Education as a tool for empowering Kenya's street children for integration in national development

Abstract

Education is an empowering process that enables those who have been marginalized in the social, economic, political and cultural spheres to claim their status as fully participating members of the society. Nevertheless, about 300,000 street children in Kenya have had no formal education and are not proficient in the two languages used – English (official language) and Swahili (national language)- languages in which vital information leading to improved livelihoods and participation in national development is available. Drawing evidence from an ongoing study on the literacy and numeracy needs of street children in Kenya, I argue that street children need to be equipped with appropriate knowledge through acquisition of numeracy, language and literacy skills for them to be fully empowered to be able to participate in the country's development.