We are an independent not for profit organization with a vision of sober communities and a mission to mobilize alcohol prevention, treatment, and after care intervention for the whole family. We work with children, youth and families affected by alcohol and drug use/abuse in Kenya. Our work majors on prevention, harm reduction, awareness and treatment in Kisumu County and its environs. We are affiliated to the International Blue Cross, an organization working in more than 40 countries. We are also members of different National and international networks working in the field of alcohol prevention and treatment that include Alcohol control policy network, World federation against drug abuse, Movendi international, Vienna NGO committee among others.
Life skills Programme for children and youth
We have developed a life skills manual that the organization and other partners in Kenya and Uganda use to conduct life skills sessions to children, youth and care givers within their communities. Blue Cross Kisumu conducts life skills session in 24 schools in Kisumu as a means prevention as describe in the international standard on drug use prevention. We have managed to take 1650 children and youth through life skills sessions and 700 parents, guardians and care givers through care givers sessions in our school programme. In our community project 411 youth have gone through life skills sessions which were conducted in our youth centers.
Advocacy Work
Blue Cross have always advocated for an environment that is safe for children, youth and families. We have brought together state actors, non- state actors, teachers, elected members of county assembly, community elders, chiefs and lawyers among other stakeholders to review alcohol policies and implement different strategies to make our communities safer from alcohol and drug use/abuse. We did a petition to the county assembly of Kisumu together with the Kisumu Alcohol and drug abuse response Technical Working group to ensure full implementation and enforcement of Kisumu alcoholic drinks act 2014 which is now fully implemented.
Community Work
We have three base camps and two youth centers that provide safe spaces free from Alcohol for children and youth. We offer free counselling, conduct life skills sessions, provide information about Alcohol and other substances, games equipment and grow talents in these spaces situated in informal settlements in Kisumu. The safe spaces host more than 200 children and youth per day.
Street Work
We Rescue, Rehabilitate, Reintegrate and support children living and working in the streets of Kisumu to help them recover their childhood and access their basic needs. Since we began we have re united 1050 children from the street and supported them within their families