Stakeholders Validate a Compassionate Redemptorist Model for Older Persons Nairobi, Kenya – June 23, 2026 What begins as an encounter with a vulnerable older person can sometimes grow into a movement that transforms communities. This was the central message emerging from a validation workshop that brought together practitioners, government representatives, researchers, faith leaders, development partners,…
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.
At Ethel Foundation, we believe that the most meaningful insights come directly from the people we serve. Through our regular field visits to older persons participating in our programs, we create opportunities to listen, learn, and grow together. These conversations help us understand what is working, identify areas for improvement, and ensure that participants feel respected, heard, and valued. Beyond measuring impact, we continually ask an important question: how can the progress achieved today be sustained tomorrow? By placing the voices of older persons at the center of our work, we strengthen our commitment to dignity, partnership, and sustainable community empowerment.
Road safety and elder dignity intersect in everyday community transport systems. Ethel Foundation for the Aged is working with bodaboda riders in Naivasha to build safer, more inclusive environments 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…
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.
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.
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…