President should have agenda specific to children

Last December, President Kenyatta hosted children from charitable organisations at State House Nairobi for a pre-Christmas party. I accompanied children of Mutuini Hope Centre and the reception was spectacular.

What carried me away the most, however, was what I judged to be the President’s and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta’s genuine love for children.

I had seen the President embrace and hold children countless times on television, but I could not tell whether it was out of genuine concern or just for the cameras.

On that December day I got my answer.
It is for this reason that as the world celebrates Fathers’ Day, which incidentally comes just after the International Day of the African Child which was marked on Saturday, I feel compelled to ask the President to include among his four-point legacy agenda one more, specific to the Kenyan children.

AFRICAN CHILD

The theme for the International Day of the African Child this year was “Leave No Child Behind for Africa’s Development”. I feel the President, being the First Father, so to speak, of the Kenyan child, and out of his genuine concern for the children, is best positioned to ensure that all our children, and especially the neediest, are not left behind as the rest of the country moves forward.

Of course the four agenda, more widely known as the Big Four, already address the needs of everyone, including children. Health and housing, for instance, directly affect the children. Still, I argue that President Kenyatta will leave behind a better legacy if he addresses, too, the children’s welfare as an agenda by itself.

Here’s why. In my interactions with children and poor families through the work I do at Mutuini, I have zeroed in on issues that need urgent intervention. I believe these issues cut across. I address them here below:
Food for schools: In the Sunday Nation last week, there was the story about an organisation, Feed the Children, indicating that they will no longer be distributing foodstuffs to city schools in low income areas as they have always done. This followed utterances by CS Fred Matiang’i to the effect that Kenya can feed all her children and does not need foreigners to do so.

This could be true, but the facts on the ground show that this could as well be wishful thinking. I know for a fact that many families even in Nairobi do not afford enough food for their children.

POOR FAMILIES

It is true that for most children from poor families, school is first and foremost, the place they go to get meals and education is, therefore, a secondary motivation.

Without the feeding programme in schools, many children would not attend school. To cover the gap left behind by Feed the Children, schools have asked each child to be paying Sh11 daily for food.

This might sound negligible in Dr Matiang’i’s ears, but for a poor parent with five children, that translates to Sh55 daily. Many households can ill-afford that amount daily.

Mr President should, therefore, ensure the organisations that provide food for schools continue providing the same or find an alternative that does not place the burden on families.
Drugs and alcohol: I have recently heard the President declare that those who steal public money should rot in jail.

Likewise, he should make it his legacy agenda to ensure all drug dealers are put in jail for the sanity of our republic and safety of our children. Actually, they should be hanged immediately after conviction.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
Thousands of children and youth in Kenya are affected more by drugs and alcohol than they are by corruption. The many cases of indiscipline and teenage crime in schools and outside can be traced to use of narcotics and alcohol among children. Can the President issue an executive order directing that all bars near schools be closed down?

Given the enormity of the drug problem in the country, the other development agenda will come to naught, if we don’t stop the sale and use of narcotics, rehabilitate the addicts and fight irresponsible sale and use of alcohol.

Finally, the President should decree that all street families be taken to care homes or be reunited with their relatives and from there receive government support.

The streets should be no home for anyone by the time the President leaves office.

The writer is Chief Sub-Editor, Sunday Nation, and Founder/Director of Mutuini Hope Centre in Dagoretti South, Nairobi. Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @FpMwangi