Salvation Army Church has raised concern over increased human trafficking and vulnerabilities in s Kenya’s western border points.

The church says new evaluation findings point to increased exploitation of young people that is fuelled by poverty, joblessness and widening social gaps in communities living along key transit routes.

According to a report done out of a project run by the church, communities in hotspots such as Malaba, Busia, Isebania and Kehancha face growing risks, with traffickers taking advantage of economic desperation, weakened family structures and porous borders to traffic helpless youth.

The findings were presented in Kisumu during a post-evaluation workshop for the Oyana Anti-Human Trafficking Project – Phase 2, which was undertaken by the church.

Evaluation consultant Jackson Ongoma described trends in Isebania as alarming, citing increasing cases of missing children, sexual abuse and minors being moved across the Kenya-Tanzania border under false pretences.

He said youth unemployment drives young people into the hands of traffickers, with promises of high-paying overseas job offers that leave many returning home traumatised or ill. Families have to bear the repatriation costs. Domestic violence, he added, pushes children out of unstable homes and into situations where traffickers easily prey on them.

Through the project, he said, awareness of trafficking has improved significant with more than 70 per cent of residents now able to recognise trafficking and use formal reporting channels.

He added that one of the biggest shifts observed is that communities now understand that trafficking is not limited to cross-border movement but also includes physical violations such as sexual exploitation, coercion and abuse at domestic level.

He noted progress in community resilience through Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), with some groups saving nearly Ksh200,000 to support school fees and farm inputs. Income-generating ventures such as poultry projects introduced through the programme, he said, have also strengthened household stability and reduced vulnerability.

Project Manager Karen Mwenesi said the findings mirror the realities the Salvation Army has been responding to through its work along the western border. Ms Mwenesi said the project has invested heavily in community training, equipping residents with skills to identify trafficking indicators, understand modern slavery, and report cases through established channels.

A lot of work, she said, has been done in Busia, Malaba, Bungoma, Eldoret, Sondu, Migori and Kehancha.

“Busia and Malaba borders are key entry points with people coming from as far as DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Rwanda. Mostly when they arrive, they rest in Bungoma and Eldoret with others ending up in Kisumu. That is why Sondu was captured in the project,” she said.

Volunteers within border villages, she said, have been trained to conduct awareness campaigns, ensuring information reaches even the most remote communities. Mwenesi added that prevention was a major pillar of the project, with teams supporting survivors, at-risk families and households that have lost members to trafficking.

Through case management, she said survivors receive counselling, guidance and help rebuilding their lives, while vulnerable families are educated on how to avoid falling into trafficking traps.

She noted that the church was working closely with the Directorate of Children Services, judiciary officers, police, non-governmental organisations and local administrators, who assist in referrals, repatriation, reintegration and community mobilisation.

The Kisumu workshop brought together Salvation Army officers, project staff and stakeholders to review the evaluation findings and develop long-term plans to strengthen and sustain anti-trafficking efforts in border communities.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Chris Mahandara