Our Programmes
Nine interconnected programmes addressing the root causes of child vulnerability — mental health, education, protection, family strengthening, and talent development.
Smart Children Club
Our flagship mentorship and life coaching programme for children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years. Operating in the heart of Nairobi's informal settlements since March 2019, the Club provides a safe, structured, and nurturing environment where children learn to understand themselves, build healthy peer relationships, and develop the values, knowledge, and skills they need to navigate childhood and adolescence responsibly.
The programme was founded in direct response to a December 2018 survey by Child Space Organization that documented a sharp rise in drug and substance abuse, premarital sexual activity, early marriages, and other harmful behaviors among children in our communities.
What Children Learn
- Mental wellness and emotional resilience
- Academic excellence and goal setting
- Legal education and children's rights
- Leadership development and public speaking
- Violence prevention and self-protection
- Child online safety and responsible digital citizenship
SMARTPLATE Feeding Programme
SMARTPLATE is a child nutrition initiative that complements the Smart Children Club. It was established after we realized many vulnerable children attending mentorship sessions were struggling with hunger — affecting attendance, concentration, participation, and emotional well-being.
SMARTPLATE provides nutritious meals during programme days, ensuring every child has the opportunity to learn, participate, and thrive. One parent has since become the programme's dedicated cook — a testament to the community's ownership of this initiative.
- Improved attendance and retention in the Smart Children Club
- Increased concentration and participation during sessions
- Stronger integration of nutrition into mental health programming
- Growing community ownership through parent volunteers
Children's Mental Health Program
A dedicated intervention promoting the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of children and adolescents across Nairobi's informal settlements. Launched in 2022, the programme provides safe, supportive, nurturing spaces where children can learn, heal, build resilience, and thrive — because mental health is a fundamental component of every child's development, not a luxury.
Mental Health Camps
Since 2022, we've organized intensive two-week Mental Health Camps every April and August, run in formal collaboration with the Nairobi City County Government via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Nutritious meals are provided throughout, and activities include counselling, life-skills workshops, art & music therapy, and our #AdulchiDay parent-engagement initiative.
Skills-Based Health Education (SBHE)
Our largest school-based intervention, designed to equip children and adolescents with the knowledge, values, attitudes, and practical life skills needed to make informed decisions and navigate the complexities of growing up. SBHE uses a comprehensive Behaviour Change Process framework to address HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, substance abuse, mental health, and child protection in an integrated way — delivered in both primary and secondary schools.
Key Learning Areas
- Self-awareness, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence
- HIV/AIDS prevention and adolescent reproductive health
- Gender-based violence prevention and response
- Child rights, protection, and substance abuse prevention
- Decision-making, leadership, and online safety
Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
The SRHR Education Programme equips adolescents, young people, women, and men with accurate, age-appropriate, evidence-based information to make informed decisions about their health, relationships, and well-being — grounded in bodily autonomy, consent, and gender equality.
The EmpowerNet Project
Implemented in partnership with The Rain Workers, EmpowerNet has trained Christian and Muslim community members on critical SRHR issues, using the Rain Workers' Big 5 Teaching Tools — physical models that simplify complex reproductive health concepts for communities with low health literacy. We reach communities via workshops, school outreach, radio, podcasts, and X (Twitter) Spaces.
Parents+ Program
A family-strengthening initiative equipping parents and guardians with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to raise healthy, protected, and emotionally resilient children — because parents and caregivers are the primary influencers in a child's life.
What Parents Gain
- Positive parenting and effective communication
- Digital literacy and responsible online safety monitoring
- Mental health awareness and family resilience
- Violence prevention and non-violent discipline
- Conflict resolution within families
Talent Development Program
A vibrant, community-based initiative nurturing creativity, confidence, and self-expression through dance, music, visual arts, modelling, and chess — providing a safe space where young people discover talents, build skills, and explore pathways to leadership.
National & International Platforms
"Our children have stood on continental stages, chaired sessions at national dialogues, and represented Kenya in international forums — not because they were given a script, but because this programme gave them the confidence to speak for themselves."
Training & Capacity Building
A core pillar of our school-based work, strengthening the skills, knowledge, and facilitation capacity of teachers and education stakeholders — grounded in the Behaviour Change Process methodology that underpins all our school programmes.
- Behaviour Change Process training for effective life skills delivery
- Facilitation and mentorship skills development
- Integrating child protection and safeguarding into classroom practice
- Supporting teachers to address sensitive issues affecting adolescents
Safeguarding & Child Protection
The foundational pillar of everything we do — a comprehensive framework for preventing harm, responding to child protection concerns, and promoting children's wellbeing across all our programmes, schools, communities, and operations.
Safeguarding proactively prevents harm; Child Protection responds effectively when a child is at risk or has been harmed.
In 2026, we conducted a comprehensive review of our Safeguarding & Child Protection Framework, formally incorporating online safety and digital child protection provisions. We maintain a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of child abuse, exploitation, neglect, and violence.
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH)
Access to safe water, adequate sanitation, and proper hygiene is fundamental to children's health, dignity, safety, and well-being. We recognize that effective child protection cannot be achieved without addressing the basic physical conditions that enable children and families to live healthy, dignified lives.
- Promoting proper hygiene practices and behaviour change
- Supporting access to safe, child-friendly sanitation facilities
- Community hygiene awareness and behaviour-change campaigns
- Advocating for improved sanitation in underserved settlements
Student Attachment Opportunities & Research Wing
Child Space Organization has offered hands-on attachment and internship opportunities to students from universities across Kenya since our founding in 2018. We believe investing in the next generation of development professionals, social workers, public health practitioners, researchers, and child rights advocates is essential for building a skilled, compassionate, and impactful workforce.
University Partners
- Kenyatta University — 6 students
- Mount Kenya University — 3 students
- Daystar University — 2 students
- Amref International University — 2 students
- Pwani University — 2 students
- Kisii University — 2 students
- Technical University of Kenya — 2 students
- University of Nairobi — 1 student
- JKUAT — 1 student
- Maseno University — 1 student
- St. Paul's University — 1 student
- Moi University — 1 student
How to Apply
We accept attachment applications on a rolling basis. Send an expression of interest, CV/transcript, and a university introduction letter to:
Applications: attachments@childspaceorganization.org
Research Partnerships: research@childspaceorganization.org
Our team responds within 14 working days. Undergraduate placements require a minimum of 4 weeks; Master's, 6 weeks; PhD/doctoral research timelines are negotiated based on scope.
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Your donation directly funds these nine programmes across Nairobi's informal settlements.
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