The Town of Kilifi
The town of Kilifi, Kenya is an intersection of great need and unique opportunities to promote fundamental social change. The town, rural in nature with about 15,000 residents in the immediate area, faces problems endemic to the developing world—too little to eat, too little medical care, and too few jobs. The mortality rate in Kilifi for children under 5 is 12.5%; undernourishment, exacerbated by human parasites, is persistent (51% of children in Kilifi are underweight); and Malaria alone kills 30,000 children across Kenya each year while HIV/AIDS has left 1.3 million children orphaned. Kilifi has some of Kenya’s highest infection rates and most abject poverty.
The exciting facets of Kilifi are its possibilities and the assets that will help the community realize its potential. Most importantly for this project, the Rotary Club of Kilifi is extraordinarily active and eager to work with international partners in the spirit of service. Kilifi also features a world-class medical center sponsored by the Wellcome Trust that leads research into the health issues prevalent in much of the world. Furthermore, the town’s location on the Kenyan coast and history make it a significant tourist destination—visitors from Europe feature tantalizing revenue and employment possibilities for the community.
Please see our pictures page for photos of the profound beauty, diversity and challenges in Kilifi.
By the Details
Location
Kilifi Town is situated on the Kenyan coast about 60 km north of Mombasa on a creek which extends inland some 20 km and is traversed by a bridge built by the Japanese in 1991. It is a small town of around 15,000 people. The District hospital and the town are on the north side of the bridge with some residential areas in Mnarani to the south of the bridge. It has a reasonable range of shops for basic supplies, a post office, and two banks.
Kilifi town is situated in Kilifi District of Coast Province, Kenya. Kilifi District is one of the six districts, which make up Coast province. To the south is the Mombasa District; to the north Malindi, Tana River, and Lamu districts; to the west Taita Taveta; and to east lies the Indian Ocean. The district covers an area of 12,464 sq.km. inclusive of about 109 sq.km. of water.
Topography and Geology
Kilifi District has four major topographical features. These are the Coastal plain, the Foot Plateau, the Coastal Range, and the Nyika Plateau. The Coastal Plain is a narrow belt, varying in width between 3 km. and 20 km. It lies below 30 m above sea level except for occasional prominent peaks on the western boundary. The rest of the area is broken by creeks and estuaries giving rise to excellent marine and estuarine swamps, with mangrove forests and untapped potential for marine culture. Kilifi lies in this strip.
Climate
The narrow coastal belt receives an average annual rainfall of about 900 mm to 1000 mm. The pattern of rainfall in Kilifi District is bimodal. The long monsoon rains fall from April to June with a peak in May. The short rains, on the other hand, fall from October to December. Apart from monsoon rains, the other dominant feature of the weather along the coastal strip is the heat, as temperatures range from a minimum of 21 degrees C to a maximum of 32 degrees C.
Economy and Population
The two primary forms of economic activity in the District are agriculture and tourism. In Kilifi District, tourism is concentrated around Malindi and to a lesser extent Kilifi. The revenue earned effects only a small proportion of the population.
Agriculture, employing 85% of the population, remains the backbone of the local economy and, since the population density is high in relation to the agricultural potential, the District is one of the poorest in Kenya in terms of per capita income. Waged employment only absorbs 4% of the population.
The population of the District is estimated to be 720,000, with over 80% being drawn from the Mijikenda group. The Mijikenda (nine tribes) is a loose grouping whose Bantu languages are to a large extent mutually intelligible and closely related to Swahili. They are believed to have arrived in their present homelands in the seventeenth century from a quasi-historical state called Shungwaya. This center was probably located in south-west corner of present day Somalia. The group is comprised of the Giriama, Digo, Rabai, Ribe, Duruma, Chonyi, Jibana, Kauma, and Kambe. The Giriama and Digo are the largest and best-known sub-groups. Kilifi is an endemic area for Malaria and it is one of the major causes of infant mortality in the region. Malnutrition is also another major problem affecting the children in the District.
