Poverty on children’s play in Kenyan pastoralists communities

ABSTRACT

Turkana pastoralist families struggle with poverty even in the postcolonial Kenyan era. Poverty statistics in Kenya indicate that between one quarter and half of the population earns less than $1 US a day. In Turkana, it is estimated that 8 out of 10 pastoralists live below the poverty line (Ng’asike, 2019). Poverty is characterized by lack of access to basic quality services in health care, education, clean water, and sanitation. Despite the hardship of the Turkana environment, characterized by desert-dry conditions and extreme poverty, children of the pastoralists can be found playing in small groups on river courses, at tree shades, on the pathways, and on open fields.

KEYWORDS:

• Poverty
• pastoralists
• play
• children

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Teria Ng'asike

Dr John Teria Ng'asike is a PhD holder in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University in the United States and a Ford Foundation Fellow. Dr Ng'asike, has taught as a senior Lecturer and a Lecturer at Mount Kenya and Kenyatta Universities respectively and as a senior Adjunct Lecturer at Turkana University College. Dr Ng'asike was a visiting scholar in the International Masters in Early Childhood Education and Care (IMEC) program at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Science, Norway in 2012–2013. Dr Ng'asike's research interest is the recognition of indigenous knowledge in early childhood education and natural play as medium for pastoralist children's learning. Dr Ng'asike has been invited as a guest speaker at UAE University, the Open University, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, Aga Khan University Institute of Education Development in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and at the African Scholars Workshop at Johannesburg, South Africa and the University of New Mexico, USA.