Kenya
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Photo: Joy Portella/Mercy Corps
The context
Mercy Corps has worked in Kenya since 2008. The underlying causes of Kenya's 2007 post-election crisis remain. These include competition over land, deep poverty, widespread unemployment, youth alienation, and political tension. Millions of families are still recovering from the region's worst drought in 60 years, which began in 2011.
Another drought in 2016 has intensified the situation, leading to food shortages and livestock deaths. According to the U.N., the drought is worse than the 2010-11 drought because of consecutive droughts and a low rainfall forecast for the next few months. Further humanitarian assistance is needed in 2017 to address food insecurity.
Our work
- Children & Youth: Supporting young people to become peaceful, productive members of their communities through civil society engagement, connecting them with employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, and helping them to build life skills.
- Conflict & Governance: Strengthening local, district, and provincial structures to promote sustainable peace and reconciliation.
- Disaster preparedness: Building resilience in the face of drought, flooding and other shocks and stresses in areas vulnerable to climate change by enhancing community capacity to adapt, recover and manage existing natural resources.
- Agriculture & Food: Supporting sustainable livelihoods and empowering small holder farmers with access to information, technology and markets to help them improve their productivity and food security.
All stories about Kenya
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Guatemala, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Tunisia: Empower a woman, unleash a leader: Why we support young female entrepreneurs
We provide women and girls with resources to build better lives, because we know strong women equal strong families and communities.
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Kenya: How Kenya's future leaders found their voice
In the aftermath of a violence uprising, we connected young Kenyans to jobs and mentorship, and empowered them to get involved in their communities. Now, they have the skills to build the future they want.
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Colombia, Greece, Guatemala, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Niger, Syria: Youth at a Crossroads January 23, 2017
Today, millions of youth are at a crossroads: In a world of crisis, they will either become a force for peace or one of continued instability. We must support and empower them now, while they are making the choices that will determine the fate of their lives and their communities.
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Kenya: How investing in women can help a community
Lucy was born with drive and ambition, but had no clear path to success. Then, she got involved in a Mercy Corps youth program in Kenya. Today, she's chasing her dreams and helping others chase theirs, too.
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Kenya, Somalia: The long journey home
Many refugees of the Somali civil war never thought they’d be able to return. Follow one man’s journey and learn how we’re helping Somali refugees in Kenya find their way back home.
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Kenya: A movement for peace
Kenya's youth are working to ensure that peace prevails during Monday's national vote, the first since post-election violence swept the country in 2007. Read their stories.
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Kenya: Betting on peace as high-stakes elections approach
Mercy Corps' CEO visits Yes Youth Can and sees the future of Kenya in the young people working for peace in their country.
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Kenya: Using sports to ignite global youth potential
After being shot in the chest with an arrow, David was forced to wait nearly two weeks for treatment. Lack of medical resources wasn't the problem — even though an ambulance took David almost immediately to the hospital, members of an opposing tribe refused to operate on him.
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Kenya: Choosing opportunity over violence
Earlier this summer I spent three weeks in Kenya with Mercy Corps colleagues who are implementing an ambitious program called “Yes Youth Can!” (YYC).
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Kenya: Planting tea and cultivating positive change
I’m crouched inside a tea nursery high up in the Central Rift Valley of Kenya, and George Ngethe is patiently explaining to me how tea is produced.