Economically, Kenya was once one of the strongest countries in Africa. The unstable political situation over the last 40 years, corruption and the difficult periods of drought have taken their toll on the country. Fighting between the 70 different ethnic groups is part of everyday life. This has meant that tourism is now a lesser source of income. And poverty is increasing. According to figures from the World Bank, 54% of the population is living below the poverty line. Around 2 million Kenyans are infected with HIV and according to figures from UNICEF, as many as 300,000 children have lost one or both parents to Aids. The infant mortality rate is over 12%. Children and women are particularly affected. They often have no choice but to live on the streets and fight for survival.

The situation of children and young people

Kenya has 31.6 million inhabitants. 44% of them are under 15 years of age. Many of these children are malnourished and sick, street children are often addicted to drugs. They neither go to school nor do they have any job prospects. (Source DSW World Development Report 2003). Family support is lacking in many cases because the parents themselves often do not have enough to live on. Children are either sent away by their families or they leave of their own accord, only to end up on the streets where they are exposed to violence, prostitution and drugs. They are forgotten by society which they have no hope of re-entering. It is a vicious circle out of which hardly any children manage to break.

The situation of women

In Kenya's patriarchal society, many women live as second class citizens. The husband is the head of the family and the wife has as good as no influence against his will on decisions which affect her own life. The family's land belongs to the husband. Therefore, as soon as many women cease being dependent on their own parents, they become dependent on their husbands and it is almost impossible for them to free themselves from violent family relations. If they do succeed however, they are excluded from society, living in the slums of the major cities. It is a daily battle just to survive.