SOS Sahel UK is assisting the Government of Kenya to design and test a strategy to provide education to all primary school age children from nomadic populations. 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. We aim to overcome these challenges by investigating creative and practical solutions such as the use of new technologies. We will carry out a review of nomadic education around the globe, as well as consulting five Kenyan nomadic communities (in Turkana, Wajir, Kajiado, Marsabit and Isiolo) to find out exactly what parents and children want from education.
We are working closely with the Government of Kenya to ensure that this programme is 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. We hope that the success of this programme will lead to a scaling up of a nomadic education initiative across the Sahel.
Activities
- Consulting all five nomadic communities to find out exactly what parents and children want from education.
- Reviewing the literature on nomadic education around the globe and map the institutional links and key players in nomadic education in Kenya.
- Researching 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.
- Supporting the Government of Kenya in finalising their nomadic education strategy and plan fo universal access to primary education.
- Sharing learning on pastoral education from different countries through study visits and international meetings.
Update
Download our Education for Nomads Bulletin 1 (May 2009).
Following several successful meetings with the Ministry for Northern Kenya and the Ministry of Education in January 2009, the programme activities are now under way. We are pleased to have a close working relationship with the Government of Kenya and have recently provided comments on their draft nomadic education policy paper.
- Ministry for Development of Northern Kenya & Other Arid Lands
- Ministry of Education, Kenya
- Local nomadic communities in Turkana, Wajir, Kajiado, Marsabit & Isiolo.
- Pastoralist Integrated Support Programme (PISP) - local NGO
- Arid Lands Development Focus (ALDEF) - local NGO