As Kenya gears up to celebrate the Day of the African Child, Lucy Gati, the National Council for Children Services director in the areas of public awareness, capacity building, and partnerships, has stated that all is set for the event tomorrow in Wote, Makueni.
Speaking during the press briefing in Wote town, Gati noted that this is the day commemorated to commemorate the day Soweto children were killed while demanding their rights during the apartheid, every June 16.
She revealed that this year’s theme is ‘Education for all children in Africa’, and the same theme appeared in 2010. Since then, they have implemented several policies to care for the vulnerable and orphans in their care.
“We want to ensure that the interventions take care of our children. The programs we have are meant to strengthen families to take care of unfortunate circumstances like the death of the parents,” Gat said.
She noted that they are part of the interventions designed to care for the children.
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Eastern regional director of children’s welfare, Salome Muthama, revealed that 91 children officers are manning 83 children’s offices.
She added that since 2010, they have expanded children’s offices and officers, but in terms of budgeting, she called upon the involvement of children not only in budgeting but also in matters touching their lives.
“Let us involve and educate our children even at home. It’s high time we customise this year’s theme even in our family setups,” Muthama said.
Surprisingly, neglect cases top the list of children’s cases we are handling.
Makueni County Chief Officer for Gender, Children, Youth, Sports, and Social Services, Nicholis Mutua, noted that the county has robust plans for children, including the establishment of a children’s centre at Mwanyani, support for special needs cases with assistive devices, bursaries for vulnerable children, among other initiatives.
He noted that as much as we blame parents for neglect, it is coming from all stakeholders ,adding that the gap needs to be addressed.
By Lydia Ngoolo
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