County to erect a rehab centre for street children
Bungoma County Assembly speaker John Makali has said that the Assembly has passed a bill that will see the County Government of Bungoma puts up a rehabilitation centre in a bid to get rid of the street children menace in the county.
Makali was speaking in Bumula constituency during the launch of Every Last Child initiative, a programme funded by Save the Children where he said that they are in talks with other development partners who will help fund the project.
The speaker also said that the rehab centre will also be a home for the children engaging in prostitution at a tender age along the highways especially at Kanduyi and Bukembe where drivers of heavy commercial vehicles lodge.
Makali said that poverty, unemployment and wrangles in the families among others are the major contributors to children prostitution in Bungoma, adding that the County Government, National Government and other stakeholders should put in place measures to curb the situation.
The County Assembly boss also said that the bill has also proposed for the establishment of a free feeding program to all ECDE pupils which will be funded by the County Government in a bid to see it that they access quality education.
He called upon the children’s department to closely work with government agencies such the judiciary so as to ensure when matters pertaining children are brought to court are expedited with the seriousness it deserves.
On the other hand, Save the Children coordinator for Bungoma Kenneth Sisimo said that they NGO want to reach to the vulnerable children in the county and save them from perpetrators of defilement.
He said that teenage pregnancy was a major hindrance to their concerted efforts of ensuring that the rights of the girl child are protected, saying that the courts should see to it that justice is done to victims of defilement by prosecuting perpetrators of defilement.