Two-month-old baby rescued from abandonment

Narok Children department has rescued a two-months-old baby girl who had been abandoned by her mother beside a river at Olokirikirai in Narok North Sub County.
The Sub County Children officer Pilot Khaemba said the minor was spotted by two girls Saturday who had gone to the river to bath during the day when they heard a baby crying from the bush.
The two girls carried the baby to their mother Margaret Kwamboka who nursed her overnight and presented her to the children department today.
The children officer said the baby was later taken to Enabelbel Health Centre for a comprehensive examination where she was confirmed to be about two months old and in good health.
Khaemba said already the process of transferring the minor to Nest Children Home in Nairobi had begun with the Narok Chief Magistrate Wilbroda Juma advising the Children department to get a Covid-19 clearance certificate before the baby is transferred to Nairobi.
“It is sad that this county lacks charitable children institutions to place infants. This makes us to look for help from other counties to place vulnerable infants,” said Khaemba.
The children officer explained that the whole process of child placement does not require any public or government protocol.
At the same time, Khaemba said the police had launched investigations to search for the person responsible for abandoning the infant and have called on the public to help in giving information that could lead to arrest of the culprit.
“We ask residents to be vigilant to guard our children, when anyone notices a child who is left unattended should report the same to the police or our office immediately,” said Khaemba.
Khaemba noted that child neglect and abandonment have been identified as the root cause of all other forms of child abuse like defilement and child trafficking.
He called on parents who are not in the position of taking care of their children to seek guidance from his office so that together they can reason out on how to bring out the young ones.
“I understand that some parents especially the young parents could be undergoing financial difficulties that could lead them to abandon their children, but I want to advise them to often visit our offices where our social workers will take them through guidance and counseling sessions and in most vulnerable conditions connect them with sponsors,” said Khaemba.
A report released by Childline Kenya last year shows that 75 percent of child neglect cases was perpetrated by immediate family members.
By Ann Salaton