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Luo orphaned children derive their conceptualization of home from historical ideologies of patrilineal kinship and the local discourses of belonging situated within properly constituted marriage. Contrary to older literature that presents home as a domestic spatial arrangement, orphans understand home as a relational pathway that safeguards growth. We show that orphans use their notion of home to express feelings of vulnerability and apply their agency against adult-initiated fosterage practices. The article contributes to an enhanced understanding of Luo sociality and promotes a dynamic anthropology of relationships and child anthropology by unpacking the facets of childhood vulnerability. Our analysis points to analytic themes of contradictions and paradox in Luo kinship values in relation to child support and ambivalence in how children's agency is exercised in fosterage arrangements. Keywords: childhood vulnerability, fosterage practices, morality and kinship values, notions of home, orphans, Western Kenya, Children learn about and internalize meanings of key cultural concepts such as home in their daily interactions and conversations with adults as well as in the playing fields away from [...]

Urban and rural areas have distinctive health problems, which require consideration. To examine sociocultural features of cholera and its community context, a semi-structured explanatory model interview based on vignettes depicting typical clinical features of cholera was used to interview 379 urban and rural respondents in Western Kenya. Findings included common and distinctive urban and rural ideas about cholera, and its prevention and treatment. The three most commonly perceived causes among urban and rural respondents collectively were drinking contaminated water, living in a dirty environment and lacking latrines. However, a dirty environment and flies were more prominently perceived causes among urban respondents. Rural respondents were less likely to identify additional symptoms and more likely to identify biomedically irrelevant perceived causes of cholera. Oral rehydration therapy was the most frequently reported home treatment. Health facilities were recommended unanimously at both sites. For prevention, rural respondents were more likely to suggest medicines, and urban respondents were more likely to suggest health education and clean food. Findings indicate community priority, demand for and potential effectiveness of enhanced efforts to control cholera in Western Kenya, and they suggest strategies that are particularly well suited for control of cholera in urban and rural areas.