The Kiambu Governor’s wife, Mrs. Susan Ndung’u Waititu has
extolled the role played by Children’s officers in the community and asked them to take time to explain their mandate to the people.
Mrs. Waititu while presiding over the Kiambu County day of the African Child at Thiririka Primary school grounds in Juja sub-county on Friday said the officers had been bestowed with the key responsibility of ensuring that children lead abuse free lives.
“During public forums where you interact with members of the public, you should explain to them what you do and where you can be found so that all cases of child abuse are reported to you,” said Mrs.Waititu.
She added when people knew the duties of the officers, where you are located physically, phone contacts, they will not sit back and allow any child to suffer in their vicinity. The villagers may not know they are the keepers of children but armed with such information, they will help in the protection of all those youngsters in distress.
Mrs. Waititu blamed excessive consumption of alcohol as the root cause of defilement cases in the region.
While defending the spirited fight against the vice which was initiated by her husband Governor Ferdinand Waititu, she called on all stakeholders to support the move.
She observed that if men remained sober, they will not idle around in the homes, preying on their children but they will wake up every morning and go to work.
The governor’s wife explained that women were thrown in such predicament because they had the sole responsibility of taking care of their children after some husbands abdicated their role of providing for them.
“Women wake up early to go looking for casual jobs to fend for their families as their husbands engage in alcoholism. It is during such times that the children are exposed to the men in the villages including fathers, relatives and neighbours who end up abusing them,” she said.
Mrs. Waititu further observed that poverty had also contributed to the upsurge of child neglect. On this, she challenged parents to take advantage of government empowerment programmes which she said could propel them to be economically stable and therefore be able to take care of their families.
During the function, the wife of area Member of Parliament also known as Susan Waititu appreciated efforts that had been done by the Thika children’s officer Rebecca Kariuki by serving the two sub-counties of Thika and Juja.
At the end of celebrations, girls present benefited from sanitary towels, while the legislator’s wife presented a donation of shoes to the boy child from her husband and area MP Francis Waititu.
By Lydia Shiroya