OPEN - Protection of vulnerable minors Kenya

The "APRIRE" project aims to promote and protect the rights of vulnerable minors and/or in conflict with the law in Kenya, as enshrined in SDG 16 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; furthermore, it intends to strengthen the Juvenile Justice System in Kenya, in compliance with the international standards adopted on the subject, involving the competent institutions, civil society and the private sector.

The municipality of Milan supports, as a partner, the project leader FADV (L'Albero della Vita Foundation), through the "Officials Without Borders" program, the exchange of know-how and methodological experiences in the foster care sector; furthermore, it will give its support by participating in the mission to Kenya and the visit of Kenyan officials to Milan, supporting distance learning, in collaboration with FADV and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan.

The direct beneficiaries of the action are: 2.000 vulnerable minors who require care and protection, as well as minors in conflict with the law (at the 29 juvenile institutions or at the Mombasa Nyeri and Nairobi Police stations), to whom we want to offer alternatives to detention and institutionalisation, professionals who work in the juvenile justice sector and those who receive a specific training course (around 417 government staff and 150 staff between the Police, Probation and the Department of Minors).

The main partners are:

In Italy:

  • FADV - L'Albero della Vita Foundation (leader),
  • CEFA - European Committee for Training and Agriculture onlus,
  • GRT - Group for Trans-cultural Relations,
  • The municipality of Milan,
  • Ministry of Justice,
  • University Center for Studies and Research on the Family - Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan,
  • University of Padua - Department of Pedagogy,
  • The International Juvenile Justice Observatory,
  • Don Calabria Institute;

In Kenya:

  • Department of Children's Services (DCS),
  • Department of Probation and Aftercare Services (DPAS),
  • Collective Community Action (CCA),
  • Challenged Network of Kenya (CNK)
  • Tangaza University College Nairobi (TUC),
  • African Institute for Children Studies (AICS),
  • ACA-K Alternative Care Alliance - Kenya.

The project started on May 7, 2018 and will end at the end of April 2021.

  • Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in Kenya, in compliance with the international standards adopted on the subject, involving the competent institutions, civil society and the private sector.

  • Carrying out pan-African research on restorative justice (coordinated by CEFA and IJJO) for the identification and systematisation of best practices from the African experience in the reference sector;
  • Creation of a Juvenile Justice Information Management System (JJIMS);
  • Provision of training modules for public officials on restorative justice;
  • Creation of local campaigns and national/international conferences;
  • Taking care of minors in local restorative justice programs/initiatives to ensure better protection of the minor and their rights.
  • Creation of the African Council Juvenile Justice to share good practices and expertise;
  • Activation of counseling services, psycho-pedagogical support and family and professional reintegration/support for minors with special needs and victims of GBV;
  • Public-private partnerships launched for the socio-work inclusion of minors.
  • Exchange of experiences/methodologies in the foster care sector (two, of which the first through the Municipality's "Officials without Borders" program);
  • Strengthening the Alternative Care Alliance Kenya (ACA-K);
  • Public-private partnerships for the benefit of foster families (multiple stakeholders for sharing Italian/European experiences);
  • Definition of an "experimental foster care program" / assistance and coaching in the management of foster care cases.

  1. The practices and procedures regarding alternative dispute resolution and restorative justice have been introduced in progress.
  2. Reception, socio-educational and family and professional reintegration services are adequate according to the best interests of the minor
  3. Emphasis given to family foster care as an alternative measure of protection/detention of the minor.

Updated: 07/01/2021