Home > CtC worldwide archive > Kenya > Ace Africa
____________________________________________________________________
Kenya

Organisation: ACE AFRICA (Action in the Community Environment)
Address: PO Box 1185, 50200 Bungoma, Western Kenya
Telephone: +254 (0) 722 831 834
E-Mail: aceafrica@wananchi.com
Web Site: www.ace-africa.org

Organisation of Child-to-Child Activities

Activities began in February 2004 and are organised and implemented by ACE AFRICA and the Ministry of Education. ACE AFRICA and the MoE work closely with the MoH at the community level through Health Centres. The MoH has donated support centres at Health Centres to ACE AFRICA where information on HIV awareness and other IEC material is available as well as an HIV/AIDS counsellor and mobile VCT clinic. MoH or community members have donated land to ACE AFRICA to establish demonstration kitchen gardens and herbariums. The community is mobilised through community activators who are Community Health Workers. They are the community resource persons for CtC clubs, identifying schools, teachers, needy OVC and PLWA as well as linking schools with the recently established Community Child Rights committees. The MoE mobilises teachers to attend training which is funded by ACE AFRICA.

Children and Adult Personnel Involved in Child-to-Child Activities

Teachers in 49 primary schools in the Bungoma district have benefited from the programme. Since its inception in February 2004, approximately 1,500 children are now involved in CtC clubs. Other beneficiaries include teachers, head teachers, and schools through sensitisation and school feeding programmes, MoE representatives and the communities CtC worldwide. 52% of the population live below the poverty line and activities are based in the remote rural areas. There is a relatively even gender spread and the average age of children in clubs is 10 years. The HIV prevalence rate in the area is 25-30%. In reality in the target rural areas, one in three households is infected and every household is affected.

Main Purpose of the Child-to-Child Activities

i) Promoting awareness on the Rights of the child – ACE AFRICA has established community Child Rights committees which visit the CtC schools to create awareness and develop community links to safeguard children’s rights.
ii) HIV/AIDS awareness and care and support for those infected/affected.
iii) Promoting the general health of the family, children, communities and schools through improvements in hygiene, malaria precautions and integrating nutrition training through kitchen and school gardens.

How Child-to-Child Activities are Introduced, and Children's Participation

i) Activities introduced through health clubs called CtC Clubs, other clubs in schools, such as the Girl Guides and Scouts, also implement the CtC approach.
ii) Methods – Discussions, surveys, creative arts such as singing, role play, poetry recitals as well as essay-writing competitions.
iii) Version – Health Needs Analysis and prioritisation followed by the six CtC implementation steps. The steps have not been modified.

49 schools are involved and numbers are growing as training increases and awareness and community and MoH commitment increases. Child-to-Child activities are taught in Science, Home Science, English, Kiswahili, Mathematics and Geography. As for co-curricular activities, clubs meet once a week and work with guides and scouts. MoE and CtC facilitators also visit schools for HIV/AIDS guidance and counselling and include CtC activities through life skills. To date, 946 children have attended HIV guidance in schools.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Child-to-Child Activities:

M&E is conducted by the ACE AFRICA field officers as well as the Early Childhood Development officers and CtC trainers through visits to the schools already trained. An M&E tool has been established which is filled in by the teachers each month and submitted to ACE AFRICA and then followed up by the field officer. Follow-up training for one week one or two months after initial training also provides a forum for M&E.
Impact is still at the initial stages but it is evident that communities and schools are keen to be involved and the MoE is particularly active and supportive. An impact assessment will take place early next year.

Training

Trainees include teachers (2 from any one school to help with the implementation process and create a forum for the sharing of ideas), Head teachers of schools where teachers come from (in order to ensure their support and to give the club priority in school activities), ACE AFRICA Community activators, heads of departments and children, through teachers trained. All trainees attend a follow-up training of one week a month or two after initial training. Content covered in trainings includes health needs analysis and prioritisation, implementation of the six CtC steps, children’s participation, active methods, and life skills.

Use, Adaptation, Translation and Production of Child-to-Child Materials

Child to Child materials are used in the training. Materials are adapted and used with particular focus on HIV but there is a need for more of these.