Stakeholders donate books to Kiambu remand home

As Kenyans prepare to celebrate Christmas in various parts of the country, children in a Kiambu remand home have a reason to smile after a charitable organization donated some books to them.
The children, whose education was curtailed after they were arraigned in various courts in Central region, will no longer remain idle following a donation of books from Nairobi Chapel and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Kiambu.
During the book presentation on Saturday, the manager of the home Ms. Lena Sitati thanked the donors for the donation which she said had come at the right time.
“At least they will not get bored as has been the case before. Christmas time will be interesting for those who love reading” she said.
The manager regretted that children at the remand home did not enjoy access to primary education yet it was their right as enshrined in the constitution.
While receiving the books which were handed over by Viola Muthoni, a state counsel at the Kiambu ODDP, Ms Sitati appreciated the gesture and commended the officers for having a big heart for the welfare of the children.
She said the officers understood the predicament that the children lived under at the remand home and hence their concern to help them by soliciting the books.
In May 2018 during a tree planting exercise at the institution based in Kirigiti sub-location of Kiambu County, the manager had stated that the government should consider deploying teachers to the institution.
She had expressed concern at the idleness that the children suffered and said they lost a lot during the time they were held pending the completion of their cases.
To ameliorate the children’s stay, they engage in soap making, laundry and cooking skills for the girls which enables them to be self-reliant when they returned back to the community.
Kiambu remand home hosts children who are in conflict with the law and are therefore remanded at the institution pending completion of their cases in various courts.
It hosts both boys and girls aged below 18 years who are committed to the institution by the law courts from the region. Currently the home hosts 57 children.
By Lydia Shiroya