Ministry of Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary (CS) Florence Bore has launched the National Positive Parenting Programme (NPPP) guideline and manual which is aimed at enhancing parents and caregivers’ schemes, religious, beliefs, practices and attitudes on parenting to strengthen the capacities of families and promote healthy child development.
The CS said that the programme will be delivered through existing structures under National, County governments all the way to the Sub County and constituency through the services of well-trained social development officers, counsellor volunteers and child protection volunteers to leverage on existing support system services provided by the community for families.
She highlighted the problems affecting families as being drugs and substance abuse, digital online technology which is ubiquitous in this contemporary world of today under no parental guidance and care.
The CS revealed that she is in collaboration with stakeholders to begin the journey of developing a national positive parenting programme.
“The stakeholders began the journey of developing NPPP in 2020 which is spearheaded by a 25 member multisectoral technical working group drawn from relevant government agencies, academia, religious organizations, development partners and organizations implementing NPPP,” she said.
She also insisted that the problems affecting families need multisectoral approach since it is emergency dimensional in nature.
While speaking at an event to celebrate international days of families at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in Nairobi, the CS urged leaders and stakeholders to implement the programme in depth.
“Before we release this program we have said today, we want what we have discussed implemented, otherwise it is meaningless to sit here in the boardroom, draw allowances while the programme stays unimplemented,” Bore appealed.
State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) Joseph Motari observed that the Kenya society of today has over borrowed westernized cultural practices.
National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) Director General Dr Mohamed Abdikadir Sheikh revealed that the majority of families in Kwale and Murang’a have 35% and 55% respectively combined income of less than Sh.5,000 according to the research carried out in the two counties.
Adikadir further revealed that according to a study NCPD conducted, 63% and 56%of families in Kwale and Murang’a respectively have no kind of savings at all.
By Ali Sheikh Mohamed
