INTERNATIONAL DAY OF LIVING TOGETHER IN PEACE 2026
























SLOPAK in Action: Kisumu’s Elder Livelihood Groups
In Kisumu’s vibrant communities, SLOPAK project brings older persons together weekly for practical livelihood training.
These gatherings equip elders with, handicrafts, and financial skills suited to the regions’ markets.
This scalable model echoes Tanzania’s VICOBA success—70% financial independence in two years—advancing Kenya’s Older Persons Policy toward dignified ageing systems.
At the beginning of many livelihood programmes, participation often looks like engagement—but not yet ownership. People show up, receive support, and follow guidance, but the deeper shift is still unfolding quietly beneath the surface.
In the Ethel Foundation chicken livelihood programme, this was also the starting point. Over time, however, something began to change—not just in productivity, but in mindset. Participants moved from cautious involvement to active responsibility, and eventually toward a sense of ownership over what they were building.
What emerged was not only improved outcomes, but a deeper transformation: restored confidence, renewed dignity, and the return of agency in everyday life.
This is where livelihood work becomes more than support—it becomes systems-based change in how people see themselves and their future.
At the Ethel Foundation for the Aged (EFA), our commitment to dignity, inclusion, and improved quality of life for older persons continues to guide our work across Kenya. Between July and December 2025, we made significant strides in implementing the Sustainable Livelihoods for Older People and Advocacy in Kenya (SLOPAK) project in Kisii and Kisumu…
Following research and stakeholder engagement in Kenya and Kerala, India, Ethel Foundation for the Aged (EFA) and the Redemptorist Solidarity Office (RSO) are advancing to the validation phase of a cross-country learning process on elder care and advocacy. The forthcoming Validation Workshop will bring together key stakeholders to review findings, strengthen recommendations, and refine a proposed Redemptorist Elder Care and Advocacy Model aimed at promoting dignified, person-centred, and holistic care for older persons.
This week, we spent time in the field visiting beneficiaries of the Older Persons Livelihoods Project supported by KCDF. What we encountered was not simply programme implementation—it was a living demonstration of what becomes possible when dignity, structure, and opportunity are aligned. Across the different households and enterprises we visited, one thing was clear: older…
Dignified ageing in Kenya is increasingly being shaped by integrated approaches that combine advocacy, livelihoods, and legal empowerment. Recent work in Kisumu County demonstrates how engaging older persons as active participants in governance, while simultaneously strengthening their economic resilience and access to justice, can create more sustainable and impactful outcomes. As this model expands to new regions, it offers critical lessons for social work education and practice on the importance of building systems — not isolated interventions — to support ageing populations.