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.