The Day of the African Child (DAC) is commemorated every year on June 16th. This day of celebration is a fitting moment to take stock and reflect on the progress made regarding the challenges that impede the rights of children in the African region.
Each year, DAC has a theme that focuses attention on the barriers African children face. This year’s theme is education for all children in Africa: the time is now, which aligns with the 2024 theme of the African Union (AU), “Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa.”
Zoe Empowers Kenya has been at the forefront in advocating, enlightening, sensitizing, and teaching Zoe families, stakeholders, leaders, and community members at-large about the need to uphold children’s rights.
Aligning with the 4th sustainable development goal, which is quality education, the Zoe program provides participants with various learning opportunities through organized life skill training and by facilitating vocational skills training. The program also supports the siblings who are in school with school fees and uniforms to help with reintegration. Zoe encourages the child who is head of their household to make sure their siblings attend school regularly.
Vivian Njeri, a 17-year-old member of 2022 Umoja Kirimampio empowerment group, is an example of how sensitization and empowerment can restore lost hope. When she lost her parents in a road accident in 2020, Vivian, despite being a minor, had to drop out of school to take up the parental responsibility of her three younger siblings.
Vivian fell in the 60% of children between the ages of 15-17 who are out of school in Africa, according to the UNESCO statistics, but through Zoe program support she was able to overcome this statistic.
In 2022, Vivian received training on how to tie and dye fabric. She realized there was high demand in her community for this trade, and she committed to doing it as an individual income generating activity.
Vivian’s main focus was to meet the everyday household needs of her and her siblings and save enough to go back to school. When she shared her dream with her Zoe program facilitator, the facilitator walked her through the journey by advising how to manage her time, business, siblings, and school.
By January 2023, Vivian had set a target: save enough to go back to school. The money management training she had received came in handy as she was able to register for mobile banking, allowing her customers to more easily send money and giving Vivian the option to use a “funds lock” feature to save income. With this tool, Vivian was able to lock a portion of her earnings up, eventually meeting her goal in December 2023.
January 2024 was the right time for Vivian’s dream to come true. With her savings, she purchased the school uniform and other learning materials. Zoe assisted with the school fees, and Vivian re-enrolled in form one at a day secondary school in her community.
When the program facilitator visited Vivian at school, she was amazed by the positive feedback from the school management on Vivian’s good discipline. They emphasized that Vivian was an excellent example of resilience. Vivian is actively involved in the school clubs where she shares her experiences and wealth of knowledge gained from Zoe Empowers’ training, especially on issues involving child rights and protection.
Vivian has trained two of her siblings how to tie and dye fabric, which they typically do over the weekend then distribute the fabrics to the shops that sell it and pay her later. Through this arrangement, Vivian is able to attend school and support her siblings comfortably.
According to UNESCO, poverty and illiteracy tend to go hand in hand. Even when education is available, a struggling family may need their children to work and earn money instead of going to school, just like the case of Vivian and many other children in the Zoe Empowers program.
Today, Vivian’s dream is to become a teacher so that she can use her training to help fight illiteracy in her community.
This post was authored by:
Mercy Kendi, Zoe Empowers Kenya Communication Officer