Mamapreneurs for Early Childhood, with Kidogo


About the project

Context

Children in Kenya’s informal settlements are among the unhealthiest nationwide, with nearly half (46%) suffering from stunted growth, limited stimulation, and various diseases that prevent children’s brains from developing.

Approach

Sabrina Habib set up Kidogo in Kenya to train and support female entrepreneurs – Mamapreneurs – in low-income urban areas to start or grow their own quality childcare centres.

Impact

Kidogo are providing play packs for over 38,000 children living in Kenya's informal settlements, to enhance Early Childhood Development and learning.

Affordable quality childcare

In Kenya’s slums, home to nearly 60% of the population, there are extremely limited options for affordable childcare. Working mothers have to make difficult decisions about where to leave their young children. The options are bleak: pull older children (usually girls) out of school to look after their young siblings or leave them at unlicensed “babycare” where an untrained caregiver provides basic supervision.

Kidogo focuses on areas where mothers are working and where children, aged 0-3, are in makeshift, often unsafe informal early childcare and education centres. The project enables young mothers to pursue education or go to work safe in the knowledge that their child is being looked after in a safe, stimulating environment.