Official Name: Republic of Kenya

Capital: Nairobi

Currency: Kenyan Shilling

Population: 31,339,770 (July 2002 est.)

Tribes: 22% Kikuyu, 14% Luhya, 13% Luo, 12% Kalenjin, 11% Kamba, 6% Kisii, 6% Meru

Languages: English (official), Kiswahili (official/national), numerous indigenous languages (tribal)

Religions: Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 28%, indigenous beliefs 26%, Muslim 7%, other 1%

Labor Force (by occupation): agriculture 75%-80%

Industry: Small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products processing; oil refining, cement; tourism. Coffin making is a fast growing industry due to AIDS.

Agriculture: coffee, tea, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, flowers

Exports: tea, coffee, horticultural products, hand crafted items

Imports: machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, iron and steel

Natural Resources: gold, limestone, soda ash, salt, wildlife

Kenya is located in Northeastern Africa on the Indian Ocean, bordering Somalia and Tanzania.

With more than 30 million people, Kenya is a land of diversity. The population of Kenya is made up of countless ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. The majority of the population is made of native Africans and many represent a number of Kenya's indigenous tribes.

The break-down of Kenya's majority tribes are represented below:

In the rural areas, tradition is still very strong and the culture is rich, with tribal languages still spoken by the majority of the people. In urban areas, the Western world has had much more influence over the Kenyan people. English and Kiswahili are the predominant languages in Kenya. Although Kiswahili is spoken by most people in Kenya, English is the official language and is used in public places, such as schools and business offices.

A large majority of Kenyans identify with a religious group. While Christian faiths are predominant, Islamic influence is concentrated along the coastal areas. Other religions, including traditional tribal beliefs, are also quite common in Kenya.

While it has enjoyed a high level of social and political stability since it became a nation in 1963, Kenya faces a number of challenges as a developing country. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has been declared a national disaster, more than half the population lives below the poverty line, crime is high near urban centers, and the inherent problems with infrastructure make it difficult to maintain roads, sanitation and water quality.

Africa is facing a tragedy of enormous proportion. Beyond the inherent suffering and loss of life, HIV/AIDS has decimated the workforce, impoverished families, and orphaned millions. As African nations lose adults in their prime working years, orphans have no alternative but to quit school and work to provide for themselves and their siblings. The economic, social and political aide for the children has disintegrated, adding to an already desperate situation.

UNAIDS estimates that 60% of new HIV infections occur among young people between the ages of 15-24. Girls in particular appear to be most vulnerable. Recent data indicates that teenage girls have much higher rates of infection than boys of the same age; the reasons lie in the greater social and biological vulnerability of girls.

In Kenya, the government reports that 2.5 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS, and more than 1.5 million have died from AIDS related diseases since 1984, leaving behind about 1 million orphans.

The majority of African children grow up in rural areas. Life in the rural areas is not materially comfortable for any child, but it is especially difficult for an African girl. Girls do not have the same opportunities in education or development that boys receive.

Girls are especially disadvantaged because most families would rather educate their sons than daughters. In the whole area of approximately 10,000 people, there are no more than 10 girls who have completed secondary school education, and no more than four girls who have gone to the university level.

Improvement in women's lives cannot be sustained if girls are not given the tools and opportunities to realize their full potential. These tools and opportunities can only be given to girls through education and vocational training.

Girls often lack the information and power necessary to negotiate for delayed or safe sex. Girls living in the rural areas are particularly vulnerable: they are living in poverty and have limited opportunities for education and employment. Many girls and young women are forced into sexual trading in order to survive. Some are forced into marriage at an early age, becoming parents and family caretakers while still in their teens. They are deprived of their rights as children and are denied rights to develop at the natural pace.

In the years before adolescence, inappropriate sexual socialization acts as a kind of brainwashing, shaping the girl's sense of who she is and what she can do. If a girl's first lesson of sexuality is taught through force, violence, coercion or trickery, her capacity for self-efficacy is negatively affected. She may lose the sense that she controls her own destiny and can by her actions make a difference. Thus, premature and exploitative sexual socialization affects later self-competence, as well as self-care, by creating a defeatist attitude. Such an attitude can lead to dangerous and self-destructive relationships with men and with self.

Read A Day in the Life of a Village Family, written by Rabuor Village Project's President.

Visitors may be surprised by the stark contrasts of the Kenyan landscape. From the towering, 5199 meter high Mt. Kenya to the pristine, white sand beaches of the Indian Ocean coast, the barren land of the Turkana desert to the lush green pastures of the Great Rift Valley, the traditional thatched huts of the villages to the modern skyscrapers of Nairobi, Kenya is a land of contrasts.

In recent years, Kenya has made a name for itself with international tourists seeking adventure, exotic cultures, and stunning scenery. Kenya is popular worldwide for its extensive and diverse wildlife found on its vast, open plains. Of the numerous national parks, nature conservatories and animal sanctuaries throughout the country, the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in southwestern Kenya, is the most famous. The Masai Mara is a 200 square mile area that encompasses open grasslands, forests, and teeming rivers. Within each region of the park, visitors will be greeted by an incredible array of flora and fauna, from the basking crocodiles and hippos of the marshlands to the daily dance of predator and prey in the open grasslands. Perhaps, the most spectacular event at the Masai Mara is the great Wildebeest migration from the Serenghetti, which occurs each year from July through October. During this migration, over 1.3 million wildebeest gather as one herd as they travel towards more fertile grazing lands to the north. It is a truly amazing scene for any nature lover.

Kenya is a country with great potential for a prosperous future in the international arena. With help from volunteers like you, we hope to be hand-in-hand with Kenyans to overcome its obstacles and thrive.