SOS Sahel UK has assisted the Government of Kenya to design and test a strategy to provide education to all primary school age children from nomadic populations.  This programme is now hosted by WERK (Women Education Researchers, Kenya), while still remaining under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for the Development of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands.

Access to learning is difficult for nomads because communities are small, dispersed and mobile, and children are needed to herd livestock so have limited time for school. This programme aimed to overcome these challenges by investigating creative and practical solutions such as the use of new technologies. We undertook a review of Youth Inclusion around the globe and consulted five Kenyan nomadic communities (in Turkana, Wajir, Kajiado, Marsabit and Isiolo) to find out exactly what parents and children want from education.

This programme was further developed by IIED in 2009-10 and is now under the jurisidiction of the Government of Kenya.  It represents a step towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals of eliminating gender disparity and providing universal primary education. Besides being a basic human right, education can play an important role in helping pastoralists respond to external forces such as globalisation and climate change.

Activities completed under SOS Sahel UK

• Consulted five nomadic communities to find out exactly what parents and children want from education.
• Reviewed the literature on Youth Inclusion around the globe and mapped the institutional links and key players in Youth Inclusion in Kenya.
• Researched the costs, outcomes and successes of different types of schooling (such as distance learning by radio), including running an experimental support fund to test and evaluate the use of innovative new technologies for education.
• Supported the Government of Kenya in finalising their Youth Inclusion strategy and plan for universal access to primary education.
• Shared learning on pastoral education from different countries through study visits and international meetings.

Update

Download the latest programme publication "Towards Education for Nomads: Community Perspectives in Kenya", published by IIED in August 2010.

• Ministry for Development of Northern Kenya & Other Arid Lands
• Ministry of Education, Kenya
• Local nomadic communities in Turkana, Wajir, Kajiado, Marsabit & Isiolo.
• Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK)
• IIED