By Felix Wanderi
Kiambu County is developing a policy on child protection and social safeguards aimed at addressing alarming school dropouts in the region.
Child labour incidences are high in the area as school going children go to work in tea and coffee farms at the expense of school.
Children’s services County Coordinator Rose Barine said this will safeguard the rights of children and the vulnerable in the community.
The department of education, gender, culture and social services, the judiciary and technical working groups are working on the policy.
Barine said this during the Kenya children assembly Kiambu County held at a Kiambu hotel on Friday said that the
“We have a road map on child protection policy and I am requesting all partners to give us support so that at the end of it we can have a policy for Kiambu County,” Barine said.
The policy will streamline response to cases of child abuse, defilement and FGM with members of the community taking a more active role in rescuing survivors and reporting to authorities for action.
Barine said that issues of drug abuse and pregnancies have been a challenge facing school going children which will be addressed by the policy.
During the event, children participants drawn from the county elected leaders who will create awareness on children not in school.
Barine said that the assembly members have the right to tell their teachers of a child who is not going to school or a child who is being neglected because they should help each other.
The children assembly was established in 2011 where children elect their peers aged 16 and below to represent them at the national level and to communicate the government policies and development plans to the children in the village and get feedback through the devolved structures.
Those elected include governor, deputy governor, speaker, deputy speaker, sergeant at arms and deputy sergeant at arms, clerk, deputy clerk and organizing secretary. They will hold office for a minimum of 2 years which has two terms.
World Vision Kenya, the organizers of the event advocated for children rights to be envisaged in county policies.
“The children assembly is a platform given to children to advocate for their rights,” said Alice Yugi, World Vision Kenya representative.
