Busia Sub County children’s officer Euphrasia Agalla has called for establishment of child rights clubs in schools to help in empowering children know and enjoy their rights.
Speaking during the Child rights inter club competition under the Linda Mtoto Project of Free Pentecostal Fellowship of Kenya in Busia town, Agalla said the clubs will empower children with knowledge on their rights to be able to speak for themselves.
“We have many child protection issues and violations in Busia and across the country. Training our children on their rights is a milestone in handling the cases because it is them that are affected. The idea of Child rights clubs in school will give them an opportunity to learn and understand their rights and also to advocate for the rights of their fellow children at home or in any environment,” she added.
Agalla appreciated the opportunity provided through inter-club competition of child rights clubs stating that it helps in talent development. “Inter-clubs’ competition provides a platform for young children to showcase their talents, build their confidence and expose them to public speaking as we nurture what they are capable of doing.
Through the skits, dances and poems, children are able to inform each other of their rights in a way that is easy to be understood by their fellow children,” she explained.
She further advised the parents to use the holiday period to mentor their children and teach them good morals. “Teach your children the right values. Do not surrender the responsibilities of taking care of your children to the relatives. These young children need mentorship and for the period they will be at home, parents should play the role even as they give them opportunity to learn life skills,” she advised.
Linda Mtoto Project coordinator Everline Achieng said they have initiated child rights clubs in four Sub counties in Busia County to educate children on their rights.
“We managed to train 48 teachers drawn from four sub counties in Busia. Sixteen of those were school head teachers and 32 were child rights club matrons and patrons with two from each school. In terms of schools in sub counties, Teso North had eight, Matayos four, Teso South three and Teso central, one. Upon completion, they were to form child rights clubs in their respective schools. This was to enable learners to be able to understand their rights,” she said.
Achieng said the inter-club competition was to help in the assessment of the effectiveness of the child rights clubs for the learners.
“We wanted to know if the message was escalated to the schools. We have witnessed different skits and presentations that advocate for the rights of children and this is really creating awareness in their midst. We are going to use these children as ambassadors in advocating for their rights and even to teach others and through this, we will bring these cases down,” she said.
The coordinator said they are going to use faith clubs to teach children about their rights to ensure they are all informed. “We also have the faith clubs which are in existence and this includes children from all religions. We want to use these clubs during this holiday so that we can reach as many children as possible. When they learn to speak for themselves, it will be easy to identify these cases. We want them to be trained on how to become responsible people in future,” she said.
Edwin Wafula, a teacher said training of the children on their rights gives them an opportunity to join the fight against violation of their rights. “We have been having a challenge on receiving the information. When those at risk are informed, they will help us to identify these cases and once we know, we will be able to intervene quickly and save our children. We should take it as our responsibility to help these children so that we can safeguard them from violation of their rights,” he said.
Learners who participated in the competition led by Catherin Auma, who is deaf lauded the child rights club adding that they will use the knowledge to inform others.
“The clubs have helped us to learn and understand our rights. We are going to use our knowledge to protect other children from abuse, defilement and neglect so that we can be safe. We are happy for the support we are receiving to understand our rights,” said Auma.
By Salome Alwanda and Rodgers Omondi
