Kenya – SOS Medical and Social Centres

In Kenya there are currently three Social Centres and one Medical Centre for children and the local community: in Nairobi, Mombasa and Eldoret.  Many SOS Social Centres operate via Family Strengthening Programmes, which aim to support the wider community.  Medical Centres provide treatments and services for the local community. Below is some information about some of the Social Centres that SOS Children runs in Kenya:

SOS Social Centres around Kenya: In-Depth

Mombasa

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

The family strengthening programme offers access to essential services for children’s development (eg. educational, nutritional, health support, social skills) and supports families to protect and care for their children. The programme also aims at linking families with income generating activities and offers help to improve the parents’ parenting skills

Work and Achievements:

FSP Mombasa has a total number of 209 children (78M 131F) beneficiaries. One family was discontinued following relocation from our target area to Western Province. 

School visits were conducted to two schools in Mnazi Moja where FSP children attend. The visits are ongoing and a situational analysis will be done to identify areas of support.

2 training workshops were conducted in the last quarter. Topics covered were; reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. A total number of 35 (8M 27F) caregivers and community leaders participated in the 2 workshops.

A seminar on child rights was conducted. Participants were drawn from the community management committee, youth and women’s groups operating in the target area. A child protection committee was formed comprising of 6 members from the three locations.

Eldoret

Description of SOS Social Centre:

SOS Social Centre (Family Strengthening) started to operate in 2008. It focuses on the following areas: Promote community awareness on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS; promote HIV care, treatment and support services; promote psychosocial support system for people living with HIV/AIDS; improve access of orphaned and vulnerable children to basic primary education and transition to secondary/tertiary institutions; promote income generating activities and upgrade life skills; provide nutritional packages and enhance health and nutritional practices; support the community to establish a day care centre. About 900 children and 300 adults avail themselves of the services of the SOS Social Centre per year.

Work and Achievements:

FSP supported the formation and training of the Area Advisory Council (AAC) whose membership comprises of local NGOs, the Chief for Kapsoya location and is an arm of the District Children’s Office, dealing with child protection issues in the District. The council will be charged with child protection and advocacy of the children’s rights issues in the locality.

The program has an education programme which supports 214 children by providing school uniform, shoes, bags and sanitary towels to the girls in 6 public schools in the community so that they stay in school . The programme has also supported in building the capacity of teachers by taking them through a three day course in career and guidance.

The has partnered with a local group called Kapsoya Adult Literacy Centre and enrolled 50 beneficiaries in the adult learning for basic writing and counting and help children do homework.

Nairobi

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

The SOS Social Centre consists of training rooms, kitchen, canteen and two counselling rooms. It focuses on community awareness on HIV/AIDS in schools, via churches and the community. It also includes a capacity building program for emotional support groups, a nutrition program for HIV/Aids infected people, education bursaries for needy children and endeavours to reunite street children with their families and supports them to be integrated into the formal school system.

SOS Medical Centre in Kenya: In-Depth

Nairobi

Description of SOS Medical Centre:

The SOS Medical Centre comprises two treatment rooms, a laboratory and adjoining rooms. It also organizes “medical camps” ranging from dental, ear nose throat to gynaecological treatment, obstetrics and general practitioners. The HIV/Aids clinic offers voluntary counselling and testing (HIV/Aids) in cooperation with the SOS Social Centre, anti-retroviral therapy.

Work and Achievements:

At the medical centre, the clinic operates from Monday to Friday every month. 11,249 clients were successfully treated during the year. 371 clients are on ARVs and 57 in the TB clinic. At least 9 clinics were held by the German Doctors and a total number of 540 community people were treated.  Extensive marketing for the lab was done. 43 clinics were visited and 19 of them have been brining there lab specimen in our medical centre laboratory.

The VCT which is also part of medical centre had numerous activities for implementation. They held 13 community mobile VCT and door to door counseling. A total of 1,343 were tested for VCT, 591 were male and 752 were females among them 35 males and 104 females were HIV+. 76 clients attended for information counseling only. For Provider initiative testing and counseling (PITC) 154 clients were tested. There was an increase in the number tested, this was 12 male and 22 female. 3 of the male and 1 female turned out to be positive. 126 adults were tested, 25 female and 16 male turned out positive. Adherence counseling was done for 1766 during the whole year.  A total of 82 patients were started on ARVs in 2009. 8 group sessions were conducted. 46,232,200 male condoms were distributed to clients both at the VCT and mobile out reach VCT.