Reject Online Issue 105

January 1- 30, 2015

ISSUE 105

A monthly newspaper by the Media Diversity Centre, a project of African Woman and Child Feature Service

In the line of fire Senseless act of impunity as police tear-gas school children

By Jane Godia

Guns, dogs, tear gas, marked the scene of a primary school where children were protesting against the grabbing of their playground.

Television screens depicted scenes similar to the Soweto Massacre in 1976 in South Africa during the apartheid regime.

Wailing and crying marked the huge smoke of tear gas as children ran helter-skelter with their eyes burning from the gas lobbied on them. While the police were fully armed with AK-47 rifles, and dressed in bullet proof vests, the children had nothing in their hands other than the placards calling on those who had grabbed their playing field to give them back. Using their bare hands, the children were able to bring down the perimeter wall that had been constructed to block their access to the play ground.

The human rights defenders who had gone to the school to give them support were not spared either as some of them were arrested.

Even as there were running battles ensued on Lang’ata Road, on the other side of town, the battles of the grabbing of the playground of Our Lady of Mercy Primary School hardly got the same attention.

Vulnerable

Focus seemed to have been concentrated on Lang’ata Road Primary School where a majority of the pupils are from the poor families who inhabit the sprawling Kibera slum. These children from the slum do not have anywhere else that they can exercise their right to play as children except in the playing ground of their schools. The shameless greed to grab a schools playfield speaks of nothing beyond how low we have stooped as a country. The grabbers are parents of children yes, but their children go to high cost schools which have acres and acres of ground including where Continued on page 2

Pupils of Langata Road Primary School demonstrate against grabbing of their playground as the police teargass them.

Pictures: Reject Correspondent

Read more Reject stories online at w w w. m d c a f r i c a . o rg

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Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

ISSUE 105, January 1-31, 2015

Senseless act of impunity as police teargas school children Continued from page 1 they can ride horses and go- karts; play rugby, football; basketball and any other game that would help a growing child.

These are people whose children have been taken to the great schools of South Africa, Britain and the United States of America where no one would dare dream of grabbing any land leave alone public land and especially one that has been allocated to children to use.

Injustice

The public schools in Nairobi are already too squeezed with hardly enough room for the children to use fully.

This was a case of Cry My Beloved Country as the placards carried by the children called on the president to come to their rescue. Five of the children were injured and taken to hospital.

In a way that tells how dirty the country has gone, it was even not easy to determine who had actually hived off this playing ground from the school.

Greed to be rich and richer has made Kenyans to forget that children are the next generation and they must grow up in an environment that will see them ensure sustainable development.

The Minister for Internal Security Retired Major Joseph Nkaissery called on the person who grabbed the playing grounds to the school to bring down the wall within the next 24 hours. Giving his personal apologies to the schoolchildren injured in the discordance, Nkaissery said: “This land is a school property and I’m giving the private developer up to 24 hours to bring down the remaining wall.”

The land in question is adjacent to Weston Hotel and documents from the lands ministry shows that it belongs to the school.

Ownership

According to chair of the National Land Commission Mohammed Swazuri, the grabbed land belongs to the school.

Speaking in Mombasa, Land Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu said that the land was public, reiterating that there was no shortcut to the matter and the land must be reverted to the school.

The police who tear-gassed the children failed on their obligation of Utumishi Kwa Wote (Service to all), clearly indicating that they are only out to protect the high and mighty. The police even forgot, or is it that they were not aware that in 1989, governments worldwide promised all children the same rights by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, also known as the CRC or UNCRC. The Convention changed the way children are viewed and treated — in other words, as human beings with a distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity. These rights describe what a child needs to survive, grow, and live up to their potential in the world. They apply equally to every child, no matter who they are or where they come from.

Publicity

The events received international media coverage with media house across the world running the story. The Day of the African Child which is marked on June 16, was started in

honour of children who were killed in the Soweto attack of 1976. The Day of the African Child has been celebrated every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity. It honours those who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 on that day. It also raises awareness of the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children. In Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976, about ten thousand black school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting the poor quality of their education and demanding their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young students were shot, the most famous of which being Hector Peterson. More than a hundred people were killed in the protests of the following two weeks, and more than a thousand were injured.

The scene clearly replicated on Lang’ata will live in our memories forever.

Extra information from the Internet

Pupils of Langata Road Primary School demonstrating against grabbing of their playground. Above: The wall has now been built by the government and a sign post erected to show ownership.

Pictures: Carolyne Oyugi & Reject Correspondent

ISSUE 105, January 1-31, 2015

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

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Rural-urban migration taking its toll in slums

By CAROLYNE OYUGI When John Owino moved to Nairobi from his village in Siaya County, he had high expectations. He thought he would get a good job and support his parents and siblings back in the village.

“I had been at home for three years after completing my secondary education and had no job. I thought if I came to Nairobi things would change for the better once I got a job,” Owino explains.

Ten years later, Owino is unhappy with his life. All he has managed to do is get himself a job as a water vendor, something much below his expectations as he left the village.

He is a water vendor, ferrying jerry cans in a cart and selling it to residents of Kibera slums.

He thanks God for being able to put food on the table and having a roof over his head, but barely does he have anything to send back to his elderly parents.

“I make approximately KSh200 per day but that is barely enough to feed my wife and two-year-old daughter,” he says.

Owino wishes he could earn more money to enable him live in a better neighbourhood and provide his young family with a better future.

Owino, now 30 years old, is just one of many Kenyans who migrate from the village to major towns expecting to improve their lives but end up living in worse conditions.

Statistics

According to the last census, Kenya’s population has grown by 10 million within 10 years making it the seventh most populous country in Africa and the third most populous in the East African Region.

A resent research done by Concern Worldwide Kenya on Indicators for Urban Emergencies points out that Kenya’s increasing population has created greater density of population.

“The rate of urbanisation in Kenya, estimated at 4.4 percent, is one of the highest in the world,” states part of the research finding that was carried between August 2012 and February 2014.

Indeed, urbanisation is a factor of population movement towards growth as well as rural-urban migration. However, for many immigrants, like Owino, urban living is not necessarily better living.

Income

More than half of Kenya’s urban residents live in poverty; they dwell in peripheral urban areas on meagre incomes as well as in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions. This is common for the urban poor living in Kenya’s informal settlements or slums, particularly those found in the large cities.

According to Concern Worldwide, Nairobi alone hosts 45 percent of the Kenya’s urban population of which 60 percent live in slums on four percent of the city’s land.

Although the Government has recognised the problems in the informal settlements, many urban poor, still live a vulnerable existence where

impacts of hazards such as global financial shocks and ethnic violence are magnified.

There is increasing awareness by the Government as well as humanitarian and development actors of vulnerable urban population sub-sets and the need to respond to crises as experienced by the urban poor in the 46 settlements classified as ‘urban’ found in the country.

Constitution

The Constitution and economic blueprint, Kenya Vision 2030, take cognisance of the country’s growing

Majority of slum dwellers in Kenyan urban areas have no access to urbanisation and the need for urban development. A national Urban De- proper sanitation. Anne O’Mahony (Country director in Kenya) -Concern velopment Policy and an Urban Areas Worldwide addressing participants in Korogocho, Nairobi during the and Cities Act have been enacted to launch of the report. Pictures: George Ngesa & Carolyne Oyugi provide a foundation for strengthening governance, productivity and inAmong the recommendations by percent of their income on food, the clusivity, in the country.

Concern Worldwide Kenya is early overall food expenditure average is 63 For people like Owino, however, warning systems that monitor for percent. these initiatives only exist on papers emergencies whether slow onset or Households in ‘hot spots’ reveal shelved in Government offices. acute should be part of wider systems vulnerable population that report very The research further reveals that monitoring for development progress low income, higher food insecurity there is significant variation between (or the absence of it). Key responses rates, less dietary diversity, higher prevslums and within slums in terms of inshould reinforce the very system alence of illness, more insecurity and come and expenditure. While houseupon which an affected population higher use of coping strategies such as holds in the lowest income surveyed depends, whether rural or urban, and removal of children from schools and areas report spending almost 100 extend the capacity of that system. purchase of food on credit.

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ISSUE 105, January 1-31, 2015

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Cases of child labour on the rise . . . . as parents in Embu defend action

Kilifi youth urged to engage in entrepreneurship

By YUSUF AMIN Business entrepreneur in Kilifi County are educating the youth on how to seize the opportunities that have arisen in the region.

The experts want the youth in the County to exploit their potential in business by sharpening their entrepreneurial skills.

Prof Ross Stewart, who is an entrepreneur expert from Seattle Pacific University in cooperation with Pwani University and US Embassy, says Kilifi has many resources that can help the youth start their own businesses.

Strategy

By Robert Nyagah Evans Njiru, a Standard Six pupil at a rural primary school in Karurina, Embu County is partly covered by a flourishing crop of maize as he struggles to keep pace with adults in his company busy tilling the land.

Once in a while as the group tilling continues he and his elder sister who just did her Kenya Certificate of Kenya Primary Education (KCPE) are left about two meters behind by the adults who include their single mother and aunts.

Master Njiru has to cope with the adults’ pace of tilling the land because at the end of the day, he will be paid a full day’s dues the same as the adults in his group, KSh300.

Labour

“We take at least a metre wide portion of the land and till until we reach a selected end of the lane about 30 metres, before returning to communally take another lane.

This ensures that each individual tills the same size of land,” explains Njiru as he sips water from a plastic bottle with sweat falling from his face.

Njiru joined his mother and aunties courtesy of the long end of year school holidays which will eventually culminate with Christmas and New Year festivities when demand for finances in households grows with the need for food, clothes and gifts growing.

The first weeks of the long school holidays coincide with the planting and land tilling season with large amounts of work.

This often becomes a challenge at family level and farm owners who have to hire casual labourers to work on their farms.

Availability of casual work in various farms in Embu County at this time when thousands of children are on holiday means children are joining their parents and relatives to work or are hired as labourers.

Like hundreds now toiling in the farms for pay and family work, Njiru is already a wage earner and as he confesses that in a good month, he could earn up as much as KSh9,000.

Gather

Apart from cultivating the land to eke a living, Njiru has been gathering green fodder for sale to livestock farmers involved in zero-grazing among other smaller undertakings which cover collecting firewood for sale.

Pupils from a primary school in Embu tender seedlings in a private tree nursery for pay. Picture: Robert Nyagah Despite being in school, the pupil has been gathering fodder for sale since he was in Standard Four. This is work that he does every evening after school and earns him at least KSh50 per sack.

“I wake up early and I’m able to cut grass and other vegetation suitable for dairy cattle fodder amounting to two bags and each bag earns me at least KSh50 from zero-grazing dairy cattle farmers,” says Njiru. He adds: “This means that I am able to earn KSh100 before 8am every morning.”

Njiru then joins relatives and friends to undertake tilling of land earning KSh300 per day. In the evening the young boy again rushes to the bush to gather at least another two bags of green fodder to sell at KSh100.

Calculations indicate that Njiru earns at least KSh500 per day. Although the work is tough for a boy of his age, he says: “It is worth suffering and struggling and this way I am happy to chip in family food expenses and perhaps buy myself clothes including goodies such as bread, cakes and sodas.”

Despite the fact that child labour is illegal in Kenya according to the Children’s Act, the practice is widespread in various parts of Embu County and on many occasions it is disguised as “family work” especially during the cultivation season when entire families are seen tilling the land.

Lucy Ruguru, a single mother of five who has for some years involved her three children in child labour thinks it is all right to have her children work for pay sometimes against their will.

Law

When The Reject explained to her that child labour was illegal, she confessed to not being aware that there were laws which could get her charged and jailed together with the child employer.

However, she wonders: “Why should I leave them at home when there is paid work and they also eat from the meagre earnings I make as a casual labourer?”

She adds: “And by the way they are used to this casual work and they are happy to also spare some pocket money for themselves mainly because I only demand a small fraction of what they earn. In fact sometimes the payment is made directly to me.”

Muthatari Community Village elder, Joseph Njoka, agrees witnessing a huge num-

ber of children mainly in primary school in company of parents working at family farms and also in paid labour during cultivation season and other holidays. He notes nothing is done to dissuade them from being involved in child labour.

“I know that child labour is illegal but we have not taken the issue seriously as a problem in need of a remedy in our elders’ forums,” explains the elder. He admits that without doubt any attempt to deal with the parents, guardians and children encouraging the vice would be viewed negatively and cause conflicts at community level.

Act

Those involved would take the campaigns against that to interference in a peoples’ right to a source of income.

Education stakeholders in Embu County admit that rampant cultivation and consumption of miraa (khat), where some pupils and students are directly involved in harvesting and sale of the leaves, has contributed to lower education standards in Embu and Mbeere regions where the produce is grown.

The National Council for Children Services reported that 24 per cent of children aged between five and 14 are involved in child labour in miraa growing parts of Mbeere and Embu.

An admission from a cross-section of people in authority that child labour is rampant comes even when there are clear laws such as the Children’s Act prohibiting child labour.

Says a section of the law: “In this Act, child labour refers to any situation where a child provides labour in exchange for payment and includes any situation where a child provides labour as an assistant to another person and his labour is deemed to be the labour of that other person for the purposes of payment.”

Further the Act details that, the same also covers “any situation where a child’s labour is used for gain by any individual or institution whether or not the child benefits directly or indirectly”.

Any situation where there is in existence of a contract for services and where the party providing the services is a child whether the person using the services does so directly or by agent is also covered under the Act.

According to Stewart, the youth should not fear acquiring loans from financial institutions to start their own businesses.

He observes that the days of over reliance on getting white collar jobs are a thing of the past.

“Kilifi County government should come up with more strategies of making sure that more entrepreneurship skills are given to the youth so that they can succeed in their businesses,” says Stewart.

He called on local leaders to ensure that they set aside a special kitty to help finance small-scale businesses for youth in the area.

“The youth should be given opportunities to conduct their businesses since it is the only solution to the biting poverty in this region,” notes Stewart.

He asked the youth to register their companies and apply for tenders in the county government so that they could be given preference in line with the procurement policy of reducing unemployment.

According to William Kingi, chairman Kilifi County Strategies Think Tank Organisation, the youth have been marginalised for too long in terms of development and the only solution was to have them engage in businesses.

“The youth are experiencing many challenges and the Kilifi County government should focus on the problem in time as it takes shape,” said Stewart during a youth seminar on business issues.

On his part, Amason Kingi, Kilifi County Governor said they will give youth projects priority.

Opportunity

Kingi promised the youth that his government would ensure that more opportunities were directed at them so that their businesses take off.

Kingi, who is a former Minister for East African Affairs, asked the youth to cooperate with the County government to have the right information on the available youth projects.

During a stakeholders forum recently, Kingi revealed that his “County government will make sure that youths have been fully involved in their projects”.

Already there are some investors who have shown interest in investing in Kilifi County and the youth should be ready to cooperate with them by ensuring that they have their own companies and businesses.

The youth will be given priority by the County Government but they must apply for the tenders in time.

According to Linnet Shaha, Community development leader, more sensitisation programmes should be conducted for the youth since they had more fresh ideas and energy to offer the County.

Shaha has been conducting some barazas for the youth, especially in Kilifi, Mtwapa, Malindi, Kaloleni, Ganze and Maharini, to educate them on the importance of self-employment.

“I am calling upon the Kilifi leadership to intervene and help the youth in registering their companies since most of them do not know where to start from,” Shaha said.

On his part, Asili Abala Randani, who is a youth leader, identified lack of funds as their biggest challenge.

Randani said that some of the youth have been involved in selling fish in the towns but the challenge was on how to manage their businesses.

“More effort was needed to make sure that the youth were empowered and equipped with business management skills.”

Boost

According to Randani, financial institutions should also lower their interest rates on loans so that more youth can use the credit facilities to boost their respective businesses.

Ezra Khoi, a community leader in Ganze asked youth to come out and invest in agriculture so that they could supply vegetables and other farm products to hotels and colleges in the county.

“The youths should be more involved in agricultural activities instead of depending on white collar jobs that do not exist,” Khoi said during a meeting held in Matanomane in the county.

ISSUE 105, January 1-31, 2015

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

5

Sweet potatoes to boost nutrition in children

By ANTONIA MUSUNGA Kenya is among nine African countries that are benefiting from a sweet potato project to boost nutrition especially among children.

The initiative is coordinated and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and has been launched in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“In the last year alone, we have helped seven million farmers boost their harvests with new technologies like this, and reached 12.5 million children to tackle under nutrition — one of the leading contributors to child death that also undermines global growth,” said Dr Rajiv Shah, USAID Administrator.

According to the British Journal of Nutrition, while there are over 200 million women and children in the world, African regions record the highest number of pre-school children with night blindness and over 25 per cent with Vitamin A deficiency.

Indeed, for the first time the White House’s kitchen garden introduced the orange sweet potato to bring to light its contribution to improvement of nutrition in the Sub-Saharan by providing Vitamin A.

Challenges

This was especially important as many countries experience the challenges of Vitamin A deficiency affecting more than 50,000 pre-school children as well as women.

Experts say Vitamin A deficiency affects immunity hence increasing chances of having diarrheal disease, causing eye damage which can lead to blindness or even death. This is prevalent among children under five years, affecting 42 per cent of children in Africa.

The use of the White House kitchen garden to educate people especially children by including herbs, fruits and vegetables is important as it emphasizes the importance of vegetables in improving health in all parts of the world.

In order to enhance food security, President Barrack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled a food security initiative named Feed the Future whose aim is to increase the consumption of the orange sweet potato, especially in communities face these challenges.

Vitamins

While there are other sources of Vitamin A such as orange fruit, dark leafy greens, as well as some animal products, they are not always available or affordable to some people in certain areas.

Evelyne Moraa (centre) selling sweet potatoes in Kibera,Nairobi county. Sweet potatoes are known for their high nutrients value. Picture: George Ngesa Fortunately, many people in the sub-Saharan Africa consider the sweet potato a staple food and consume it in large quantities though the most common types eaten are the yellow and white in colour which are low in Vitamin ‘A.’ This prompted the introduction of the orange potato which produces higher yields, is resistant to viral infections and has adapted to the growing conditions in Africa.

According to Harvest Plus, an organisation committed to ending global hunger as a result of lack in essential vitamins, this initiative has borne fruit.

For instance, among the farming communities in Uganda, the impact of this introduction is already being felt by farmers in the

country.

“I began feeding my child on these nutritious foods following the knowledge I attained in the recommended feeding practices for children under five,” explains Agnes Amony.

She adds: “My child began gaining weight steadily and I’m in no doubt that these foods have saved my child’s life. I am forever grateful and will never stop feeding my child on these food crops.’’

Adoption

Research backs up the experiences of farmers like Amony. A study conducted revealed that children between the ages of six months to three years received Vitamin A from the orange sweet potato.

Elsewhere, in Mozambique, the orange sweet potato has successfully been adopted as a staple food. According to the British Journal of Nutrition, three years after introduction, an average of 77 percent of households across the country cultivated the crop for subsistence use. This consequently increased the intake of Vitamin A through in the diet.

“We’ve now shown that you can scale up efforts to distribute orange sweet potato to poor rural communities and see this translate into increased Vitamin A intake especially in women and children, who are most vulnerable to mineral and vitamin deficiencies,” explains Dr Christine Hotz, former HarvestPlus Nutrition Coordinator.

Children targeted in ambitious nutrition project

By Robert Nyagah The Children’s Act clearly indicates that every child shall be entitled to education, the provision of which shall be the responsibility of the Government and parents.

In the same breath, every child shall be entitled to free basic education which shall be compulsory in accordance with Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Act is also clear that every child shall be protected from economic exploitation and any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

Protect

Says the Children’s Act: “Every child shall be protected from economic exploitation and any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere

with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.”

A study was recently carried out in Kyeni Division, Embu County to test whether child labour affected performance in schools. It was overseen by senior Nairobi University scholars.

The study noted that children’s work activities at home affect their performance in school and further intended to find out whether a child’s soci-economic background contributed to their engagement in child labour.

The research also seeks to find out whether a child’s personal attributes determined their involvement in child labour.

The study, supervised by two senior scholars Prof C. B. K. Nzioka and Prof O.N. Gakuru, confirmed that a child’s socio-economic background was a major contributing factor to their engagement in child labour.

According to the study, the higher the

socio-economic status of the child, the fewer hours he or she is engaged in child labour with children whose parents had secondary education and above being found to have been working for fewer hours than those whose parents had primary or no formal education at all.

Discover

Similarly, it was discovered that children whose parents were in employment registered fewer hours of work compared to children whose parents had no other source of income apart from tilling the land.

According to the research, children whose parents were single, worked for more hours than those who had both parents.

The study also revealed that boys and girls were found to perform household duties regardless of their gender.

“Boys cooked, cleaned utensils and fetched water yet these activities have all along been

considered to be girls work,” noted the report adding that boys were also found to be satisfied in performing such activities.

Interestingly birth order significantly determined the child’s engagement in child labour with the study finding out that first born children were found to work for longer hours than those who were born later in the family.

“It was established that parents entrusted a lot of responsibilities to first born children compared to their younger children,” the research revealed.

A major finding of the study was that child labour impacted negatively on school performance because children found to work for many hours at home performed poorly in examinations.

This was because the children appeared to be always left with fewer hours to study and rarely completed their school homework, with those in primary day schools performing below average.

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ISSUE 105, January 1-31, 2015

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Contaminated river water leaves Kwale residents worried

BY OMAR MWALAGO Residents of parts of Kwale County, which borders the Indian Ocean, are an unhappy lot because their only source of fresh water has been contaminated by firms mining minerals in the area.

They are now demanding that the authorities step in so that they can enjoy water, which is one of the targets in the United Nations Millennium Development Goal.

Millennium Development Goal number Seven seeks to ensure environmental sustainability.

One of its targets is to half, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. This would ensure the world has met the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water.

This is a noble ambition taking into consideration that in Kwale County, the entire poverty index is characterised by lack of access to the precious liquid which is life in itself.

Source

The residents of Msambweni sub-County heavily rely on Mkurumudzi River, which is their only reliable fresh source of water.

The affected villages are Zigira, Kilole, Mwandimu, Masindeni, Msangatifu, Vidziani, Nyumba Sita and Baselona in Kinondo and Msambweni locations in Msambweni Constituency.

Says one resident: The water is not safe for our health because it has harmful chemicals from mining processes which are going on.”

Due to this challenge, most of the residents are forced to walk for many kilometres to fetch clean water from other sources.

According to Rama Ali Mwazoa, Nyumba Sita Village elder, the chemical had caused water discoloration in the river which is a danger to their health.

“We are using water from Mkurumudzi River for all our needs, but since this company started its operations we have seen changes. The water has changed colour and sometimes it stinks, explained Mwazoa. He added: “We are sure that this is the cause and we want the County government to intervene.”

The residents also complained that there is a reduction of the water capacity in the river as the company taps the water for their processing. They said the taping process is the cause of contamination and misuse of water that the residents depend on.

“Water is the pulse of humanity which drives life, but it is a substance that is taken for granted as well as violated and misused,” said Mwazoa.

When contacted, the management of the Australian company, Base Titanium, denied the

A child drinking stagnant water at Oda,Tana River County. Scarcity of water is exposing the residents of Coast region to health risks.

Picture: Mohamed Ali Al-amoody. allegations saying their mining operations were promoting a clean environment for the workers and residents.

The company’s Social, Environment and Community Affairs Manager, Collins Forbes, said there should be no cause for alarm as titanium poses no danger to human life revealing that the mineral is used to make food colouring, pace-makers and toiletry wares among others.

“No harmful chemicals or waste water from our mineral processing goes directly into the river,” said Forbes.

Inspection

He spoke when he conducted a tour of Kwale County government officials on an inspection tour of the facility lead by Governor Salim Mvurya following complaints by the public.

Forbes told the high-powered team that titanium pigments are also used in paints and as filler in plastics, paper and toothpaste as well as medicinal tablets and in making sunscreen.

Asked about what was causing the river water discoloration and stench, Forbes said it was caused by decomposing vegetation submerged by the company’s newly constructed KSh680 million earth dam with a capacity of 8.8 million cubic metres.

According to Forbes, the discoloration and stench diminish and finally dissipate after six months once the decomposition process is over.

“The dam started filling up and some of the things being noticed now were to be expected but will disappear with time,” said Forbes.

Forbes maintained that samples from the river had been tested both locally as well as overseas and the water was found to be uncontaminated downstream.

Monitoring

However, he admitted that the dam may lead to a potential increase of bilharzia which is already common in the area and assured the

residents that there will be regular monitoring of the situation to avert any major health crisis.

“We don’t anticipate any serious health related issues but we will be closely monitoring the situation to forestall any major crisis. Water will be checked on regular basis to ensure it is of good quality,” noted Forbes.

According to Forbes, the mineral separation process at the processing plant uses about 27,000 cubic metres of water per day and that no waste water runs out to the environment as it is recycled.

However, due to prolonged drought and famine in Kwale County, poor rural communities have been forced to walk for many kilometres daily in search of the precious liquid.

Of late, the weather at the Coast region has become erratic and increasingly unreliable leading to food insecurity caused by unreliable rainfall.

Residents have been forced to buy a 20 litre jerry-can of water for KSh50. This is very high considering that most families live below the poverty line.

Nakuru’s youth to benefit from tertiary training

By Larry Kimori For the past two years, over 400 disadvantaged youths, majority of them being girls in Nakuru County, have benefitted from a vocational training scheme in driving, hairdressing and beauty therapy.

The money, drawn from the Constituency’s Development Fund (CDF) kitty, has helped unemployed youth who would have easily drifted into alcohol and substance abuse by empowering them with knowledge for selfreliance and sustainability.

Assess

Bahati member of Parliament Kimani Ngunjiri says after a thorough needs assessment in the five administrative wards in his constituency, they found that majority of the youth do not proceed to tertiary and higher institutions of learning.

According to Ngunjiri, majority of the youth who dropped out of school or did not proceed past Form Four due to poverty posed

a major security threat since most had resorted to anti-social activities like crime as well as excessive consumption of alcohol and hard drugs.

However, according to Lucy Muthee, Principal of Bahati PCEA Girls School, a beneficiary of a CDF funded laboratory, the kitty has made learning for girls in the school easier with provision of enough offices to accommodate teachers.

Muthee says that the laboratory would have taken parents a longer period to construct adding that the school can now easily increase class enrolment without affecting other available learning facilities.

Indeed, experts have stated that gender inequalities can undermine the effectiveness of development policies in fundamental ways, but this has been down played or ignored.

“One of the more transformational ways in which gender inequality can be addressed is through gender-responsive budgeting, a concept that seeks to link government policy commitments on gender equality to the budgetary

policies and decisions that are made by the Government,” explains Ngunjiri.

Project

Community participation in developing project plans and effective management of public resources have changed the livelihoods of the poor and marginalised in the country. Since the inception of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), proper utilisation of public funds in which transparency and accountability has been the guiding principle of operations, has seen communities enjoy unprecedented access to education, water, health facilities and improved road network.

Investing in the people in order to improve their quality of life by targeting a cross-section of human and social welfare projects and programmes is the spine that holds Ngunjiri’s resolve in transforming the livelihoods of his constituents.

He says that the Bahati CDF has continually involved the community in project identification and implementation through

Project Management Committees to enhance equity and wealth creation opportunities for the poor.

Speaking in Bahati, Ngunjiri lauded the CDF under his patronage for starting new schools, improving dilapidated classroom structures, construction of new health facilities, repairing roads and constructing bridges to ensure access to remote areas that are agriculturally productive.

“The selected community projects are managed and implemented by the Project Management Committees in liaison with relevant government departmental heads for technical inputs whereas the Constituency Development Fund committee supervises, monitors and evaluates the project.”

Ngunjiri observes that good health is a key resource that affects one’s productivity and earning capacity. This fact necessitated the Bahati CDF committee to prioritise the establishment of dispensaries and equipment to ensure women and children do not trek for long distances in search of quality health care.

ISSUE 105, January 1-31, 2015

7

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Dam constructed in Kitui, saves thousands from searching for water

By NZINGA MUASYA In most parts of Kitui County, looking for water can be a daylong gruelling affair characterised by walking several kilometres under scorching sun.

So when the distance to search for the precious commodity is reduced by bringing water closer to the people, there is always untold joy.

This is what has happened for residents of Itivanzou sub-location in the arid Kyuso District of Kitui County after an earth dam constructed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was completed and handed over to the community.

Unveil

When the Principal Secretary Fred Sigor of the Department of Livestock in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries unveiled the plaque to commission the earth-dam, all the men, women and children present were ecstatic.

And when Sigor, who was accompanied by UNDP deputy country director Fernando Abaga Edjang, turned on a tap and water gushed out with pressure, a thunderous ululation rent the air as the women present went wild with excitement.

The dam constructed along the Masiundu River with a capacity to hold 18,000 cubic metres of water was funded by UNDP at a cost of KSh1.8 million under the Sustainable Land Management project, an initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

During the last rainy season, the dam accumulated run off water to fill half of the dam. Residents say that when full, it is likely to take them throughout the year.

Several metres from the dam, two taps have been erected to allow the villagers to draw water without the risk of drowning or contaminating

the water. About 10 metres from the taps is a huge cemented trough where water will be pumped to quench the thirst of livestock.

Support

The dam is also at a strategic point since it will help in recharging sand dams downstream thus raising the water table in the area.

Sigor said the dam will provide water for domestic and livestock use and support establishment of tree nurseries as well as promote food security.

The community under the Muungano Farmers Field School donated the land where the dam was constructed and also helped in clearing the bush while staff from the ministry provided technical capacity.

According to Samuel Wambua, chairman of Muungano Farmers Field School, the dam will reduce the distance the locals have to trek in search of water from 10 kilometres to just two kilometres.

The dam will provide water to about 1,500 people in the villages neighbouring Katetu, Kiruguni, Tii, Katenga, Kasarani and Itivanzou.

So far, the group has planted over 300 tree seedlings around the dam to conserve the environment.

They are now focusing on growing fruits such as mangoes, pawpaw and oranges.

“The water in the dam can last for one year, and that means from one rainy season to the next. It’s a big relief to all of us,” says Wambua.

The group was founded in April, last year, and the chairman attended a training workshop in Baringo County sponsored by the ministry to learn about dryland farming.

Goal

Earlier, Sigor said the overall goal of the Sustainable Land Management project was to foster economic development and bolster sustainable food

Principal Secretary Fred Sigor oversees distribution of 300 Galla goats to members of Muungano farmers Field Schools in Kyuso district, Kitui County.

Below, a section of Itivanzou earth dam which was sponsored

by UNDP. Photo: Nzinga Muasya security while restoring the ecological integrity of the arid and semiarid areas.

“Our objective is to provide the land users and managers with financial incentives, enabling policy and capacity to improve economic development in dry lands. We want to reduce the dependency in relief food,” Sigor said.

During the event 300 Galla goats were distributed to members of the Farmers Field School. Each of the members received two goats; male and female.

According to Sigor, this is a fiveyear pilot programme being undertaken in four districts of Mbeere North in Embu County, Kyuso in Kitui County, Narok North in Narok County and Daadab in Garissa County. It is intended to improve food security.

“We want to see the success of the project in the four districts before rolling out the programme to other

dry regions in the country,” Sigor said.

He was accompanied by Julius Kiptarus, director at the department of livestock and Dr Zeinabu Khalif of UNDP.

Potential

Sigor noted that arid and semiarid areas have immense economic potential to sustain livelihoods if well utilised.

With water closer to their homesteads, Edjang said the dam is a major relief to women and chil-

dren. “The children can now attend schools and women engage in other activities beneficial to their families because they are assured of constant supply of clean water,” Edjang said.

He explained that UNDP was developing programmes to help Kenyans fight chronic poverty and enhance environmental protection through sustainable use of its natural resources.

He appealed to the community to adopt drought resistant crops, pasture re-seeding, land rehabilitation and livestock breed improvement.

Siaya’s island of wine and sin a barrier to interventions on curbing HIV

By OMONDI GWENGI Nocturnal activities at Mageta Island on Lake Victoria are enough to write a book about. It is dusk, ordinary workers and traders are returning to their homes after a day’s toil, but for 32-year-old Christine Achieng, her day is just beginning.

The sounds of ohangla (traditional music) emanating from drinking dens and the voices of the drunkards gives one a feel of a boisterous nightlife in Mageta Island, Siaya County.

In a radius of about 20 metres, there are about three bars, liquor shops and video show halls, complete with blaring music. These are backed up by backstreet drinking joints that specialize in illicit brews like chang’aa and other cheap liquor sold on the island. Shops and kiosks as well as hawkers who sell cigarettes, sweets, condoms and light snacks are abuzz with activity, complementing the beer-stocked bars and video show halls.

Off the main shore, there are several dingy single-room lodges with creaking beds, a sight of empty condom packages filling the dustbins and noises coming from the rooms that leave little to imagination. It is 6pm and Achieng has just woken up. Half naked, she sits up in bed then stretches to reach for her antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).

Lodge

She clears her throat as she narrates to The Reject about her life as a commercial sex worker on the island on Lake Victoria. Achieng reveals that three days earlier, she slept with two different men, making KSh3,000. All of them were fishermen.

“Only one of my two clients used a condom,” says Achieng adding that most of the men here always go to the rooms when already drunk and will not a bother to use protection.

Hundreds of fishermen always dock on the shores of the island and spend several days here

fishing. This time is often spent in the company of commercial sex workers like Achieng.

Even though she is sick, Achieng will always go to the pubs looking for ‘lonely’ fishermen.

“Even though I know the risks involved in the trade, I have no option but to do it in order to feed, clothe and educate my three children,” she says.

Speaking to The Reject, lodging and boarding owner who declined to be named said that they usually make KSh20,000 on a good day.

Charge

“We charge rooms at KSh300 and most of our customers always come for ‘short time’ as others will book a whole night,” he says. Even though he makes good money, he says the cost of maintaining the rooms is quite high.

“Previously I experience breaking of beds almost every day before I decided to build slab beds which are durable,” he explains. Health experts warn that the fight against the HIV scourge may

not be won soon unless commercial sex activities are controlled and more awareness created around unprotected sex.

“Medical personnel seeking behaviour among the residents of Mageta Island is very poor since they are not even bothered to know their HIV status,” says Irene Omollo, nurse in charge of Mageta Health Centre.

She notes that most of the island’s residents are mobile and this makes controlling HIV and Aids a big challenge.

According to Mary Ochola, a traditional birth attendant (TBA) on the island, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are high among the residents.

Health

“Since most of them fear going to a health facility, they always come to me for herbal medicine,” says Ochola, adding that reproductive health related diseases is high especially among the youth.

8

ISSUE 105, January 1-31, 2015

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Small holder poultry farmers to benefit from cheap vaccine

By Mary Mwendwa Many rural small-scale poultry farmers have a reason not to worry about a deadly disease that has seen them lose chicken in masses.

They are now benefiting from a cheap and easy to administer vaccine that will save lives of their poultry.

The vaccine was invented by scientists to help communities alleviate poverty by preventing chicken deaths caused by Newcastle disease. Scientists are optimistic that once the vaccine penetrates every household in Kenya, more chicken will be saved.

Vaccine

“The Newcastle vaccine is a saviour to small scale poultry farmers. This disease is a viral and very contagious in nature, it kills up to 100 percent of infected chicken,” explains Dr Jane Wachira, Deputy Director Kenya Veterinary Vaccine Institute (KEVEVAPI).

She adds: “We developed this vaccine together with other scientists to prevent deaths of 32,000 million chicken kept by Kenyan small-holder farmers.”

According to Wachira, since the launch of the vaccine in 2012, they have witnessed an increase in farmers seeking to get the vaccine which is thermo tolerant (can withstand heat).

The vaccine retails for KSh1.50, a syringe and a dropper are bought separately. Wachira confirms that due to the nature of poor infrastructure and high temperatures in many parts of Kenya, they had to come up with a

vaccine that will tolerate these challenges and at the same time save the farmers from Newcastle disease woes.”

The vaccine is easy to prepare and can be found in many of the agro-vet dealer shops country wide. The vaccine should not be frozen and is to be stored at +2 to +8 c which last until the expiry date.

The vaccine once diluted will last for two hours and, therefore, the farmer needs to carry it in a cool box like a small bag with a wet towel which is easily available at all household settings.

Advice

According to Damaris Nyinge, Animal Health Technician, Kenya Agricultural Research and Livestock Organization (KARLO), Naivasha the vaccine is best given using a dropper and is placed into the eye of the chicken where there exist special glands which help absorb the vaccine in the chicken’s system. Only one drop in the eye is recommended for each chicken.

Nyinge says this should be performed in a shade, during morning hours to avoid direct sunlight when administering the vaccine.

Wachira concurs saying that this type of vaccine is easy to use as it is also environment friendly to those farmers who commute to some distance to get to agro dealer shops.

“So far we have sold new castle vaccines to more than 1.2 million farmers across Kenya,” observes Wachira.

Clinical signs of Newcastle disease vary considerably according to the type of virus

Damaris Nyinge giving New Castle vaccine to chicken. Picture: Mary Mwendwa involved, type of bird, age and health of the bird and environmental conditions. Commonly, greenish diarrhoea, sleepy and not feeding, slight severe difficulty in breathing with distress and gasping (twisted neck), swelling of the head and neck and marked decrease in egg production, are some of the symptoms that manifest in chicken.

It is advisable that sick chicken be separated from healthy ones once the disease is detected to avoid more infections to spread further.

Outbreak

Farmers are also advised to vaccinate chicken three to five times during the life span of a healthy bird. Only healthy chicken

are to be vaccinated, once they get infected there is no cure for Newcastle disease.

Newcastle disease is common in Busia, Bungoma, Mwingi and Mwea. These communities actually know when the outbreak sets in and even have local names for the disease.

For example in Ukambani they refer to it as Wenzi and in Central they call it Kihuruto.

Because of its nature of very fast transmission, people usually get worried and frustrated once they see the symptoms and start spreading word around about the looming disaster in households. This vaccine is a dream come true to KEVEVAPI scientists who worked round the clock to save many farmers from the huge loses brought by Newcastle disease.

To be vaccinated or not to be?

WHO and UNICEF clear the air as Catholic Church remains adamant on tetanus vaccine

By Caren Nasimiyu The recent controversial nationwide tetanus vaccination programme pitted the Catholic Church against the Government and the international organisations.

In defence, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have confirmed that the tetanus vaccine supplied in the country was safe and had been procured from a pre-qualified manufacturer.

Target

The statement came in the heat of allegations by the Catholic Church that tetanus vaccine was targeting women of child-bearing age and that the vaccine contained an antigen that could render women sterile or cause miscarriages.

The two UN agencies said that the information is not credited and could impact negatively to immunization programmes for children and women in the country.

The statement added that Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (cHG) is a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy and could also be produced by the pituitary glands

of both males and females of all ages. However, excessive production can endanger pregnancy.

According to Prof. Marleen Temmerman, WHO Director of Reproductive Health and Research, the vaccines that are bought by UNICEF are subject to a rigid system of inspection and control, both by the national authorities in the countries where they are produced, and through oversight by WHO as well as other regulatory authorities in the countries receiving the vaccines.

“Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board also has in place a surveillance system to track and report any issues with the quality of the vaccines, including adverse effects,” said Temmerman.

Fertility

Temmerman revealed that the manufacturers and national control authorities had provided WHO with unequivocal statements that their vaccines contained only the Tetanus Toxoid vaccine components and that there was nothing in the vaccines which could interfere with fertility or pregnancy.

However, Catholic Bishops believes that they have proof that the doses being supplied are

‘laced’ with a hormone that has a contraceptive effect and that it’s a government secret plan to control reproduction.

“We want the Ministry of Health to allow the church to sample the vaccines before they are given. We are alarmed because tetanus vaccines tested earlier in the year contained an antigen that could cause sterility in women,” said Dr Stephen Karanja on behalf of the Catholic Church.

The WHO and UNICEF disclaimed that these “grave allegations are not backed up with evidence” stating that testing for content in vaccine like Tetanus Toxoid requires a suitable laboratory and the sample to be tested should be from unopened pack and not a blood.

On its part, the Government also expressed their concerned to the assertions and said that the same vaccine had been tested and no form of cHG hormone was found, hence declaring them ‘safe’ for consumption.

Tetanus is a bacterium disease that affects nervous systems leading to muscles contractions with severe pains. In most cases it occurs when a flesh wound becomes contaminated.

According to UNICEF, it is an excruciating disease that kills one new-born every nine min-

utes, or approximately 160 babies each day. It’s typically contracted through unhygienic childbirth practices. In 2010, 58,000 new-borns died of tetanus in and the numbers are still disheartening.

These scepticisms continue as the Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs) where reduction of child mortality and improvement of maternal health are highlighted on Goals 4 and 5 respectively.

Risk

Kenya is among the 25 countries in Africa where tetanus remains a public threat killing hundreds of new-borns each year.

The vaccination targets girls and women aged 15-49 with keen emphasis on the marginalised areas due to their exposure to the risk.

Mothers with lower parity and those living in urban areas are more likely to receive vaccination injections than those in higher parity regions and in the rural settlements.

According to a report by Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), the vaccine is given to pregnant women to prevent neonatal tetanus.

For a woman to have a lifetime protection, a total of five doses are required.

Executive Director: Arthur Okwemba Editor: Jane Godia Sub-Editors: Carolyne Oyugi, Joyce Chimbi and Odhiambo Orlale Designer: Noel Lumbama

Contributors: Robert Nyagah, Yusuf Amin, Omondi Gwengi, George Ngesa, Mohamed Ali Alamoody, Larry Kimori, Nzinga Muasya, Mary Mwendwa and Caren Nasimiyu

www.mdcafrica.org

Write to: info@mdcafrica.org

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