WHO WE ARE
Rescue Dada Centre’s legal holder is the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. The Centre was established in 1992, as an organization doing street work to get to understand the circumstances of the girls living on the streets while operating a walk-in Centre where street connected children could come to share about their life experiences with the social workers. Within a short time, the organization realized that the girls on the streets were exposed to so much abuse and they needed to be rescued from such an environment before a more comprehensive strategy of addressing their plight was found. Therefore, the two roomed rescue operation in Mathare slums would soon expand to a Centre rescuing, rehabilitating and reintegrating street connected girls.
Today Rescue Dada Center has grown into an experienced, registered Charitable Children’s Institution (CCI), with 26 staff and the capacity to rescue, rehabilitate, and reintegrate 70 street connected girls every year. Its expertise in the field of rehabilitation and reintegration is recognized amongst numerous actors in the field, including the government’s Children’s Department, various CCIs, and (international) NGOs. The management, over the years, has been able to develop an effective operational structure for the Centre’s work, guided by comprehensive operational policies and a strategic planning, action and reflection cycle that informs the Centre’s work.
Rescue Dada Center believes that children are best placed in family settings. Therefore, our well thought through Child Protection Program focuses on rescuing, rehabilitating, reintegrating and resocializing 70 street connected girls, aged 5 to 16 years, each year. The program addresses the girls immediate (protection from abuse, access to shelter, food, health care, psychosocial support) as well as long term needs (family environment, remedial education, life skills, vocational training) and offers psychosocial support to identified caregivers. Following successful rehabilitation, the girls are reintegrated with caregivers, and resocialized through intensive 2 year follow up supporting the girl to readjust to the family and community environment, rebuilding her social role in the same, and creating a supportive environment for the girl to guarantee her sustainable inclusion.
Our Empowerment program works with the caregivers and older girls. Besides sponsorship into secondary school or vocational training, the program offers hair-dressing and beauty, product making and employability skills training, and links the target group to the job market and government institution for educational loans. Business skills training and support to start small income-generating activities are carried out to help caregivers and rescued girls to improve their livelihood and reduce the risk of their children to (re-)join the street.
An overarching component around advocacy and networking runs in collaboration with these two programs. It focuses predominantly on mainstreaming child rights and child protection issues related to street connected children through policy influencing, networking with stakeholders, community awareness creation and training of multiplicators (NGOs, CCIs, CBOs, Communities and local government) on issues of children’s rights, child sexual abuse, child protection and good practice in reintegration.
At Rescue Dada Center we are extremely proud of every girl who passed through the rehabilitation and transformed her life into a life away from the street. In our recent strategic plan 2022 to 2024 a total of 233 girls successfully embarked on a life away from the street. A majority of girls were reintegrated back to their (extended) families, few in children homes. While all children reintegrated started attending formal (primary or secondary) school or vocational training, 21 girls were able to complete their secondary education and are being supported to pursue higher education in colleges, universities’ and TVET Institutions. Caregivers were empowered to provide a safe family environment where their children’s basic rights could be provided for. With RDC support they increased their knowledge on children’s rights and parenting skills, and built their economic resilience. Through economic empowerment, 130 caregivers started businesses after developing viable business plans. Additionally, 20 girls were enrolled in various technical institutions through vocational sponsorship programs. Furthermore, 26 caregivers were admitted to artisan and vocational institutions to acquire technical skills, enabling them to enhance their livelihoods
Rescue Dada Centre in this way has been able to contribute to the eradication of child poverty and has been successful in creating opportunities for former street connected girls to have a chance for a better and dignified tomorrow. The Strategic Evaluation 2022-2024 concluded that RDC strategy will continue to remain relevant to priority needs of the target groups, to policy and development frameworks and to achieving RDC target objectives and outcomes. With this new strategy we address the identified areas of improvements by enhancing our strategies working with girls, caregivers and communities/(sub)county government institutions, increasing networking and advocacy activities, and organizational development.
