Recent Technical Assistance to Kenya:
Exchanging ideas on child protection
From FY2009 to FY2013, JICA supported the "Capacity Building Project for Juvenile Protection Officers" to establish a training system for juvenile justice personnel (Child Care and Protection Officers Training Programme, CCPO training). This support has resulted in the establishment of a training system for juvenile justice agency personnel. UNAFEI made a significant contribution to this support, and the CCPO training curriculum and training materials were developed. With the completion of this project, the series of support to Kenya by JICA and UNAFEI came to an end.
Subsequently, the Kenyan government requested support for the resumption of CCPO training in a sustainable manner, as well as for revision of training materials due to constitutional amendments and other factors in Kenya. Therefore, UNAFEI professors visited Kenya in 2019 as part of JICA's follow-up support, and conducted workshops to support the revision of training materials.
From 7 to 10 February 2022, UNAFEI held an online seminar in collaboration with Kenyan government officials involved in the operation of the CCPO training programme, with the aim of training instructors for the programme. Participants from the Children's Bureau, Probation Department, Police, Court, Public Prosecutor's Office and Department of Corrections worked hard to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for training instructors through attending lectures and conducting mock classes given by the trainers.
From 9 to 14 February 2023, UNAFEI hosted a Study Tour on juvenile justice in Kenya, inviting nine officials of juvenile justice organizations from Kenya. The theme of the training was the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents in society. Lectures were given by the police, juvenile classification homes, private organizations that provide employment support for offenders, and UNAFEI professors, and discussions were held with hogoshi, or volunteer probation officers, who are local volunteers involved in the rehabilitation of offenders. During the discussion time, participants had a lively discussion on how to strengthen efforts to prevent delinquency and rehabilitate juvenile delinquents in Kenya, based on the knowledge gained from the lectures.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Kenyan government on capacity-building for staff involved in juvenile justice in Kenya.
