Catalyzing care innovations in marginalized and vulnerable communities of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid land

 

Women and girls in Kenya, particularly in arid and semi-arid lands, bear disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work in their households and communities. The issue is primarily rooted in cultural and traditional norms, which limit women’s and girls’ time spent on educational achievement, employment and financial literacy.

This project aims to work alongside unpaid care workers and communities to adapt and scale up two interventions used across Kenya that have been proven to decrease unpaid care work: community-based child-care centres focusing on infant care (6-35 months) and the madrasa early childhood programs focusing on young children (36-60 months).

While madrasa programs have been operating in Kenya for almost 40 years, they have only been implemented in four counties. This project will scale this intervention in two additional counties: Isiolo and Lamu. This will be the first time the model is adapted in a pastoralist community (Isiolo). This project will simultaneously address gaps in men’s and boys’ engagement, women’s and girls’ financial literacy and skill development for economic empowerment, all while furthering access to high quality, safe and affordable child care.

This project is supported under the Scaling Care Innovations in Africa partnership co-funded by Global Affairs Canada and IDRC. Scaling Care Innovations is a five-year initiative aimed at scaling tested and locally grounded policy and program innovations to redress gender inequalities in unpaid care work in sub-Saharan Africa.