Kenya joins the World on Friday in commemorating the International Day of the African Child, a day that has been celebrated every year since 1991 when it was first initiated by the Organization of African Unity.
It honors those who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976. It also raises awareness over the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children.
The Day of the African Child (DAC) 2017 will be commemorated on the theme “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for Children in Africa: Accelerating protection, empowerment and equal opportunity”.
The Child friendly version is “Accelerating protection, empowerment and equal opportunities for children in Africa by 2030″.
This comes even as the issue of street families remains a menace in various major towns in Kenyan such as Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu just to mention but a few.
A walk in these towns, you will understand what it means for street families. Street children go without meals, clothings as well as lack of proper shelter.
Beatrice Njoki, 17, who has been in the streets of Nakuru for more than two years after leaving her home in Lanet says circumstances forced her to join street life as her parents were jobless and could not provide her needs.
“You see my parents could not help me get the needs as they were jobless and that is what made me to join the street life,” said Njoki.
She says life on the streets is tough.
Her sentiments are echoed by Beatrice Waithera, 27, who has been in the streets of Nakuru town for more than 20 years.
According to Beatrice, they have been surviving on well wishers who bring them clothing. Getting food, she said, is their biggest challenge.
“We have been suffering though some well wishers have been giving us clothing but food has been a problem and we hope we will get assistance so that we can also have a better life,” she said.
The script is similar for Lillian Moraa, 23. She dropped out of school. Std 7, at Kisii in 2014.
“Life in the streets has not been easy. Some of us are insulted by those we beg from,” she said.
Even as the world commemorates the day of the African Child this Friday 16th June 2017, to the street families they just hope that one day their rights to shelter, clothing and food will be catered.
Nakuru Human Rights Activist David Kuria called on the County Government of Nakuru, Children Departments as well as the NGOs dealing with children rights to ensure the menace of street children is addressed.
“My appeal is to the Government, Children departments as well as those NGOs dealing with children to ensure this issue of street families is dealt with through rehabilitation as well as ensuring they are taken back to school,” said Kuria.
It should be noted that Day of African Child was instituted in 1991 by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the then OAU instituted in memory of the 16th June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa.
Since then, the OAU and its successor, the AU, have used the DAC to remember these children, to celebrate children in Africa as well as to inspire a sober reflection and action towards addressing the plethora of challenges that children in Africa face on a daily basis.