Availability and Provision of Counseling for Pupils Affected by Post Election Violence in Kenya: A Case Study of Wareng District Eldoret Kenya

Children’s experience with violence has been linked to a variety of negative outcomes, one of particular importance being children’s school adaptation and success. The 2007 disputed general election that took place in Kenya brought about a lot of pain and suffering to the children. Many children experienced first-hand violence which might have affected their academic performance. The physical effect of a disaster such as the one experienced in 2007 in Kenya left hundreds of people dead and others displaced. The short-term emotional effect of violence, fear, acute anxiety, feeling of emotional numbness, and grief may also be obvious. For many victims, these effects fade with time, but for many others there may be long-term emotional effect, both obvious and subtle. Despite this little emphasis is being put on problems affecting the internally displaced victims most of whom are school going children. Objectives: To assess the availability and provision of counseling for pupils affected by post election violence in Kenya. Methods: A causal comparative research design was used. The independent variable was post election violence while the dependent variable was counseling. The study was guided by cognitive behavior theory. Stratified random sampling was used to select schools. The focus was on public primary school. The research population was primary school going children. Class 7 and 8 pupils, School heads and teachers were also used to get information. A sample size of 150 pupils was used. They were selected by random sampling. Data collection was done by use of questionnaires. Data analysis was done through descriptive and inferential statistics. A biographical form was used to collect personal data. Piloting was done through test- retest approach within the target population. Reliability and validity was tested by use of consultation. Hypothesis was tested by use of chi-square. Results: A vast majority117 (78%) of participants agreed that guidance and counseling services are available in their schools. The proportion of children who received counseling was 91 (60.7%).There was significant difference between Individual and Group Counseling, gender and Social economic status. Conclusions: Counselling services were vital in schools affected by post- election violence and that is perhaps one of the reasons why pupils were able to cope and adjust after the violence. The proportion of pupils who received Counselling was higher showing a lot of ground work must have been done to enable students receive counselling services after the post-election violence. The type of counselling most preferred was group counselling suggesting that it was the easiest to offer to pupils affected by post-election violence. The gender factor played a big role in the sense that more female students accessed counselling than to their male counterpart an indication that females could have been the more affected during post-election violence Socio economic status of the parents affected counselling. Pupils of middle economic status received counselling more than the low and high income economic status.