The Post- election 2007 violence that flared up in most parts of the country mainly affected Rift Valley, Nyanza, Nairobi and Coast Provinces. North Rift Region was hard hit with Uasin Gishu district bearing the brunt in terms of the displaced. Out of the approximately 300,000 people displaced country-wide 74,051 are currently taking shelter in 47 camps in the North Rift.

SNV’s response to the post-election violence aims to assist 6500 children in the Internal Discplace People (IDP) -camps and thousands of other affected children to return to school.

SNV has been collaborating with UNICEF in ensuring that the displaced children in the camps in Uasin Gishu district access education by setting up temporary schools on the IDP camp premises. As a result, 4200 children in the IDP camps have been able to continue with schooling. Recruited as Local Capacity Builder, the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) played a critical role in the collection of data on primary and secondary school children within the camp. The data has assisted UNICEF and others mainstream education actors (District Education office, Municipal Education office) in planning and implementing the emergency response. SNV has been strengthening linkages among key stakeholders in three IDP-camps.

In emergency situations like these, the overarching capacity development dilemma is between the urgent need to restore basic services on the short-term and to contribute to capacity development on the long-term. There was a danger that the humanitarian crisis and the (much needed) international response would undermine the local capacity of education stakeholders. This strategy would solve a short-term problem but create another on the long-term. It is against this background that SNV decided to jump in and complement the relief We started with demonstrating visible coordination of the education stakeholders (Emergency Education Committee), a service provider contract to a local capacity builder; Kenya private School Association to undertake need assessments, and building linkages to affected communities (including teachers and parents) in and out the IDP camps enabling them to be part of the solution.