NOMADIC CHILDREN IN KENYA: EXAMINING THE PLACE OF SOCIAL WORK IN THE CONFLICT-LIVELIHOOD-VULNERABILITY INTERFACE

  • Ezekiel Mbitha Mwenzwa, Dr Department of Social Sciences, Karatina University, Kenya,
Keywords: Children, Conflict, Livelihood, Nomadic Pastoralism, Vulnerability

Abstract

Nomadic pastoralists of Kenya occupy the drylands of the country that make up roughly 80 per cent of the total land area. The defining attributes of these areas include soil moisture deficiency, ethnic conflict and food insecurity. Nomadic pastoralism, the local mainstay is challenged by the cross-pollination of environmental vagrancy, ethnic conflict and poor social services. This subjects children to perennial mobility in the rangelands and, hence, hard-to-reach with social services. The migration increases children’s vulnerability and exposes them to conditions that are counterproductive to their growth and development. Consequently, the children are unable to access quality social services including water, health, education and food. This increases their vulnerability to different shocks due to the relative deprivation occasioned by the apparent conspiracy of the social and natural environments. This article uses secondary data to understand the nexus between conflict, livelihood and vulnerability, and the place of social work in the nomadic children of Kenya,and its implications on nomadic children. We conclude that conflict and nomadic pastoralism combine to expose nomadic children to numerous adversities. Henceforth, we recommend social work intervention to moderate nomadic children’s vulnerability and augment their welfare.

Author Biography

Ezekiel Mbitha Mwenzwa, Dr, Department of Social Sciences, Karatina University, Kenya,
Ezekiel Mbitha Mwenzwa is a Lecturer and Head of Department, in the Department of Social Sciences at the Karatina University, in Kenya, where he teaches Sociology and Community Development. He holds a Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Arts in Sociology, from the University of Nairobi and a Doctor of Philosophy (Human Ecology), from the University of Eldoret, in Kenya. His research interests are in human ecology of dryland development, gender studies and policy development around the same areas in which he has published widely. His most recent publication is ‘The Potential for Gender-Based Violence among the Eastern Bantu Ethnic Groups of Kenya: Evidence from Oral Literature’ co-authored with Dr Pauline Thuku and published in the Journal of Adult Education in Tanzania (JAET) in June 2023.
Published
2024-01-11
How to Cite
Mwenzwa, E. (2024). NOMADIC CHILDREN IN KENYA: EXAMINING THE PLACE OF SOCIAL WORK IN THE CONFLICT-LIVELIHOOD-VULNERABILITY INTERFACE. ZANGO: Zambian Journal of Contemporary Issues, 37(2), 52-66. Retrieved from https://conferences.unza.zm/index.php/ZJOCI/article/view/1146