By Erick Nyayiera
Siaya County Government is set to establish day care centres across its vocational training centres to aid trainee mothers take care of their toddlers as they undergo training.
According to the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Education, Sports and Culture Rosenell Odondi, the county will put up child-friendly units in all the 25 VTCs in the entire county.
“It is our desire to establish day care centres in VTCs that will go a long way in catering for the needs of our trainees and trainers who have babies that must be breast-fed or taken care of. The day care units will be equipped with modern child-friendly materials, including employing qualified personnel to help the children while their mothers attend training,” disclosed Odondi.
Odondi noted that it had been difficult for the many young mothers desiring to acquire requisite skills for self-empowerment. She said the mothers could not find a balance in training activities and nurture, necessitating the establishment of the child units.
“At day care centres, services offered to toddlers and infants will include feeding, changing diapers and playing with the babies while their parents are either training or offering training. For a little older children, services would include reading stories, starting early education, playing with other children and meeting the children’s basic needs while parents are engaged,” she clarified.
She made the remarks during the 53rd graduation ceremony at Ndere Vocational Training Centre in Siaya County where she also observed that the county was struggling with bursary distribution to support the many needy cases.
The CEC noted that although they had set up bursaries for students in secondary schools, colleges and universities, it was not legally a function of the county governments.
“We have supported thousands of learners but it is actually a function of the national government. We are pleading with the national government to increase bursaries because counties are already struggling with ECDEs and VTCs, which are within their mandate,” reasoned Odondi.
She disclosed that the Siaya County Government had allocated 56 million shillings in capitation to trainees in VTCs. The monies will also be used to equip the institutions with modern machines and equipment.
