The ACT project, where ACT stands for “to Adapt, to Cope and to Thrive” aims to contribute to the process of Adaptation, Coping and Thriving off the Dadaab community amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Daadab area in North-East Kenya is home to 217,511 registered refugees from neighbouring countries, most of them from Somalia, and is subject to both droughts and flood emergencies that threaten livelihoods. This part of Kenya is also characterised by high poverty and economic instability, with 73% of the population living below the poverty line (Kenya’s integrated development plan 2018-2022).
AVSI Kenya in Daadab collaborates with the Kenya Scout Association in the Scouting for Refugees programme which attempts to empower refugees providing them with education, skills training and development, community services and activities. The programme was created thanks to AVSI collaboration with the Scout Association in Kenya in 2012 and, since then, it has been attempting to support young people by making them acquire a large and developed set of skills.
Daadab refugee camp counts four camps with a total population of 211,701 people. The camp was originally established in 1991 when refugees started to arrive in Kenya after the outbreak of the civil war in Somalia.
The program operates in 22 schools all over the 4 camps and about 850 people are now benefiting from it with lots of people having transitioned through. In the Schools the scouts help in lots of different activities, such as planting trees, cleaning compounds, they also help to bring back to school children that stopped going.
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The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly increased GBV cases due to “stay at home directive”, which exposes women and children to a greater risk of harm. In Dadaab, the situation is even worse due to a history of insecurity in the area that leaves the women exposed to more violence. Having a strong emphasis on gender equality, ACT articulates interconnected practices as a useful solution to the existing challenges catalysed by local cultural beliefs and worsening by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ACT Daadab community project aims to reach out about 5500 vulnerable people in this region.
Esharelife Foundation supports this project to help AVSI to be able to help as many people as it can in the camp. If you would like to support the ACT Daadab community project you can donate here.