A Generation Out of Place: The chronic urban emergency in Rift Valley, Kenya. Report from Profiling Children Connected to the Streets in Rift Valley Province

Research was conducted in five Rift Valley towns (Eldoret, Kitale, Molo, Nakuru, and Naivash) to understand the link between emergencies and the perceived increase of children joining the streets. Findings show that emergencies such as Kenya’s post-election violence and drought have caused children to join the streets, many of whom remain there. By far the biggest reason for children joining the streets is food insecurity caused by emergencies or chronic poverty. Responses have failed to resolve the continuing IDP crisis and fail to tackle the root causes that lead children to connect with the streets. Recommendations advocate for an urgent, large-scale response to place children currently connected to the streets in durable situations such as family reintegration or other forms of care, in tandem with a multi-sectoral developmental approach that tackles and prevents the crisis at its root. To achieve this, the Kenyan Children’s Department, through strengthening its Child Protection Systems, must take primary leadership responsibility and develop a Rift Valley-wide strategy with relevant actors to tackle the issue of children connected to the streets in the province.