, a non-government organisation called the Makuyu Education Initiative is providing free education and meals to those who are in poverty.

What is their goal and what are they doing?

They currently lease land and are being threatened to be evicted by their landlord. Their goal is to raise around $80,000 in the next 6-8 months to be able to build a number of classrooms and a home for volunteers and a guard to stay in. This is so they can accommodate more people to nourish and educate. This initiative right now is aiming to prevent poverty and to educate the future generations.

What is the effectiveness of this NGO?

The effectiveness of this NGO will be exemplified in the years to come providing they keep getting the financial support, but for the most part in years to come the literature rates will increase and the poverty rates will decrease. This could be much more effective if they had more locations around the country. However, this would require much more financial support. Overall, they are making a positive impact on the well-being of Kenyan families in Makuyu and they have the potential to make it nationwide with the right support.

Ideas on providing clean water to Kenyans in need

Water and sanitation issues in Kenya

According to UNICEF only 59% of Kenyans have access to clean water and sanitation. This statistic is unacceptable.

My initiative addressing the issue

The following ideas are my thoughts on how to improve this well-being issue. Adding public showers, toilets and drinking stations such as bubblers with clean water would be a great start. These could be cleaned by volunteers every week and would reduce the risk of diseases among their people. With a sewer system installed to safely deposit waste this will prevent toxins spreading through the community. Another action that could be taken mainly in rural areas is adding water tanks for the rain water, this is a good initiative because it doesn't involve them having to walk miles just for fresh water. This will have the same effect on human well-being as the previous suggestion.

How will my initiative improve well-being in Kenya?

This will most likely reduce the percentage of Kenyans with no access to clean water. It will also bring down the rates of death from diseases caused by unsafe water. It can help save lives, drive economic growth, and reduce the poverty rates. By having access to clean water and sanitation it will also help to reduce pollution and increase the amount of healthy food available. So, overall, making small changes results in positive growth.

Help those who are less fortunate.

1. Hdr.undp.org. n.d. | Human Development Reports. [online] Available at: <https://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/ken> [Accessed 31 May 2022].

2. Heritage.org. n.d. Country Rankings: World & Global Economy Rankings on Economic Freedom. [online] Available at: <https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking> [Accessed 28 May 2022].

3. Macrotrends.net. n.d. Kenya Literacy Rate 2000-2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KEN/kenya/literacy-rate> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

4. Moco2makuyu.org. 2013. Makuyu Education Initiative. [online] Available at: <https://www.moco2makuyu.org/> [Accessed 3 June 2022].

5. Thelwell, K., 2020. Three Organisations Mounting an Attack on Poverty in Kenya. [online] The Borgen Project. Available at: <https://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-kenya-2/> [Accessed 30 May 2022].

6. Unicef.org. n.d. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. [online] Available at: <https://www.unicef.org/kenya/water-sanitation-and-hygiene#:~:text=59%25%20of%20people%20in%20Kenya,2020%2C%20to%20help%20with%20reopening.> [Accessed 25 May 2022].

7. Youthindex.org. 2020. Kenya | The Global Youth Wellbeing Index. [online] Available at: <https://www.youthindex.org/country/kenya> [Accessed 27 May 2022].

Written by: Sienna D

KEY STATISTICS AND BACKGROUND

Kenya is a developing country located in Eastern Africa. Kenya has a broad culture and many traditions practised by the population. This enables the general public to be spiritually and culturally connected with each other, there is however a disconnect between the citizens and government as the government consistently neglects the population's needs resulting in poorer wellbeing throughout the country. Even though Kenya's economy is the largest and most developed in central and eastern Africa, The Centre for disease control and prevention (CDC) states that 43% of kenya's population live in poverty and 16% of kenyans live on only $1.90usd a day. Worldbank shows that Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) is $101 billion US dollars ranking it in the top 10 richest African countries at 7th place. There is a huge inequality between the richest and poorest people in Kenya, Oxfam shows that less than 0.1% of the population (less than 10,000 people) own more wealth than the bottom 99%. Kenya ranks 143rd out of 189 countries with a human development index (HDI) of 0.601 this puts them in the medium human development category. The global youth index ranks Kenya 19th overall placing them in the third index of countries, they rank highly in youth participation and volunteering but fall short due to their economic opportunities, healthcare and education. Care australia states that in Kenya the literacy rate is 78% overall, 81.1% for males and 74.9% for females, only 20% of seats held in parliament are by women and about 41% of women have experienced physical and or sexually abuse and violence from their partner.

These statistics show that Kenya has a wide gap between the poor and the rich and great inequalities between men and women. Kenya is facing poor economical, and human rights issues that are resulting in poor wellbeing overall. Ultimately the government can not provide adequate services and access to resources to the population.

FEED THE FUTURE IN KENYA

Feed the future is a government initiative that is focused on combating and ending poverty in a range of countries including kenya. Since one of the biggest industries in kenya is agriculture they're aiming to help make this a more sustainable and reliable job for residents and to broaden the agricultural industry. The main focuses are to help the country be able to get through different climate and economical shocks like draughts and to be able to bounce back fast from these events, to expand the agricultural industry, to improve nutrition and health for women and children and increase access to finance and investing. This initiative is very effective as it is helping to put plans into action in order to help the country have constant access to jobs and food. Poverty has been a constant issue in kenya and by helping to remove some of the factors that go into the issue, it will make people's lives much easier and bring a higher standard of living and wellbeing to the country.

MY INITIATIVE

The statistics above show that there is a huge inequality problem between men and women, women often are not given the same opportunities as men in education and jobs. For my initiative I want to give women and girls more options and to provide safer lives away from domestic abuse. It is important that everyone is given equal opportunities and to have the right of feeling safe in their own home. My aim is to provide more access to education to young girls and to provide training so they can gain more experience in different fields so they can go on to get good jobs and higher education and freedoms. My initiative will also provide safe places for women and children who are fleeing from violence and domestic violence and help them to be able to provide for themselves and find jobs and a stable home in the future. My initiative will help these women to find jobs or get higher education so they can begin to provide for themselves and kids and not have to rely on a husband. By bringing more opportunities to young girls and women it will boost Kenya's wellbeing as it will lessen the gap in inequality between men and women. With more women working it will raise the country's gross national income (GNI) and will bring the country a higher wellbeing rate and will encourage people to finish their education.

Written by: Sophia L

The Republic of Kenya is located in East Africa on the coastline of the Indian Ocean. With an HDI of 0.601, Kenya is ranked 143 out 189 countries based on their human development, and was placed in the bottom third of index countries by the Global Youth Wellbeing Index making it a third world country. It also has a GDP of 98.84 million USD and was reported by the United Nations to be 119 out of 146 in their Global Happiness report. The country lacks in development towards children's growth and future, with little to no changes in employment rates within the past 20 years. Kenya's average life expectancy is only 66 years, with the most common diseases being HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

‘Slums’ are a major part of Kenya along with most other third world countries and are dragging down Kenya's general well being factor, as well as being the main spread of diseases that are killing the population. Over 40 areas are defined as slums in Kenya's capital Nairobi making more than 60% of the city's residents live in poverty, these poverty stricken areas are largely caused by rural-urban migration and inequality. The map (2017) displays the various counties of Kenya measured on their levels of poverty. The areas that are less rural and more involved in the city (left) are experiencing significantly less amounts of poverty compared to the areas towards the right.

UN-HABITAT

In 2004, government organisation UN-HABITAT developed the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) in which their goal was to improve the lives of those living/working in slums and areas that are less fortunate in Kenya. Specific factors include affordable housing, sustainability and gender awareness. UN-HABITAT worked together with the government of Kenya in order to make KENSUP happen, with the role of UN-HABITAT being providing ways to upgrade the slum areas and meeting the goals easily, providing expertise advice and finding sustainable and affordable ways of proceeding whilst the government was responsible for the execution of KENSUP and monitoring the procedure. The local communities were also included in the upgrading process, having the opportunity to give their input as to how they’d like to change their living conditions. Overall, KENSUP was a successful programme and helped keep Kenya's government motivated and committed to revitalising and improving the slum areas and various finance strategies were implemented. The programme raised awareness in many areas such as emphasising the need to pay attention towards slum dwellers, as well as allowing the slum dwellers themselves to become willing to contribute to upgrading their living spaces. A fund was also created after the programme named Kenya Slum Upgrading Fund (KENSUF) which brought many donors after UN-HABITATS activities.

My Initiative

My initiative for Kenya is to provide an opportunity for improved mental health for all. I believe having the chance to speak up about mental health challenges you're facing is important and should be accessible to anyone, Kenya's Health Ministry states that over 75% of Kenya's population in need of mental help aren't able to access it. My goal would be to address the emotional/mental area of wellbeing and create an open space for anyone no matter how big or how small the issue is. I would aim to have various employees who are able to speak the native language spoken in Kenya, as well as having mixed ages and genders to create a comfortable space for everyone. The idea wouldn't just be for talking about mental health, but also providing more serious help such as mental hospitals or prescription drugs, and more lighthearted things such as someone to talk to if you're struggling to find friends etc. I believe this idea could be very useful particularly if it is installed within the various slums around Kenya, there's violence and general unhappiness within those who live in the slums, and having professional help that isn't normally available can create an opportunity for those who really need it.

Written by: Keonna T

Word Count: 771

Introduction:

Kenya is located in East Africa. The climate of Kenya varies across its land - it is described by SafariBooking’s Kenya Travel Guide to have a ‘pleasant, tropical climate.’ With a population of 53.77 million in 2020, Kenya is currently the 7th biggest African Country, according to worldometer.

Kenya has sweeping plains and beautiful mountain ranges. From National Geographic Kids: “Most Kenyans live in the highlands, where Nairobi, the capital, sits at an altitude of 1,700 metres.” The wildlife is exotic and is fiercely protected by the Kenyan Government with the use of Nature Reserves.

Statistics of Kenya:

Kenya ranks 128/180 in the world in the Corruption Perceptions Index. The Corruption Perception Index measures a country/territory based on their corruption in a government/institution of some significant power ruling the country/territory. In comparison, Australia is currently standing at 18 out of 180 countries. There is a significant difference between Kenya and Australia. Kenya’s score is concerning as corruption in their government is a substantial problem. Source: Transparency International.

As of 2020 Kenya had a Gross Domestic Product of 98.84 billion according to Google. Gross domestic product (according to Google) is: “the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during one year.”

The adult literacy rate of Kenya was at 81.54% in 2018. Source: statista. Kenya has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world; however they have improved over time.

According to ‘Human Development Report 2020’ Kenya has a Human Development Index of 0.601. (143 out of 189 countries and territories.) The Human Development Index is a statistic in view of things such as: education, life expectancy and per capita income indicators etc.

The Gross National Income of Kenya in 2020 is 235 billion dollars. The GNI is used to track the wealth of a country and their projected economic income.

Wellbeing of Kenya:

According to the Global Youth Wellbeing Index, Kenya has a rank of 19. Kenya’s score is currently 0.565. Australia however, has a rank of 2 and our score is 0.810. In addition, Kenya has ranked a worrying 22 in economic opportunity. (See source No. 3).

The Global Youth Wellbeing Index describes Kenya as: “Kenyan youth are civically engaged, but they experience low literacy rates, elevated youth unemployment, and high adolescent fertility.” Overall, Kenya’s Wellbeing is in the middle of the world’s collective scores. They still have room for improvement, however. They; along with many other countries, are improving gradually. Kenya's government would largely impact their communal wellbeing. Police brutality is a large issue in Kenya, as many people die per year due to unprovoked police violence. This would affect the population’s wellbeing.

Organisation addressing human wellbeing issues:

PDO Kenya is a Non-government Mental Health organization which aims to provide mental health help to everyone in Kenya. PDO Kenya is an essential organization providing life changing care to those in Kenya. According to their website, the Kenyan government invests only 0.01% into mental health out of their collective health fund. The government has only 62 government psychiatrists that are serving over 49 million Kenyans. These statistics are concerning and call for immediate attention. PDO Kenya has recognised the dire need for various mental health professionals and is very successful in helping people in need.

Proposition of a new organisation in Kenya:

Kenya reports many relocations of residents year round. As the Kenyan government is making more nature reserves, more and more residents are being forcefully evicted, and police brutality is evident. Many people have died due to police violence from refusing to leave their house/ not cooperating up to the individual officer’s standards. I would make an organization that helps relocate/ shelter those that have no place to call home. Giving people in need food, shelter and possibly a place to relocate could save lives. This could possibly save people from violent police officers, and protect them from homelessness. This initiative could drastically improve the wellbeing of Kenya; as many Kenyans live in fear of police and their corrupt government. Millions of people would have a place to call home, even in the darkest of times.

Conclusion:

Kenya is a beautiful place with just as beautiful people. The culture is vibrant and even more so their clothes and outlook on life. Kenya's government is laying waste to a precious community. Corruption, cunning and deception is common here. The law-enforcers themselves are unjust and physically/emotionally damage people because they can make a quick profit. How can you help? Get behind an organization like PDO Kenya and help save lives.

Kenya needs you.

Written by: Sam T

Kenya is a Sub-Saharan African country. It is considered a third world country, and has many of the negative wellbeing factors that that is indicative of. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kenya is 101.01 billion USD, which is extremely small compared to large nations such as the USA and Australia, but compared to other small countries such as Nepal, it is quite large. The majority of this income is from agriculture and tourism. Despite this large export from agriculture, only about 1/10 of kenya is actually suitable for farming, and kenya is highly susceptible to droughts . As of 2018, 81.5% of people aged 15 and above could read and write a simple sentence. Since independence, there have been many attempts to set up a good, working education system, but these have been hindered by large population growth. As of 2019, Kenya’s HDI value was 0.601, putting it at 143 out of 189 countries. This rank puts Kenya in the medium human development category. The current life expectancy in kenya is 67.21 years, and has steadily increased by 0.39% for the past three years. Each year there are many deaths caused by pollution of water sources in remote villages. The average income for a Kenyan was 641 USD as of 2019. This is quite low compared to the world average and extremely low compared to the averages of countries such as Australia and the US. At the moment in Kenya there is a mental health crisis and almost one in four people seeking treatment there have a mental health condition.

There are many Non-Government Organisations trying to help with wellbeing in Kenya. One of the more interesting ones is called PDO Kenya and their aim is to create mental health equity. This means that everyone gets equal help and treatment. They focus on helping their patients recover in their community, without needing to transfer them to mental institutions. One of the best things about PDO is their use of task shifting. This is where they use non-professional members of the community who are potentially treated patients themselves, and use them as the first port of call to find and talk to other members of the community who may need help. They can use their lived experience to talk to the patient and refer them to a professional if needed. If it turns out that the patient does need to see a professional, telepsychiatry is used to help the patients get the help they need, while staying in their communities. These methods have been very successful in helping the Kenyan people, and this is an effective way of addressing the need for professional services when there are not enough trained professionals.

Looking at how this organisation worked, and the methods they use to deliver their treatment, I have designed my own organisation that works similarly, to help raise education and literacy rates. In this organisation I propose, will set up schools in remote areas of Kenya, and use trained teachers, alongside members of the community, to educate the younger generations. This organisation will use similar methods as PDO Kenya, with the use of task shifting and video conferencing if needed. The trained teachers will help the members of the community obtain the skills needed to train the younger generation, and the teachers and community members will work together to set up a school. Once the school has been established and running for a while, the older students can also help with the education of the younger ones, and once they have left school, if they want to , they can continue to help as teachers.

Bibliography

1. Data.worldbank.org. 2022. GDP (current US$) - Kenya | Data. [online] Available at: <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=KE> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

2. PDO Kenya, Mental Health Organization in Kenya. 2022. Home. [online] Available at: <https://www.pdokenya.org/> [Accessed 4 June 2022].

3. Macrotrends.net. 2022. Kenya Life Expectancy 1950-2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KEN/kenya/life-expectancy> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

4. Worldometers.info. 2022. Kenya Map (Physical) - Worldometer. [online] Available at: <https://www.worldometers.info/maps/kenya-map/> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

5. Youthindex.org. 2022. Kenya | The Global Youth Wellbeing Index. [online] Available at: <https://www.youthindex.org/country/kenya#:~:text=At%2019th%20overall%2C%20Kenya%20ranks,participation%20domain%2C%20Kenya%20ranks%205th> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

6. Ceicdata.com. 2022. Kenya Monthly Earnings, 1997 – 2022 | CEIC Data. [online] Available at: <https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/kenya/monthly-earnings> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

7. Statista. 2022. Kenya: adult literacy rate | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/1233484/adult-literacy-rate-in-kenya/#:~:text=According%20to%20most%20recent%20data,the%20level%20registered%20in%202000> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

8. Hdr.undp.org. 2022. The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene. [online] Available at: <https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/KEN.pdf> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

9. Worldpopulationreview.com. 2022. Third World Countries 2022. [online] Available at: <https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/third-world-countries> [Accessed 5 June 2022].

Written by: Ethan Nolan

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a way of measuring how well a country is doing financially throught the good and services, and their monetary value. The GDP of kenya is expected to reach 107 Billion USD at the end of 2022. The literacy rate of a country shows how much going to school is encouraged. It was recorded in 2018 that 81.5 percent of people aged 15 years and above in Kenya were able to read and write a simple statement. The Human Index Development (HDI), Value for Kenya is 601, which puts them at a medium human category. Schooling in kenya begins at 6 years old, with compulsory and free basic education running through to the age of 14. The average life expectancy for Kenya is 66 years. The level of wellbeing seems low because of what can cause better wellbeing like living conditions, access to education, access to facilities, food and water are low. Education isnt encouraged much, and a poor country as Kenya as less access to facilties and education because there is less money to make facilities, and food and water is more scarce because of how theres little facilities that provide food and water.

2.

‘Engender Health’ is a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) which is Kenya based. It targets the more vulnerable population groups such as girls/women, gender minorities, people with disabilities, youths, and adolescents, by providing sexual and reproductive based healthcare systems. They focus on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and STIs. They educate people on sexual education/health which include, abortion care, maternal healthcare, cervical cancer detection, prevention, and treatment, counselling for gender violence survivors, and contraceptive counselling. It will improve the wellbeing of Kenya by not only raising education levels but also making people aware of sexual dangers and how to avoid certain things, and if they do seem to get themselves into certain situations, how to get out of them, seek help and be safe while also trying to avoid future problems.

3.

Wellbeing is low in Kenya, and health is one of the factors that it is so low. My plan is to get more opperating places of hospital and healthcare, and through fundraises, go fund me and charities I think that there should be doctors, hospitals and places where people can go to seek help and medical attention. It will improve the wellbeing of the country not only becuase it will help the physical help of Kenyans, but it will also help encourage younger generations to go to school to study and get higher paying jobs as doctors, general practitioners, nurses, surgeons, ect. With more job opportunities, it will also improve the economic part of Kenya. More jobs means more income and it will affect the GDP in a positive way. People will be happier to know that the access to medical help can save lives, and also increase the life expectancy of a country wich is also a defining factor of wellbeing in a country.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. https://tradingeconomics.com/kenya/gdp#:~:text=In%20the%20long%2Dterm%2C%20the,according%20to%20our%20econometric%20models.&text=The%20gross%20domestic%20product%20(GDP)%20measures%20of%20national%20income%20and,for%20a%20given%20country's%20economy.

2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1233484/adult-literacy-rate-in-kenya/#:~:text=According%20to%20most%20recent%20data,the%20level%20registered%20in%202000.

3. https://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi

4. https://wenr.wes.org/2015/06/education-kenya#:~:text=Formal%20schooling%20begins%20at%20the,also%20free%20but%20not%20compulsory.

5. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1072206/life-expectancy-kenya-historical/