Over 250 pupils drawn from various schools across the 47 counties visited the County Assembly of Kiambu in an educational tour to familiarize themselves with the legislative procedures as practiced by county assemblies.
The pupils are attending the third annual Children’s Devolution Conference being held at the M-Pesa Foundation Academy in Thika hosted by Kiambu County under the theme: ‘Empowering young voices: A decade of devolution and the future of children in Kenya’.
The Assembly Speaker Charles Thiong’o noted that the opportunity to attend the assembly session and learn how they function has enlightened the children and made them aspire to be in leadership positions and debate on matters concerning the country.
“We really have self-driven children under the programme, they are very active, vibrant and the grasp of how the business of the assembly is conducted was amazing,” he said.
He said that during the session the children got to debate on a motion concerning climate change and the need for people to pool together against its adverse effects and they expressed their views accordingly.
“I was amazed by the understanding of the little ones in the subject of climate change which is a contemporary issue in the country and the globe at large. I was amazed by one of the members of the children’s assembly from North Eastern Kenya who said that now we need to move from mere talk to action to ensure we take deliberate action to ensure there are steps taken to mitigate the effects of climate change,” Thiongo said.
Tinganga Ward MCA and Assembly Education Committee Chairperson Lawrence Mwaura said that the assembly was privileged to host the pupils saying it was a bold step for them to get involved in matters affecting their future.
“We are grateful to M-Pesa Foundation for having such programmes running in the country and it will ensure that we push policies affecting them wisely,” Mwaura said.
Kiambu Township MCA Francis Koina said that imparting knowledge to the children at an early stage will help shape their future.
“If we could have such sessions for children, we will be able to impart knowledge and also help shape our future leaders to be good debaters and persons who can represent mwananchi properly,” he said.
He added that the assembly sessions should also be conducted at the village level once in a while so that the community can learn how the assembly runs its business.
Beverlyn Wanjiru from Moi Primary School Thika said that the tour inspired her to be confident, stand up to her challenges and express herself freely.
Manase Githua, a Thika High School student and Kenya Children Assembly (KCA) activist, appreciated that during the Devolution Conference they have been discussing how children’s lives can be made.
“We can have a promising future where matters for children are addressed. In Kiambu assembly we have seen how things are run and had a session with the Speaker and learnt a lot while debating at the floor of the house,” Githua said.
This year’s conference is aimed at examining the gains attained in 10 years of devolution through the eyes of a child.
The conference has been organized by the Council of Governors (CoG), the Senate and office of the Deputy President as a curtain raiser for the forthcoming devolution conference to be held in Uasin Gishu County in August.
By Felix Wanderi
Get more stories from our website: Education News
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
