In Kenya’s informal settlements where over 60% of the urban population lives, mothers have to make a difficult decision about where to leave their children (0-3 years) when they go to work: either home alone, with an older sibling who has been pulled out of school or at an informal daycare. These unlicensed centers do more harm than good, subjecting children to poor nutrition, hygiene, neglect, and even abuse, which reduces their lifelong developmental potential during their most important early years. Globally, 350 million children find themselves in this situation - it’s a childcare crisis.
To address this problem, Kidogo uses a social franchising model to partner with entrepreneurial women “Mamapreneurs” to help them start or improve their own childcare micro-businesses. This allows children to get the best start to life during their crucial first 1,000 days, enables mothers to work with “peace of mind”, adolescent girls return to school and Mamapreneurs to earn a dignified livelihood.
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