- The Uniform Project is a not-for-profit organization that was founded by one humble man and his beautiful wife who have drive and vision to be the change they want to see in the lives of the destitute children through education support services in Turkana, Kenya. The project is targeting street children, orphans, and children from abjectly poor backgrounds and displaced families with no social support structures.
Turkana County is located within Arid and Semi Arid Lands region in the North Eastern Part of Kenya prone to drought and famine which has exposed the people to nomadic lifestyle in search of food, livelihoods and pasture for their livestock. The situation has been exacerbated by insecurity and banditry which involves livestock raids and rustling (theft) tradition, and aggravated violence and death of victims caused by neighboring communities. This causes displacement of population and has led to establishment of Internally Displaced Persons Camps in some regions of Turkana County to enhance security. These challenges adversely affect children and women and the general population inhabiting this region.
Child poverty level in Turkana County is high and is manifested through;
- Perennial drought and famine, inadequate food and hunger hence bringing long-term child development problems
- Unaccompanied children separated from families due to poverty, hunger and insecurity during tribal livestock raids and violence. This also includes child headed households and child-mothers.
- Growing presence of children on the streets attempting to makes a living by scavenging, working, hawking and soliciting while their peers are in school.
- Children dropping out of school or not enrolling in school due to lack of scholastic materials and school uniforms as well as hunger
- Children not accessing quality education due to lack of basic school facilities and exposure to dilapidated school infrastructure in local schools,
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION.
The Uniform Project seeks to confront child poverty in Turkana by facilitating child sponsorship with special focus on supporting children identified to annually access scholastic materials, school uniforms, school feeding support as well as counseling and mentorship services. Children targeted by The Uniform Project initially have no basic support services to enable them access formal education. Many who attend school initially are forced to leave due to lack of mandatory school requirements as well as hunger at school due to lack of a feeding program and consequently relapse into illiteracy. These are multiple characteristics that restrain the opportunities available to them. While they may triumph over one or two such disadvantages, the convergence of such effects can create a nearly absolute barrier to personal success in education or economic life when they become adults.
The situation in Turkana is dire for children who are orphaned or separated from guardians or parents during famine or insecurity through banditry and livestock rustling. These children end up under temporary care by strangers and eventually end up in the streets because of inability to access basic needs. This category of vulnerable children continues to rise in Turkana. The long-term strategy of the Uniform Project is to provide emergency rescue and care for such children and eventually facilitate their reintegration with next kin. We also desire in the long-term to set up a school in the future to ensure all targeted children access quality education including psychosocial support as well as mentoring and life-skills training.
Promoting access to education remains one of the key determinants of better future livelihoods for vulnerable children anywhere in the world. It is the greatest investment every destitute child in Turkana, Africa needs to turn around their destiny and restore hope in their lives and that of their families.
The project goal;
To sustain sponsored children’s access to quality educational, nutritional, psycho social and support services for a better future.
Overall Project Objectives;
- To facilitate the identification of extremely vulnerable children in Turkana for integration into The Uniform Project sponsorship programs.
- To facilitate all targeted orphans and vulnerable children access to basic education in primary and secondary schools by providing scholastic materials, tuition fees and school uniforms.
- To facilitate outreach and follow-ups to enable targeted destitute children and families to access counseling and guidance, trauma counseling for victims of banditry, mentoring and psycho-socio support.
- To facilitate School Feeding Programme in two main Public Primary Schools in the target locations by providing daily lunch to increase and sustain school attendance.
- To facilitate access to and supply of clean drinking water, promote community environmental health and sanitation through environmental conservation activities.
- To promote community awareness on child rights and child protection especially on equal opportunities for boy-child and girl child education, peace and tribal co-existence, HIV/AIDS, as well as social and gender issues in the broad context of vulnerable children.
- The project will eventually increase enrolment of destitute children in school and improve on the general level of education, academic performance of children and brighter future prospects.