Newsletter September 2014
Message from the Director
The Disabled also Have Rights
Action for Children in Conflict (AfCiC) works to transform the lives of children affected by extreme poverty, hunger, illness,
persecution, abuse, and neglect. The children and families that AfCiC works with come from backgrounds of abject poverty,
poor health, abandonment and abuse. Our projects focus is to secure vulnerable children's rights to protection, education,
health and access to justice. We aim to contribute to enhanced access to quality health and development services and
information to disadvantaged children, youth, families and communities.
This month's edition we are focusing on children with disability. AfCiC supports eight primary school children who are deaf by
paying their school fees and providing shopping to those in boarding school. The importance of educating these children
cannot be overemphasised. It has been said now and again that education is a tool of empowerment for children. This enables
them to achieve their maximum potential and enhance their capacity to benefit from other entitlements that promote their well-
being.
AfCiC therefore wish to emphasise the need to enhance public awareness on the importance of educating, caring, protecting
and safeguarding children with disability. It is our hope that this will help in the attainment of Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) number two that requires every country to achieve Universal Primary Education by 2015. This means that all children
regardless of status and ability should complete a full course of primary schooling.
But while we are encouraged by the progress these eight children are making we are acutely aware of the fact that a lot more can
be done through effective partnership between civil society and government. In addition, we are strongly convicted to use our
every available resource to give hope and a future to the vulnerable children we work with.
I wish to thank our partners; staff and volunteers for their hard work, dedication and commitment which have helped improve
the lives of thousands of children. I encourage them to continue to identify critical children needs in the community aligning
them with our strategic plan 2012 – 2017 as we shape the future leaders.
John Muiruri
Country Director
Who We AreAction for Children in Conflict is a leading Child protection, health and development organization that implements projects at the heart of the community.
The organization runs programmes aimed at preventing and protecting children living and working on the streets of Thika town and its environs.
The interventions offered for the children by AfCiC include rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration; where the children are offered life skills, basic care, protection and health care.
Implications of Child Labour on Children
ost of us have been raised up in families with both
parents, who would obviously pass a parenting Mtest. However, some did not have parents or
guardians to take care of them and had to survive on their own.
According to a survey carried out by UNICEF, there are
approximately 250,000-300,000 children living and working
on the streets across Kenya with more than 60,000 of them in
Nairobi.
The capacity of families to care and protect orphans is
overstretched. This, combined with the increasing levels of
poverty, has resulted in many children heading their own
households, living in institutional care or surviving on the
streets. With the increasingly levels of poverty, children are
forced to drop out of school and enter into the labour market.
They are involved in commercial sex work, mining work and
collection of scrap metals.
According to a baseline survey on working children and
children affected by HIV/AIDS in Thika, Meru and Naivasha,
31.1% of children reported that they gave all the money earned
to the parent(s). The children listed more than one type of work
they do on regular basis. This included general farm work,
domestic work, mining and quarrying, water and firewood,
miraa and coffee picking, carrying luggage, food vending,
construction sites, picking flowers and own enterprise.
A rapid assessment on working children report in Thika and its
environs indicate that out of 19.8% of the children
interviewed, scavenge and sell scrap metal for a living.
Hawking was mentioned by 15.1 %. The other common types
of the work on the streets include; carrying luggage 9.8%,
scavenging and selling plastics (6.7%), begging (4.7%) and
sex work (4%). Some children are reportedly used to traffic
drugs and weapons.
Working on the streets presents a myriad of challenges and
problems exposing children to injuries, tetanus, pneumonia,
common cold, STI and HIV/AIDS.
To curb this, AfCiC has undertaken efforts in piloting the child
free labour zones. Hazardous work in which children are
engaged in have been identified and a programme has been
launched for withdrawal of children. AfCiC partners with
schools, colleges and vocational training centres as major
points for taking vulnerable children withdrawn from unsafe
work.
Also a District Child Labour Committee has been formed to
spearhead the interests of working children and the
committee's efforts were strengthened with the commitment
of the Kiambu County Governor, Hon William Kabogo to
make Thika a 'child labour free county'.
Anthony Kimani, 12, was rescued from the streets in May
2014 and is undergoing rehabilitation at AfCiC's Interim
Care Centre. He is a third born in a family of eight. Together
with his siblings, they are in a child-headed family since
their mother is deceased and the father is a bhang addict
who is rarely home.
After the death of their mother, their grandmother took
them in but the father threatened to kill her if she continued
to stay with the children.
The father took the children back to their home in Maragua
but never provided for them. This forced Anthony and his
siblings to abandon school and look for jobs to feed the
family. They scavenged the streets of Maragua before
finding their way into the streets of Thika.
“I would get fifty shillings for carrying heavy luggage and
selling scrap metal but that was barely enough for the eight
of us”, says Anthony.
Anthony is glad for the life skills and health education he is
getting at the rehabilitation centre. He is one of the many
children we have rescued from the streets but while we are
encouraged by our accomplishments so far we are aware of
the fact that a lot more can be done through effective
partnership between civil society and government.
Kiambu Governor, Hon William Kabogo flags off the World Day Against Child Labour Celebrations at the Kiambu County Government Offices
“There are approximately
250,000-300,000 children
living and working on the
streets across Kenya”
Page 2
uth Wambui, 13, is deaf and mother and daughter
communicate using sign language. Ruth is a class six Rpupil at Kambui School of the deaf.
Ruth's mother, Margret Njoki comes from a poor background
and catering for a deaf child year in year out took a toll on her
and her family. Her father, to deal with the stress, decided to hit
the bottle and became an absentee father.
Being a peasant farmer, Margret found it hard to provide for
her family of four children and an alcoholic husband.
“My husband was always drunk and the little farming I used to
do was what fed us,” says Mary.
Margret is among many parents of disabled children in Kenya
who struggle in vain to find appropriate schooling for them.
In theory, children with disabilities in Kenya have two choices
when it comes to education. They can either attend an
integrated school which would enable them to study alongside
able-bodied children or for children with more severe
disabilities, there are special schools which cater for particular
conditions.
Margret tried the integrated choice but found out that Ruth
was being more depressed wondering why she could not talk
like most of the pupils in school. When Ruth turned six years,
Margret decided to take her to Kambui School of the deaf.
“I knew raising the fees will be a challenge but I wanted the
best for my child.”
Ruth got a bursary from the Constituency Development Fund but this was not enough to cater for her tuition fee.
In 2012, when Action for Children in Conflict (AfCiC) took
over her case, she had fees arrears of Ksh 10,000. AfCiC
cleared the fees and has continued to support her ever since.
Using sign language, Ruth says she wants to be a human
rights activist to address the plight of the disabled children
in the society.
Ruth's mother is a champion of the rights of the disabled in
her village. She says that many in her community are
ignorant on issues of disability but she is determined to
inform them on the significance of educating the disabled.
She reckons that this is the only way she can unleash the
potential of every child and be the driver of change in her
community.
“Most of the people with disabled children in my
community say that educating them is a waste of time and
that they rather use the money to do other things.”
She acknowledges that the government helps but she says
they need to do more to help the vulnerable children in the
society especially those with disability.
Margret is thankful for AfCiC's support and vows she will
continue to share information on the significant of
educating the disabled. She acknowledges that it will be a
challenge but she is geared up to fight on.
Championing for the Rights of the Disabled
Ruth Wamboi and her mother, Margret Njeri
“I knew raising
the fees will be
a challenge but
I wanted the
best for my
child”
Page 3
other Teresa once said “We think sometimes that
poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. MThe poverty of being unwanted, unloved and
uncared for is the greatest poverty.” Francis Waweru suffered
from both forms of poverty Mother Teresa talked about and to
add insults to injury, he was deaf.
At the centre Francis had access to informal education,
including dancing, acrobatics, percussion, counselling, with
the programme building up to a near full academic
curriculum of Maths, English and Science, preparing him
for school.
AfCiC social workers tracked down any known family
members and put Francis in contact with his aunty. After one
year of rehabilitation, Francis was taken to his aunt and
enrolled in Kamboi School of the deaf and he is now in class
four.
Using sign language Francis says “I am grateful for the love,
financial support and opportunity this organisation is
granting me and the love that I receive from my aunt back
home.”
Francis, like many boys his age is active in sports and his
dream is to represent Kenya in the Paralympics.
“I hope to play for the Kenya's table tennis team in the
Paralympics in the near future”
The Right to Education
Francis is a 15 year old boy in Kambui
School for the deaf. Francis was raised by a
single mother and in 2006 she became sick
and could no longer provide for her son.
This forced Francis to go to the street and
look for manual work in order to feed
himself and his sick mother.
A jovial Francis Waweru
Francis' mother succumbed to her illness and passed away in
2007 and Francis relocated to the streets of Thika town. After
living for two years in the street, Francis came into contact
with AfCiC’s street worker and was taken at the AfCiC
Interim Care Centre in Thika for rehabilitation. He had been
denied basic rights as defined in the UN Convention for the
Rights of the Child especially the right to education, shelter
and health.
Page 4
The Disabled also have rightsNelson Kuria* is a single blind 60 year old man living in
Gatanga village, Muranga County. Kuria was living in Narok
when his dad passed on in 2003. Although his dad was poor, he
managed to leave him a piece of land.
Kuria was elated by the news, gathered his belongings and
went back home. He followed all the due process with the
courts and the land ownership was transferred to his name.
Being a blind and destitute person, Kuria's neighbours decided
to take advantage of him. They breached all legal proceeding
and went to the land dispute tribunal and revoked Kuria's land
ownership.
Kuria was mystified because during the gazettement notice no
one challenged the ownership of the land. He did not know
where to plead his case and sought out advice from his friends.
“I was about to give up when a friend told me about Action for
Children in Conflict (AfCiC) and the work they do in helping
the vulnerable in the community,” says Kuria.
AfCiC through Kenyan Children's Legal Aid Work (KCLAW)
programme provides free legal services at the grassroots levels
to the vulnerable children and families in the community
ensuring that poverty and disability cannot be an excuse for
inaction on gross human right abuses to people like Kuria.
Through this, AfCiC enables the most impoverished and
vulnerable people in the community access justice and legal
redress where their human rights have been infringed
through the provision of free direct legal advice, tailored
advocacy and campaigning and ongoing community
education.
For Kuria's case KCLAW are in the process of revoking the
transfer of Kuria's land to the neighbour who is trying to take
advantage of his situation. Kuria is grateful for the efforts
done by the KCLAW programme.
“Because of the KCLAW programme I am hopeful that this
land dispute will come to pass and I will be able to live on the
land my late father left me. I will forever remain thankful to
AfCiC for the support that they have given and continue to
give”
*NB names used in this article are not real names.
Page 5
The Month that was...Action for Children in Conflict (AfCiC) through its Child Lead the Way programme
(CLTW) conducted several activities during the August holiday namely;
i. Governance and mentorship forum
ii. Domestic workers training
iii. Peer educators training
iv. Children and work conference
These activities organised by the CLTW team, brought together 175 children and 15
facilitators. The activities addressed several issues that are relevant to take the children
through their academic life as well as the puberty stage and help them transform
diligently into adulthood. The sessions included:
i. Healthy relationships in schools and the community
ii. Behaviour change and communication skills
iii. Sexual and reproductive health.
iv. Life skills including drug abuse and HIV and AIDS
v. Group dynamics and leadership skills
vi. Setting goals and making informed career choices
vii. Academic and social challenges facing students in schools and possible
solutions
viii.Self esteem, self awareness and personal development
ix. Resisting peer pressure
x. Basic skills on the employment law and conflict resolution
It was quite remarkable to see to the children cooperate their young energy and thirst
for knowledge in their participation during the interactive sessions. They were
enthused by the efforts the AfCiC community is putting towards their well being. And
these are some of the remarks they gave:
“I am grateful for these activities. I had a goal but my goal was not SMART. When I go
back home I am going to set a SMART goal and I am confidence my grades will
definitely improve,” says David Mwangi
“As a school captain, my biggest challenge is how to do my work without being hated
and criticised. This forum has helped me learn how to relate with my fellow student
and carry out my responsibility as a captain effectively and efficiently,” says Margaret
Wanjiku
“I have learned to make proper decision concerning peer influence. And I am also
grateful for the self esteem session because I believe it will help me work on my
confidence,” says David Karani
“As a domestic worker I did not know most of the employment laws but know I am
empowered and no worker will take advantage of me,” says Jane Muthoni
The facilitators of these activities recommended that more training and fora to be held
especially the ones involving the children and their parents/guardians. Their hope was
to see the knowledge put into practice
@AfCiC
actionchildren.or.ke
Action for Children in Conflict
For More Information Contact
Action for Children in ConflictndImara Plaza 2 floor
P.O. Box 6439-01000
Thika
Mobile No: +254722 753 137