A helping hand to street families in Nakuru
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya spelled more misery and trouble for many street families across the country. Stringent measures imposed to curb the spread of the virus cut-off many means of earning income for many, making affording food even more challenging.
Additionally, a daily curfew between 7 PM and 5 AM means street families with nowhere to go spend evening hours playing a cat-and-mouse game with police officers who are tasked with implementing the curfew. This has resulted in numerous reports of police brutality on street families.
In Nakuru county, nonprofit groups that have previously worked on issues affecting street children and families came together and formed a Street Families Emergency Response Team to provide support to street families in Nakuru during the COVID-19 period.
According to Chris Matigaro, one of the members of the Street Families Emergency Response Team, street families are struggling for daily survival, with many feeling that the measures instituted by the government to prevent community infections are not meant for them.
The Street Families Emergency Response Team is working closely with the County Government of Nakuru, volunteers, and well-wishers to raise funds used to provide meals and basic support to street families. Currently, they provide meals to the street families three times a week at Ziwani grounds. In addition, street families are being educated about how to reduce transmission of the Coronavirus, including hand-washing and social distancing. With more resources, the Response Team hopes to scale their assistance to include providing soap, daily meals, and blankets to keep warm at night as the cold season sets in.
Yetu Initiative’s community of practice brings together Kenyan civil society organizations to enable networking, sharing of best practices, and collaboration on projects. Yetu — meaning “ours” in Swahili — is a partnership funded by the Aga Khan Foundation and USAID. Since its inception in 2014, Yetu has worked with civil society organisers like the Street Families Emergency Response Team to advance principles of self-reliance and locally led development.
