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WHAT IS VULNERABILITY

Vulnerability refers to susceptibility of an individual household and communities to sudden shock or long term stress imposed by changing economic, social, environment and political context

 

LEVELS IDENTIFIED

Level 0 – Blessed life - harmonious living desired by all and willed by God. It’s identified with the following:

  1. Harmony with oneself

  2. Harmony with God

  3. Harmony with neighbor

  4. Harmony with environment

 

TCN facilitate Transformational training

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Level 1 – Battered life – identified with the following:

  1. Domestic and gender based violence – spousebartering, children sexual abuse, death, rape cases

  2. Retrogressive cultural practices – Female Genital Mutilation, early marriages

  3. Unplanned pregnancies for the young singles – barter trade (sex for food/job), rape, unprotected intercourse

  4. Preventive health problems – Polio, rickets

 

TCN: facilitate Transformational Training, seed fund, Reconciliation, Mercy homes, Social Justice

 

THE LEVEL ONE CRISIS AND CHALLENGES MAY LEAD TO LEVEL 2:

Level 2 – Broken life - Vulnerability level – identified in the life of a significant number of the following persons:

  1. Abandon babies

  2. Orphans

  3. Widows

  4. Widowers

  5. Single mothers

  6. Unmarried women

  7. Destitute households

  8. The aged

  9. People or children living with disabilities (PLWD)

TCN facilitate Transformational Training, seed fund, reconciliation, Social Justice,

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  1. Children’s homes, foster homes

At this level, some may benefit from safety net provided by churches, government, organizations and individuals through:

  1. Children’s homes,

  2. Foster homes

  3. Baby centers

  4. Special schools for thedisable

  5. Relief Programs

  6. Or self-made plans such as merry go round and table banking

TCN facilitate capacity building for the institutions and ministries

 

THOSE WHO CROSS THE RED LINE AND FIND THEMSELVES IN THE STREET LEADS TO LEVEL 3 and 4

Level 3 - Brutal life    - hardcore level – identified with street life, ruthlessness, lawbreaking, wicked lifestyle, begging

In the street life, the vulnerable acquire different names based on their livelihood and addictive behaviors:

  1. Vulnerable children becomes Street children, “Chokoraa or homeless”

  2. Vulnerable girls and women becomes Commercial Sex Workers “twilight girls or prostitutes”

  3. Vulnerable men becomesRobbers, alcoholics and drug abusers “Drunkards and drug peddlers”

  4. Vulnerable people living with disabilities becomes Beggars and due to lack of walking aid it becomes challenge for the family

TCN facilitate transformational training, seed fund, reconciliation, mercy home, social justice,

 

At this level, sometimes Churches, government, NGOs among other partners has been trying to assist by relocating them to rehabilitation centers and half way homes, however majority of them remains in the street and are usually rounded up by authorities and taken to jail because of their illegal activities on the street.

TCN facilitate capacity building for the institutions and ministries

 

Level 4 – Bitter life – Risk level – identified with

  1. Prisoners

  2. Probationers

  3. Juveniles

 

They are termed as social misfit and cannot be trusted in the society. They are referred by financial institutions as “risk clients” who can never access any loan or services in the bank or anywhere. Due to this they feel rejected and abandoned by the society and they live a bitter life driven by a spirit of revenge to which they accomplished whenever an opportunity present itself.

TCN facilitate transformational training, seed fund, reconciliation, mercy home, social justice,

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WE, THEREFORE, HAVE IDENTIFIED FIVE GAPS (AS SHOWN IN THE RED RECTANGULAR SHAPE ABOVE) WHICH TCN EXIST TO FILL:

THE FIRST GAP: AWARENESS OF HARMONIOUS LIVING

Sometimes when we are in harmony and enjoying life, we may not be aware of the sufferings and the needs of the vulnerable,

TCN facilitate awareness in the community and through faith based institutions to:

  • To be aware of their status and not to take life for granted so as to avoid degenerating to level 2

  • To mobilize support from those in level 1 and support those on other levels in view of bringing them up to level 1

  • To engage the level one group to be partners of thisministry to the needy

 

THE SECOND GAP: RECONCILIATION

Due to ignorance and lack of life skill empowerment, people fall into habits that will trap them in poverty.  The trappings may then bushed them down further due to family squabbles. Blame game ensued that degenerates to fighting’s thus crossing the red line to level 2; the bartered life

To facilitate addressing the problems, TCN exist to

  • Create awareness on the rights of each individual through social justice

  • Financial support throughseed fundprogram for sustainable income generating projects

  • Sensitize communitieson the value of education, empower institutions and facilitateministries and market link

 

THE THIRD GAP: FACILIATE SAFETY NET

Due to limited access to safety net plans to facilitate the vulnerable back to normal life, many of them end up searching for livelihood in towns and urban centers thus getting into illegal and immoral activities in the streets.

 A number of children’s homes and baby centers also lack proper exit plans for children who have grown in these institutions. Due to government policies that 18 and above years old child can no longer be hosted in such institutions and should stay at home for a maximum of three years, has led a significant number of these adults to the street life in search of a better livelihood. Thus crossing the red line into bad influence detrimental to their lives and society in general.

 

To facilitate addressing the problems, TCN facilitate the following;

  • Capacity building for the vulnerable and therelevant institutions through Transformational Training Program

  • Provide financial empowerment for the vulnerable through seed fund program

  • Facilitate establishment of rescue home throughMercy home

  • Facilitate legal aid and advocacy through Social Justice program

THE FOURTH GAP: STRENGTHEN REHABILITATION PROCESS FOR TRANSFORMATION

Without appropriate rehabilitation process which ensure proper transformation, the one being rehabilitated may risk relapsing back to former ways;

TCN comes in to strengthen the rehabilitation strategies and process through empowering institutions and those directly in charge of rehabilitation by

  • Training them and providing training resources and assisting to monitor and evaluate the process

  • Facilitating or supporting life skills empowerment for their livelihood

 

THE FIFT GAP:  FACILIATE SEED FUND AND SUSTAINABLE EXIT STRATEGIES

Due to improper exit plan from rehabilitation centers, halfway homes and prison, significant number of them goes back to the street life. The one that goes home is stigmatized in the community and the only option for solace is street life or prison. Thus, the vulnerability vicious cycle continues.

 

To facilitate addressing the challenges, TCN:

  • Facilitate change of environment and attitude by enrollingthem to a half way home for the newly released inmates and those who have been in rehabilitation centers and celebrate the new life

  • Follow-up on livelihoods skills, rehabilitativeprogram, capacity building,psycho social supportamong other livelihood lessons

  • Facilitate reintegration process and supply of basic need

 

STARTING POINT

Some of the income generating projects envisioned for the vulnerable and the rehabilitated are:

Businesses - Saloon, barber shop, kiosk, food store, hardware, hotel, among others

Agribusiness - poultry farming, fish farming, bee farming, dairy farming, dairy goat farming, among others

Skills gain from vocational training: carpentry, mechanic, electronic, plumbing, electrical, tailoring, beads making, weaving among others

 

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? – UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

1. The vulnerable living at home: needs sustainable livelihood for easier access to food, education, clothes, shelter and justice on property ownership and proper exit plans from care givers because of their susceptibility

 

2. The vulnerable living in the street, rehabilitation centers  and the prison: needs alternative means of livelihood for easier access of their basic needs, justice to prevail at the court of law, rehabilitation due to the effects of drug use and abuse and sexual exploitation that they often endure as well as proper exit plans at rehabilitation centers and prisons.

 

THEREFORE, TCN IDENTIFIED SIX STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS TO FACILITATE SOLUTIONS (TRISHES):

  1. To address the mind and attitudinal change of the vulnerable and the church and facilitate them with practical tools that leads them to cause community transformation -

  2. To mobilize churches to donate financial support to loan to the vulnerable so as to financially be able to basic needs such as shelter, health, education and food so as to supply to the vulnerable and those needing emergency relieve -

  3. To facilitate reconciliation among the vulnerable at home and those away from home –

  4. To facilitate the vulnerable by providing shelter –

  5. To mobilize Churches to facilitate legal aid and advocacy for the vulnerable -

  6. To facilitate faith based institutions be able to provide proper exit plans -

 

HOW TCN FACILIATE SOLUTION?

We recognize the mandate of the faith based institutions charged with   transforming human soul so as to live harmonious life.

Our key focus is to ignite, inspire and inform the faith based institutions so as to transform communities around them.

  

We do this through the following programs:

  1. Restoring harmony - Transformational Integrated program– Empowering churches to transform communities through World View (WV) and Community Health Empowerment (CHE) programs

  2. Resourcing for livelihood – Seed Fund (KenyansAid program) - Mobilizing locally available in-kind and in-cash support for the vulnerable. Financial support facilitates the vulnerable to  access  affordable loan for startup or improvement of  their sustainable livelihood thus meeting their basic human needs such as shelter, food, cloth, access to health and education

  3. Reconciling conflicts – Reconciliation program - facilitating reconciliation where there is conflict. Vulnerable at home becomes victims of gender based violence and faces Retrogressive cultural practices such FGM and early marriages. Facilitating  rehabilitation centers  for effective and sustainable exit strategies for the vulnerable away from home  

  4. Rescuing the homeless - Mercy Home Program - facilitating accommodation and housing for the vulnerable through temporary home which is half way home and rescue home. Sensitization of having permanent home which is promotion of adoption and foster- ship.

  5. Reinforcing justice - Social Justice Program – facilitating creation of awareness in communities concerning the rights of the vulnerable and offering legal aid or guidance.

  6. Revitalizing faith based institutions– Capacity Building Program– facilitating get together fellowships  for faith based institutional  stake holders and organizing for empowerment workshops so as to  make a difference in their communities; this include but not limited to baby centers, children’s homes, schools, health facilities, rehabilitation centers etc.

 

TCN, THEREFORE, FILLS THE THREE EXISTING GAPS: 

  1. The government policy does not allow any child in rehabilitation centers or children homes to stay more than three years with age limit of eighteen years.A significant number of rehabilitation centers and children’s homes don’t have proper exit strategy for those children when the age limit hit.Some of them reached that age limit when they are still young, or in colleges or universities and or simply unprepared to be out of the home environment and stay alone. The challenges of care after the center/home is enormous thus the temptation of reverting back to street life and poverty is high. TCN partners with churches to provide seed fund as a safety net to facilitate their preparedness through starting sustainable livelihood so as to live independently thereafter. The seed fund is given to them as a loan to start –up an income generating project.

 

  1. The government of Kenya is currently phasing out institutional children’s homes so that orphans and vulnerable children can be cared for by foster families. The idea is brilliant in that the children will be brought –up in a real home environment coupled up with parental love. However, the families are not being prepared for that responsibility. With a high cost of living, small houses, small land and limited income many families may not accept to take in more vulnerable children in addition to their biological children.To address this challenge, TCN partners with churches and the government relevant ministry to facilitate the foster parenthood sensitization, purchase more land for willing foster parents, expand their houses, rebuild or renovate what they have and facilitate them to start income generating projects to increase their income so that they can take in more vulnerable children. This will enabled the foster parents to meet the basic needs of the children without compromising the quality care required from them.Other government funding such as bursary and health insurance shall be sought to support education and health of these children.

 

  1. With a realization that faith based institutions play a major role in helping the vulnerable, most of them struggle with starting of a sustainable program for the vulnerable or making sustainable outreaches to the vulnerable. Another challenge also is facility management and lack of proper preparation for the rehabilitated groups to exit the home or rehabilitation centers. Thus reverting back to former lifestyles. To address this challenge, TCN trains and empower churches to become effective and efficient in running the rehabilitation centers and children homes for a greater impact in the society. TCN equips leaders with simple tools that enables them apply immediately, thus beginning the transformation process in their own institutions through utilization of the available resources. The training places emphasis on the importance of mindset transformation which is attitudinal change and present the godly worldview program as the key to social and cultural transformation.

 

WHY THE VULNERABLE – irrespective of gender and age:

  1. To eradicate abject poverty, the lives of the vulnerable must be uplifted because they are themajority destitute populace

  2. To reduce the wide spread of sexual transmitted diseases such as HIV and AIDS,thelifestyle of the vulnerable on the street such as commercial sex workers must be transformed

  3. To have a just society and fairness in all spheres of life, the vulnerable rights must be respected and just judgments should prevail because the vulnerable are the majorityvictims ofinjustices whether battering at home or in publicdue to their susceptibilities

  4. To enhanced reconciliations in the society, thevulnerable must be reintegrated properly because they are the most bitter lotdue to the feelings of rejection and abandonmentby the rest of the society

  5. To have a compassionate and caring society, the vulnerable needs must be met because they are the most broken hearted and helpless lot in the community

  6. To have a peaceful and secure society, the vulnerable on the street must be rehabilitated because their brutal lifestyle is a brooding grounds fora network of hooligans and criminals

  7. To enhance equality and harmonious living in the society, both gender must be empowered; focusing on vulnerable girls and women alone results in a skewed development in the community leading to disharmony at the family level. Vulnerable boys and men must also be empowered to provide harmonious leadership in their household and the community. Transformational development happens where all people irrespective of gender and age gets involved in the society

  8. Yes we understand that the program is too broad and too wide, our focus is to mobilize, facilitate and empower the doers of the ministry, which is the church so as to use their talents, gifts and calling to serve their vulnerable neighbors and beyond. We are few in the office but the laborers are many in the field awaiting to be ignited, inspired and informed for community holistic transformation

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