Residents of Odongoer village in Goyo sub-location, Ndhiwa constituency have appealed to the government to decentralise birth registration services, citing long distance making it difficult for families to obtain birth certificates for their children.
Speaking at Goyo Trading Centre, Benta Ouma Kobe, a Community Health Promoter (CHP) at Goyo Community Health Unit, said the lack of nearby registration offices has left many caregivers unable to acquire birth certificates which are crucial for enrolling their children in Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres and schools.
Kobe explained that during household visits, caregivers often report that their children are unregistered due to the challenges in terms of costs of travelling to Homa Bay town civil registry office, where the nearest birth registration services centre is located.
“The journey to Homa Bay town is expensive and time-consuming. Transport costs about Sh1000 for a return trip, and the process cannot be completed in a single day,” she said, adding that the situation has denied many children access to education and other essential government services.
Parents echoed similar sentiments, citing high transport costs, long queues, and repeated return visits to the civil registration offices in Homa Bay town.
Velma Ouma, a parent, reiterated that the process is too costly for parents and urged the government to factor the issue into the 2026 financial year planning.
“You go to Homa Bay, queue for long hours, register, then you are told to come back another day. The fare is not easy to get, especially for mothers who have no stable income,” she said, calling for mobile registration services closer to the community.
Peter Ochola, a caregiver, has two children who do not have the crucial document. He said it is costly to acquire birth certificates for both the children given his low-income status.
“Getting one birth certificate costs about Sh1,000, and for two children that is Sh2,000, plus transport. With low income, this has made it impossible for me,” he said, adding that schools are sending children home for lack of documents.
Similarly, Kennedy Oluoch Ogendi, another resident, called on the government to bring birth registration services closer to the people.
“The roads are bad, Homa Bay is far, and the transport cost is high. We request the government to bring these services to our area, even at the chief’s office or a nearby centre,” he said.
The residents are now appealing to the national and county governments to decentralise birth registration services, deploy mobile registration units and reduce the charges of acquiring birth certificates to ensure all children in Goyo sub-location can access these documents and enjoy their right to education and other government services.
They also appealed for better roads to ease transportation within the area.
By Sitna Omar
