Closing the Distance Between Law and Lived Reality

Child rights campaigns are how we make children's rights real in the places where children live.

The rights themselves are not new. Kenya's Constitution recognises children as holders of rights, and the country is a signatory to international instruments that spell out what those rights are. The work of a campaign is to close the distance between what the law says and what happens in households, schools, and communities.

We run campaigns that raise awareness of children's rights across schools, households, and community spaces. We work with religious leaders and elders to speak about the protection of children in their own words, so that the message carries weight in the places where decisions are made. We hold sessions with parents and caregivers that help them understand what their children are entitled to, and how they can protect them without fear. We work with children directly, so that they recognise when something is wrong and know where to turn for help. And we advocate with local authorities to ensure that the laws that already exist are enforced, not just declared. Each campaign is built around the specific beliefs and practices of the community where it runs, because a campaign that does not speak to a community's own life will not change it.

Our Approach

Campaigning for the rights most often denied

Focusing on the Rights Most Often Denied


How it works:

  • Our campaigns focus on the rights that are most often denied in the communities where we work. The right to education, particularly for girls who are at risk of early marriage or who have been pushed out of school by pregnancy.
  • The right to protection from violence, including corporal punishment in schools and at home. The right to be heard, so that children are not treated as property to be moved around without their own view being considered.
  • The right to be free from harmful practices, including female genital mutilation and child marriage. And the right to a childhood that is not spent working, so that children are not pulled out of school to herd, to fetch water, or to earn.

Campaigns are not a one-time activity. They run over months and continue beyond any single funding period. Changing what a community believes about children takes time, and the beliefs we are addressing have been held for generations. We plan for this. We do not expect a campaign to change a community in a season. We expect it to begin a shift that continues as local voices carry the work forward.

Our commitment

Child rights campaigns are how we make children's rights real in the places where children live — closing the distance between what the law says and what happens in households, schools, and communities.

Join us in campaigning for children's rights

Help us make children's rights real across Kenya. Support our campaigns, volunteer your time, or partner with us to close the distance between law and lived reality.

Every action counts—only a willingness to act is required.

Contact us
A community session on children's rights

Closing the distance

Child rights campaigns are how we make children's rights real in the places where children live.