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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Cabinet has chosen to neglect orphans and vulnerable children

Opinion

By Martin Mbugua Mwangi | Jan 28, 2025

**The Child Welfare Society of Kenya social workers supply food, clothes and school items to pupils at the Mavuno IDP Camp in Lamu West.[**Kiundu Waweru]

The government has for years been accused of unbridled largesse and wastefulness – the fuel guzzlers, office flowers, red carpets and duplication of roles. It was, therefore, welcome news last week when a dispatch from the Cabinet announced plans to dissolve, merge or defund State corporations that were either inefficient, redundant or whose roles were outdated. The reforms were necessitated by increasing fiscal pressures arising from constrained government resources, the demand for high quality public services, and the growing public debt burden.

If implemented, this is expected to save the government billions of shillings which can then be put in development projects and service delivery.

When this news broke, newspapers gave acres of space to analyses on the ‘biggest losers’ in the expected changes. Former politicians and campaign financiers now serving at the helm of these corporations topped the list. But from where I sit, the biggest losers are the orphans and vulnerable children under the care of the Child Welfare Society of Kenya (CWSK).

CWSK takes care of dietary, health, shelter, education and psycho-social support of about 700,000 vulnerable children, both in the organisation’s homes and in communities. Many children who find themselves in the streets or in danger, including dumped day-old toddlers, end up in one of the homes run by CWSK across the country. Hundred’s others benefit from CWSK outreach programmes while living with their families.

In my Mutuini Ward, Kiambu County, I know children who are in school, thanks to CWSK. These children's school fees is paid every term by CWSK which also gives them other support to make their lives bearable. This is the case in many villages in the 47 counties.

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While I am not privy to the reasons the government considered before deciding to defund the CWSK, I fail to understand how it hopes to save money by causing the suffering of over half a million children. Suppose the government saves Sh1 billion that it would have given to the organisation but leaves hundreds of children without food, shelter and education, how is that a smart move?

This Cabinet decision is akin to a parent cutting food rations and thus bringing up malnourished and stunted children with the argument that they are saving for the children’s future. Children are not producers. They are consumers. You give to them without expectation of returns. It is the duty of every government to provide for every one of its children and more so the orphans and the most vulnerable. You do not, as a parent, or government, save money by denying your children basic human rights. Children are the future of this country and they need to be well taken care of. Money spent on children is not wastage but an investment for the good of the country.

In neighbouring Waithaka Ward there is a CWSK home which primarily cares for children with cerebral palsy and other extreme health conditions. I wish the CS in charge of social protection had taken the Cabinet for a tour of some of these homes before taking a vote on whether to fund them or not. Although the government has said all children will be reunited with their families, it must be alive to the fact that some children have no family they can go to; others ran away from their families to escape abuse. The government must not abscond from duty of care of its children hoping foreign donors will take up the responsibility.

Mr Mbugua is MCA for Mutuini Ward and founder of Mutuini Hope Centre which supports education of vulnerable children.