Non-governmental and community based organisations involved in children issues in Kiambu County, will be mapped for their activities to be monitored for quality services to subjects.
In-coming County Coordinator for Children Services (CCCS), Ms. Rose Mbarine said it was important to map out all the institutions including NGO’s and CBO’s involved in children affairs.
Mbarine said the move will assist in identifying needs for all the institutions with a view of ensuring they performed according to the law in providing protection for children in their purview.
She made the remarks while closing three day training session for County Area Advisory Committee (CAAC) on children matters at a Thika hotel on Friday.
Mbarine said the mapping will help the CAAC come up with a directory for all the Charitable Children Institutions (CCIs), for ease of locating them in follow ups on the plight of children committed to such institutions.
In Thika Sub-county alone, there are more than 100 CCIs.
Mbarine urged the stakeholders to strengthen teamwork and hold frequent meetings, where they could share and compare notes on the well-being of the children in Kiambu County.
She said children had a right to good life, education and other social needs, which have to be provided to make them comfortable as they grow up.
In reference to Article 53(1) d of the 2010 Kenya Constitution, she said children were to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices and all forms of violence, inhumane treatment, punishment and hazardous or exploitative labour.
The officer observed that the main cause of child rights violations were poverty, cultural believes, ignorance, lack of awareness, divorce, child weak structures, illiteracy, and lack of parental care.
Other causes of child abuse in the region, she said, were alcohol and drug abuse, moral degradation, orphan-hood and weak labour laws.
Mbarine cautioned members of the CAAC to be vigilant in their respective regions, and be able to alert concerned institutions of any child who they may spot in their midst to be in need of care and protection.
She thanked officers at the Kiambu Level 5 hospital for their co-operation and understanding whenever they came across children that had been rescued from the streets.
She cited the case of a child who had been rescued from a street in Githunguri yesterday and rushed to the referral hospital.
While commenting on the personnel at the health institution, the CCCS said they hurriedly attended to the baby and now the baby was in a good condition.
Were it not for the good working relations, she said, they would have dragged their feet in attending to the baby and it would even have affected it more”
Other forms of child abuse that necessitates child protection was child neglect, which constitutes the largest percentage of child protection cases reported to the department of Children Services rising from 21,496 to 49,057 between 2005 and 2010.
However, majority of the cases involve neglect by fathers and this has prompted the department to network with line ministries to arrest the situation as fathers were compelled to take care of their children.
Recently, during precursory events to mark the family day held at a Kikuyu hotel, area Deputy County Commissioner, Paul Famba reminded the attendees that so long as a child refers to a man as dad, they should provide for them and should not discriminate against them.
Mbarine was transferred from Embu County and took over from Peter Kabwagi who was posted to the ministry headquarters.
By Lydia Shiroya
