DIASPORA MATTERS

KENYAN DIASPORA

Over the last half a century, the number of persons living outside their country of birth has more than doubled from about 75 million in the 1960s to nearly 215 million in 2009. This population represents about 3.5 per cent of the World’s total population.

A quick review of the human history shows a significant part of it would be about migration. Human beings always look forward to moving from one area to another. However, each person has his/her own reasons for doing migrating, this is in spite of the fact that there is a great deal of uncertainty around migration.

Globally, the largest source countries of migrants are China, India and the Philippines. Most overseas migrants are categorized into three classes:

(1) Permanent migrants or those who sought permanent residency in the host country.
(2) Temporary migrants, that is, those who work in the host country on a definite period of time, guided by signed work-contracts.
(3) Migrants with irregular status or those who left the source country without passing through the proper process, without proper documents or who hold expired travel documents.

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THE ROLE OF MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON DIASPORA ISSUES

The Government of Kenya recognizes the significant contribution of Kenyans living abroad to its National Development Agenda. This is further exemplified by Kenya’s development blue-print, the Vision 2030 which envisages engaging the Diaspora in various activities of nation- building through the pursuit of a comprehensive strategy as one of the flagship projects under the financial sector.

The Presidential Circular No. 1 of 2008 on Organization of Government clearly indicates that the Diaspora Office is a major portfolio under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In this regards, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has incorporated Diaspora Diplomacy as one of the key pillars in its Ministerial Strategic Plan. To accomplish this, the Ministry has established a fully-fledged Directorate of Diaspora Affairs that has a mandate to harness the potential of the Kenyan Diaspora for social-economic development through networking and information sharing.

The Directorate of Diaspora Affairs is mandated to provide advice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government at large in the formulation of relevant polices affecting Kenyan Diaspora, develop and implement programmes that promote their interests, serve as a forum for enhancing their social, economic and cultural ties with Kenya and provide liaison services with appropriate government and private agencies.

The government of Kenya believes that the Kenyan Diaspora is an important part of the society considering their large numbers consisting approximately 10% of the current population of 38 million.

For more information please visit  www.mfa.go.ke.

IMPORTANT KRA INFORMATION FOR RETURNING RESIDENTS

ROLE OF THE EMBASSY ON DIASPORA ISSUES

Diaspora Diplomacy forms a part of the five (5) Pillars that are the backbone of Kenya’s Foreign Policy.

The other Pillars are:

  • Economic Diplomacy
  • Peace Diplomacy
  • Environmental Diplomacy
  • Cultural Diplomacy
The Embassy of Kenya in Israel therefore has the following roles concerning Diaspora issues:
  1. Engage with the Diaspora and enlighten them on investments opportunities in Kenya.
  2. Facilitate the development of Consular services that address the needs of Kenyans in the Diaspora.
  3. Ensure protection of the rights and interests of Kenyan Citizens in Israel.
  4. Develop bilateral arrangements to secure jobs in Israel.
  5. Facilitate conduct of research on the numbers of Kenyans in the State of Israel and their exact location.
  6. Encourage Kenyans in Israel to register with the Embassy .
  7. Being always ready and willing to assist the Kenyan Diaspora in Israel whenever called upon to do so.
  8. Facilitate formation of Diaspora groups especially for Kenyans in other large cities of Israel including Eilat, Jerusalem and others.
  9. Encourage various activities that bring Kenyans together in Israel e.g. cultural activities, birthday parties, sports, and regular meetings by the Kenya Welfare Association-Israel,
  10. Encourage dialogue between Kenya and Israeli Ministries on matters affecting Kenyans in the country.
  11. Linking young Kenyan Diaspora in Israel with institutions in Kenya to facilitate knowledge and technology transfer.
  12. Provide link between Kenyan communities and local foreign based communities.

REGISTRATION OF KENYANS IN ISRAEL

The Government of Kenya accords consular work high priority and the Embassy is committed to providing comprehensive and timely consular services to all Kenyans in Israel or visiting the country for tourism or studies.

However, a lack of accurate and reliable data on demographic profiles of the Kenyans leads to the loss of the mutual benefit associated with the Diaspora population for both the Government and the Diaspora themselves .

The Embassy therefore believes that, efficient and effective service delivery would be achieved were Kenyans in Israel (including those on short visits-pilgrims, to long-term education at various Israeli institutions) register at the Embassy promptly and upon arrival in Israel. 

In this regards, the Embassy encourages all Kenyans who have not registered to do so by visiting the Embassy.

Further, the registration can now be done on-line or through the post by down-loading the Form “Registration of Kenyans” and completing it (Download the Form here…).

KENYA WELFARE ASSOCIATION-ISRAEL

Kenya Welfare Association in Israel (KWA-Israel) is a Social, Economic and Cultural Association of Kenyans founded in Tel Aviv in 1999. The KWA-Israel is a non-profit organization that aims to provide a channel through which the Kenyan community in Israel can use to address the social, economic, cultural, religious and political issues that affect its representative members.

Further the Association presents an important and structured channel through which the Kenyan Diaspora in Israel communicates with the Embassy and to an extension, the entire Government of Kenya.

Since, inception the KWA-Israel has conducted its elections as stipulated by their Constitution. The leadership of the Association is voluntary and so is the membership but at a nominal fee. Members also pay a monthly contribution for social welfare.

The office consists of the Chairman, Vice chairman, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Discipline Master and Committee Members. The members of the Association elect the entire office bearers through a democratic secret ballot for the duration of one (1) year. Nevertheless, members have the right to change any office bearer any time through following the laid down channels as stipulated in the Association’s Constitution.

In this regard, if you are a Kenyan and you wish to join the Kenya Welfare Association-Israel, please contact:

The Chairman/Secretary,
Kenya Welfare Association-Israel
Address (will be provided soon)
Tel-Aviv Israel

Or Email it to:
kenyawelfareassociationinisrael@yahoo.com
ikenyawelfareassociation@yahoo.com

 

Members of the Kenya Welfare Association-Israel can interact with other Kenyans in the Diaspora through the umbrella organization Kenya Community Abroad.

You can visit their website at:  http://diasporaportal.go.ke