By Sandra Adikinyi | Childline Kenya Staff
Childline Kenya is thrilled at the response so far to stop child abuse in Kenya. We would like to thank our supporters who made it possible for us to successfully participate in the July Bonus Day event and the Little by Little Campaign in August. The amounts raised will assist Childline Kenya to respond efficiently and effectively to the children who reach out to us for support everyday. On behalf of all the children who will benefit from this support I say, Thank you very much for believing in us entrusting us with your money to keep children safe.
Childline Kenya’s success is heavily dependent on the people who decide to rise to the occasion to promote child protection and ensure children enjoy being children. We therefore salute all our supporters for the great work. It is you that are changing the lives of Kenyan children with every call you make and each coin you donate to Childline Kenya.
The common saying ‘I’m a phone call away’ is one that we often take for granted. At Childline Kenya, however, we make this a reality and we are indeed a phone call away-Always. We are available to all the children of Kenya 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; playing our part in ensuring that children’s voices are heard and their rights and dignity upheld at all times. Day after day Childline receives hundreds of reports of child abuse in its various forms. We are working tirelessly on and off the clock, responding to “the known” and “the unknowns”. There may not be a name or a face to the child but our dream is to give a voice to every child.
Meet one of our unknowns
Name of the child: unknown
Age: unknown but speculated to be between 9-11 years.
Home: unknown but suspected to be from the Western region of Kenya
Type of abuse: Unknown but suspected to be physical abuse
This case was reported by a concerned neighbor who would only hear the child crying in pain almost on a daily basis. The neighbor did not know what exactly was happening to the child but suspected foul play. Moved with compassion he took the first brave step and called the Helpline 116. He feared that he would not be heard because apart from his deep conviction that the child needed help, he did not seem to have any additional information regarding the child or the actual situation. He feared that it would be dismissed as unsubstantiated speculation. He was pleasantly surprised when the helpline counselor confirmed that something would be done about the case. A rescue team was constituted to conduct a home enquiry, the outcomes of which confirmed that the child in question (a boy) lived with his uncle and aunt who abused him physically by beating him every day with metal objects leaving him with scars all over his body. Although he was of school-going age, he was denied the right to go to school and was also overworked. In addition to that, he was left to care for a two year old child despite being a child himself.
Childline Kenya contacted the relevant authorities and the boy was rescued and taken to hospital for medical attention. He was also placed in a temporary safe shelter where he would to go through counseling as more permanent and family based care was sought for him. The perpetrators were arraigned in court and the boy has since been reunited with his primary family who though poor have great love for the boy and are committed to keeping him safe.
Such cases are reported everyday by a neighbor, teacher or other concerned people in the communtiy. With your support, we can make the process more efficient; improve response time, provide better health care, shelter and safe houses following a rescue as we await a verdict. This will go a long way in creating a safe environment for a child especially after children undergo such traumatic experiences.
We ask for your financial support to help Childline give a voice to the voiceless, rescue an “unknown” child and move them to safety and hopefully reunite them with their family.
Keep a child safe from abuse; partner with Childline Kenya.
By Martha Sunda | Project Leader
By Martha Sunda | Executive Director
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