Finding Furaha in a Bar of Soap

Furaha in swahili means "joy and great happiness"... we find our happiness in lots of things, but hardly  in a bar of soap. Soap is something you use every day - several times a day in fact. You can't get by without it. So what's the big deal with soap?

During a recent trip to Kenya I kept asking students what they really needed besides the opportunity to attend school. Time after time the same response...a bar of soap. One young student from Buhayi SS said, "My aunt cannot provide soap for her family of ten and the only soap I have is at school where I share with fifty others." 

Students at Buhayi Muslim SS share their hopes and dreams

Our students work hard to focus on their studies while lacking in what by Canadian standards are considered essential items. Bath soap, shampoo, toothbrush and paste, skin moisturizer, and laundry soap have been the toiletries and hygiene products that our students report that they simply cannot afford. Good oral health, hand washing and the ability to launder their school uniforms can improve health, decrease risk of communicable illness and thus keep students in school where they can continue to be successful. Healthy beautiful skin and smiles would provide CES students with the comfort and confidence they need to continue on the path of leadership and growth within their school and community.

A gift of $15.00 CAN provides: soap, shampoo, toothbrush and paste, deodorant, laundry soap, skin protection/moisturizer and shoe polish in a gift bag for one student. For more information visit www.cescan.ca

Giving Tuesday – December 2, 2014

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving. After the sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is a time to celebrate and encourage activities that support charities and non- profits. Whether it’s making a donation, volunteering time, helping a neighbor or sharing some good news, Giving Tuesday is a movement for everyone who wants to give something back.  

On Giving Tuesday CES Canada is creating 300 Health and Hygiene Kits – just in time for the beginning of the next school year.

You may never find "furaha" or joy in receiving a bar of soap. You can however, ensure "furaha" by giving a bar of soap...why not give it a try.

A gift of $15.00 CAN provides: soap, shampoo, toothbrush and paste, deodorant, laundry soap, skin protection/moisturizer and shoe polish in a gift bag for one student. For more information visit www.cescan.ca

CES Canada Promotes Effective Hygiene and Sanitation Practice

Kenya is grappling with high incidents of diarrhea, amoeba, typhoid and cholera due to poor sanitation. CES Canada joins Kenya in its national behavior change campaign to encourage adoption of hygienic practices to reduce these infections.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that half of Kenya's population lack access to improved sanitation. An estimated 6 million Kenyans do not have latrines and are forced to defecate in the open. These people are vulnerable to contagious diseases and physical attacks.

Kenya launched a community led total sanitation program in 2011 to eradicate open defecation in villages and shanty towns. Since then 1,300 villages across Kenya have been declared open defecation free, thanks to investments in sanitation infrastructure and public awareness.

The Ministry of Health has partnered with county governments to raise public awareness on proper hygienic practices at the grassroots level. A recent World Bank study indicates that 19,500 Kenyans, including 17,100 children under the age of five, die annually from diarrhea. Childhood stunting which affects education and long-term productivity has been linked to poor sanitation.

Since 2004 CES Canada has been partnering with thirty (30) secondary schools in the western area of Kenya. The cornerstones of Education, Water, Health and Nutrition have supported a number of projects that embrace the need for a holistic approach to community development. Promoting environmental health and safety through clean water and improved hygiene is a top priority for CES.

In 2015 CES will conduct research in ten secondary schools with the intent of relying on data to improve daily hygiene practice and water consumption. This will be done in conjunction with the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) in Kakamega. The goal is to improve learning by enabling healthy students.

The focus on implementing water sanitation and hygiene programs in rural secondary schools in Kenya has been supported through a partnership with the WASH in Schools (WinS) global outreach through UNICEF. CES subscribes to its Three Star approach that describes schools in various stages of hygiene and clean water development.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/210986567/The-Three-Star-Approach-to-WASH-in-Schools

The minimum standard of a “One Star” school looks at daily routines to promote healthy habits. These include daily, supervised group hand-washing with soap, normally before the school meal.

Schools that provide on-site clean water, adequate latrines that are segregated for separate use for boys and girls, and also provide hand-washing facilities will achieve higher rates of attendance and academic achievement. Schools that provide feminine hygiene resources also report lower levels of absenteeism for girls.

In order to improve hygiene and access to safe water, CES Canada seeks to work with schools to meet essential criteria for a healthy learning environment. This approach ensures that healthy habits are taught, practiced and integrated into daily school routines. Expensive infrastructure in schools is not necessary to meet health goals. The intent is to keep it simple, scalable and sustainable.

CES Canada Fights Poverty in Kenya

CES Canada Fights Poverty in Kenya

CES Canada is a small NGO working in rural Kenya. Its goal is to alleviate poverty through the provision of education, water, health and nutrition. CES believes that lack of education is a key element when addressing the core roots of poverty. The path to economic freedom lies in the ability of people to be educated and to make choices and investments within their means. A top down government regulatory approach has been proven wanting in countries that cannot or will not provide quality education for all. The way out of the quagmire of poverty is from the bottom up, in small villages, communities and urban centers across each county where education and health are given equal priority with large scale national economic development strategies in place.

Before asking how poverty eradication is best pursued, the question of what poverty means is critical. Poverty is more than a lack of income. According to the United Nations, the accepted benchmark for income alone is $1.25/day.  However, simply increasing income above $1.25/day will not create long term sustainability. People living in poverty are vulnerable. They need more than an infusion of funding.

Effective poverty eradication strategies need to recognize the interconnections between various aspects of poverty. Poverty is made up of factors that together deprive people of their rights and freedoms. Malnutrition, poor sanitation, lack of clean water and no electricity are daily reminders of what people in rural Kenya face. These realities reflect the realities of poor health, lack of education, inadequate living standards, environmental degradation, gender discrimination, violence and lack of access to justice.

The practicalities of eradicating poverty remain daunting at best. The most vulnerable are the children. Always depending on adults, they suffer greatly when caregivers live in acute poverty. Powerless and without a voice, their choices are limited to meeting needs for basic survival. The way forward remains largely in the domain of education, for it is here that minds and hearts can be shaped and values, skills and attitudes moulded into something positive.

The HIV/Aids pandemic has produced the phenomena of “children raising children” and “grandmothers raising children.” There are 1.2 million orphaned children under the age of 19 years living in Kenya; most cannot pay the school fees necessary to attend school. CES Canada’s scholarship program includes paying tuition and providing basic healthcare and nutrition for 300 secondary school students. Daily feeding programs, improved sanitation through Wash In Schools Program (UNICEF), access to clean water, PAD feminine hygiene education and provision of treated anti-malaria mosquito nets help each student to become brighter, better learners – all this for under $1/day.

CES Canada is involved in a “seven-fold” strategy where needy orphaned students receive scholarships and support in their education. This means that on average one CES graduate will help seven others to achieve their education. Families and communities are strengthened as these Kenyan youth find ways to rise above the grinding poverty they face.

Gender Equity

International Day of the Girl Child 

CES Canada is passionate about and actively supports girl’s rights and gender sensitivity. The difference education makes in the life of a girl is monumental.  Investing in youth is a social justice imperative. It is also a key strategy to fight poverty and to lift a society above the levels of mere survival. The inclusion of girls is essential to integrating human rights with progress and development.

All children have the right to a quality education in a safe environment in which they can learn and thrive and fulfill their potential. For girls in particular this means an investment in education and in health, including comprehensive sexuality education in and out of school.

Discrimination against girls includes health inequities, harmful traditional practices, gender-based violence, and social and economic discrimination.  Girls are less likely to be literate and to have completed secondary schooling, and they are less likely to have the means to defend their rights and access justice.

Eliminating all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls and sexual abuse of children including child or early marriage and female genital mutilation is essential. So too is justice and access to health, social and legal services for all victims of exploitation and human trafficking.

The effect of secondary schooling on the health of mothers and children is well-documented. Girls in Kenya who achieve the KCSE have a better chance to access employment and medical care for themselves and their families. Equal access to land, property and inheritance however remain a cultural problem for women. 

In Kenya, most schools do have gender responsive sanitary facilities. Toilet areas are usually separate for both boys and girls but they do not offer any sense of privacy. In these bathrooms, there is a bucket and soap to be used by girls should they start menstruation while at school. 

Over 100 girls sponsored by CES Canada are given basic needs like soap, uniform, sanitary pads, anti-malaria mosquito nets, writing materials and school bags to ensure their regular attendance in school. Students who can only access latrines have a greater risk of getting worms, diarrhea and other diseases such as cholera. 

CES Canada in partnership with UNICEF’s Wash in Schools (WinS) Program is actively encouraging schools to push the agenda of washing hands with soap. In addition, the addition of sources of clean water through the provision of wells at 10 schools has helped to create healthier school communities.

These basic provisions not only raise the status of the girl child in school, they ensure a healthier student capable of meeting the demands of secondary school education.  Improved school attendance means increased retention rates and higher grades.  Equal opportunity with boys to learn and create a future of their choice is the ideal to which CES Canada in Kenya strives to achieve.

Seven-fold Multiplication Factor

Seven-fold Multiplication Factor

CES Canada Attacks the Roots of Poverty

Among the many roots of poverty is the fact that so many young people around the world cannot find jobs. In Kenya, nearly 75 percent of the unemployed are aged between 15 and 24 years. The disillusionment and alienation of being excluded from productive employment or realizing one's potential will undoubtedly have long term social and psychological consequences.

Acute poverty is defined as a family of four earning less than one dollar a day. In rural western Kenya this is a reality that undermines the very fabric of society. Unemployment among young people has reached a crisis proportion.

Rapid population growth is a key factor. Kenya's population has nearly quadrupled in just 50 years with 60% percent of the population being under 24 years old. This ensures a rapid and unsustainable population growth.
Another reality is low quality education. Even as more young people are graduating from high school and college, they lack the skills required to compete in the workplace. Kenya’s education system needs intentional reform. 

The present system is antiquated, largely based on a rote learning paradigm left over from 20^th century colonial influences.  The skill of solving complex problems and the use of strategic planning methodologies in a holistic learning environment cannot emerge from a lock step approach driven by factual memorization. To move from the information age to a more conceptual and abstract approach will be difficult.

Kenya’s economy is primarily agrarian. Land ownership however is changing and fewer farmers are working. Environmental changes and land degradation through deforestation have all served to lower productivity and increase the price of food. Nutrition and adequate food supply for the poor is at a critical stage where health and growth development for children are at risk. It takes more effort and time to obtain the basics of life. Education for many is but a dream when finding a meal every other day is the norm.

Rapid growth in Kenya’s service industry is unprecedented. This includes telecommunications, warehousing, transport, banking, security and insurance and tourism. The problem lies in the fact that growth in these areas have the lowest multiplier effect, hence has the least potential to create jobs for the majority of unskilled high school graduates. Strong growth in agriculture and industry are likely to have the largest potential to generate improved economic growth and employment opportunities.

Since 2009 the scourge of HIV/Aids has lost some of its sting; however, it is still a fact that many of the most productive wage earners, parents in the prime of their working careers have died. This has left 1.2 million orphaned children under the age of 19 years. Grandmothers help to raise the children; however they do not add to the economy or create a vibrant work environment. Too much energy and time is used dealing with all the societal issues stemming from this pandemic. Some rural communities have been hit so hard that attendance at funerals precludes active employment.

Kenya’s youth are discouraged and many have stopped seeking employment. Young people hang about with little prospect for change. There is a sense of hopelessness that pervades. It is felt by all those who long to attend school but cannot due to lack of school fees. Two generations have suffered from neglect and the lack of national policies that could strengthen local communities.


Youth unemployment needs concrete solutions to turn the tide. The right to education for all children and youth remains fundamental to any change for the better. The work of CES Canada in rural western Kenya has been ongoing over the past ten years. Over 1200 scholarships have provided a base for 330 KCSE graduates to improve their chances to find work. 40 CES graduates have gone on to higher education. These are emerging as young people who are motivated and now see themselves as productive and competent. Best of all, they exhibit the “seven-fold multiplication” factor. Each will in their own way and time reach out to at least seven others to give them the same chance they received through CES Canada.