As a child in Lelmokwo, rural Kenya in the 80’s and 90’s, my mum had a neighbour, Marsalina come and help her with household chores; we were a large family of seven children including an uncle who lived with us. It was typical of Kenyan families at time and even now, to have large families and to live with extended family setting. Marsalina must have been in her 40s at the time. She had a basic education, grade 3 or 4, dropping out of primary school because her family did not have the financial resources to support her education.
I remember Marsalina’s daughter, Martha getting married, it must have been in the late 1980’s. Marta was in her late teens when she got married, which again was typical of rural Kenya girls who had not furthered their education. Like Marsalina, Martha dropped out of school after her primary education. Again, like Marsalina, Martha’s family did not have the financial resources to support her education. She had to seek casual employment to help with her family’s finances.
Martha has a son, Kiplagat. Kiplagat is in his early 20s. He like his grandmother and mother dropped out of school. He got to the equivalent of year 8 in Australia, 2 years into secondary school. This is not unique to Marsalina, Martha and Kiplagat, it is a story that is repeated in many families within the community.
Kiplagat is hardworking, intelligent and a very quick learner. Kiplagat was one of the first employees of Lelmokwo Women’s Group’s footwear production enterprise. This cycle of poverty must stop, otherwise there is little hope for future generations of Lelmokwo. Lelmokwo Women’s Group exists to take action and stop the cycle of poverty, so that the next generation and the generations to come are better off. And we are doing this by:
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Introducing new skills and creating employment in the community so that the community is self-sustaining
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Creating employment and therefore improving living conditions in the community so that the cycle of poverty from generation to generation is broken.
The Facts
Kenya has registered a decline in the poverty rate over the past decade. The absolute poverty rate declined from 46% in 2006 to 36% in 2016. But despite this impressive decline, the number of people living in poverty remains unchanged and considerably large mainly as a result of population growth which increased by 10 million or 28% over the same period.
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From a population of 45.4 million in 2016, about 16 million people in Kenya couldn’t afford to meet their basic needs, which includes food, non-food needs such as clothing and shelter.
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About 14 million couldn’t meet their daily food requirements, while 4 million couldn’t buy food enough to meet their daily calorie intake even if they allocated their entire income to purchase food.
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Kenya’s population is largely rural where there are few prospects of employment. Only 27.3 % of the population is urban (14,362,838 people in 2019)
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The median age as of 2019 in Kenya is 19.1 years, compared to Australia where the median age in 2019 is 37.3 years and the USA’s median age as of 2018 is 38.2 years.
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The bulk of Kenya’s population is young, 50% of the population is 19 years and under. The implication are dire, this means that these children, young men and women (50% of the population) will grow into working age and enter the workforce in an environment where there are no jobs and exacerbating poverty; adding to the already high population living in poverty.
Contrast with Australia’s population structure, with Australia having only 25% of the population 19 years and under. Australia’s structure is typical of developed countries. And for these countries, these means that the 19 years and under cohort will enter a workforce with ample job opportunities because there will be a vacuum left in the workplace by the large population leaving the workforce.
