Children Charitable Institutions should prepare well children under their care so as to avoid returning to the streets after attaining the age of 18 years.
Teresiah Kimiti, director of Heritage of Faith and Hope Children Home in Mavoko Sub County said several children from various homes in the region return to the streets even after sitting for their KCSE examinations.
Speaking at the home during a children’s fun day on Saturday, Ms Kimiti said the children should not be allowed out of the institutions before acquiring professional skills and jobs even if they are over 18 years of age.
“Exit of a child from charitable institutions is very important, these children need security even after becoming of age. A person who is less than 23 years will get back to the streets,” said Kimiti.
Kimiti said managers of the homes should ensure all children under them get post secondary education to enable them have strong foundation before being let go out of the orphanages to earn own livelihoods.
She urged those running such institutions to get more committed and help the children acquire jobs after successfully getting through professional trainings in universities and middle class colleges.
Kimiti said children who fail to perform well in academics especially their KCSE should be enrolled in vocational training institutions and be allowed to train in technical courses of their choices for life skills in a bid of earning reasonable livelihoods when they move out of the children homes.
“It is wrong for a child to be forced out of a charitable institution once he attains age 18 simply because he is an adult before preparing him well on how to face the outside world and real life there. Some homes tell such children to go unite with their relatives once they become 18 without training them on either professional or basic life skills, this is wrong and a poor exit. They will all return to streets,” said Kimiti.
Kimiti said managers of children homes should not be very strict to orphans and vulnerable children under their care for this would make them run back to streets and instead dialogue with them just like their own biological children.
She said the children should be treated well and given freedom with limitations so as not to feel oppressed.
“The children have their own wounds already hence need to be given friendly treatment by the homes so as not to feel they could have been treated differently if their parents were alive,” said Kimiti.