Reject Online Issue 87

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

Unfiltered, uninhibited‌just the gruesome truth

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July 16-31, 2013

ISSUE 087

CRISIS IN MATERNAL HEALTH A bimonthly newspaper by the Media Diversity Centre, a project of African Woman and Child Feature Service

Not so free after all

Delivery services the only free package on maternal healthcare

By HENRY OWINO Maternal healthcare is not free as many may assume. The free maternal healthcare is limited to only delivery of the new born and not any other maternity services.

The waiver comes from the presidential directive on June 1, 2013, during the Madaraka Day celebrations as Kenya marked 50 years of self-rule.

Maternal healthcare refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. This is care given to all women in this period as a way of ensuring safety for herself and that of the unborn or born baby.

Service

It, therefore, encompasses the healthcare dimensions of family planning, preconception, prenatal and postnatal care in order to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.

The Government lifted the fee charged for delivery following the presidential directive but other rec-

ommended maternal services fees still stand. This then makes maternity health services to be in the same position they were in before the Jubilee government took over. That is out of reach for most women.

Although bringing forth a baby

in any public health facilities is now free in Kenya, there is need to make these services a reality like employing more midwives and nurses as well as having the dilapidated facilities at County level refurbished.

Continued on page 4

From top: Tabitha Waithera at Pumwani Maternity Hospital waiting for her turn to deliver. Women who were among the first to enjoy the free delivery service at Pumwani. Expectant women in the ward waiting for their time to deliver. Dr Evans Kidero, Nairobi Governor and James Macharia, Cabinet Secretary for Health during a tour of the facility.

Pictures: Henry Owino

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

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ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Fishing luring students from school in Siaya County

College principal appeals for more land for expansion

By KARIUKI MWANGI Land allocated to a university in eastern province is not enough to sustain its activities.

The principal of Embu University College cited lack of adequate land as the major challenge in the development of the institution that is planning its expansion to accommodate the various fields of education.

Prof Daniel Mugendi noted that the 240 acres set aside for the college is inadequate.

Mugendi is appealing for more land to be provided in Runyenjes as well as Mbeere North and South constituencies so that some of its planned schools can be established in the campuses as part of its future expansion projects.

The principal said that the university is working on a possibility of introducing Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science Nursing programme from September this year.

“We are planning for a university that will have a population of 50,000 students in 20 to 30 schools including agriculture, education, business engineering, ICT, medicine and mining among others,” he said.

According to Mugendi with all the planned developments, the 240 acres of land that the university currently owns is not sufficient to cater for the expansion. He pointed out to the need for more land in the three constituencies which will also enhance access to education in the grassroots.

The university is also calling on stakeholders to partner with them and invest in student hostels within the university’s neighbourhood.

Mugendi noted that this will free the university resources for it to concentrate on its core functions.

“The students’ hostels will in addition help the university admit more learners since availability of accommodation is key to a student in determining whether to enrol for a course at the university or not,” he noted.

By ISAIAH GWENGI A normal fishing day in Siaya County begins at 2pm when young boys untangle and mend broken fishing nets then load them into the boats.

Four hours later, the boats set off and return at dawn after which the fish is weighed and packed for delivery.

Female children along the beaches in Siaya serve to support the lives of fishermen, providing most of the social support required to promote productivity.

Some of them start off as domestic servants before progressing into prostitution and early marriage.

According to a research by Concern Kenya and CRADLE, child involvement in fishing is a major cause of low school enrolment in schools and poor performance.

In an interview with the Reject on the status of child labour in Siaya, Rodgers Otieno, a human rights activist in Bondo, noted that there are rampant cases of children involved in child labour in homes, along the beaches and at market centres.

“Given that the children have no bargaining power, various employers in Siaya are resorting to child labour. We also know of cases of teenagers being lured by older women using sexual favours to co-habit with them.”

The officials note that most children are employed in food kiosks in the area and use most of their earnings to support their families.

“Children, especially girls, whose ages are not known to the employers, are working in these food joints with a daily wage of KSh50.”

Another group of children are working or assisting their parents and guardians at home where they sell illicit brews.

As Otieno noted, it is a new form of child labour that many people do not think about.

He said it has come to their attention that these children are being forced to engage in this trade even during school days.

According to a parent who sells chang’aa in a village in Bondo as a way of eking a living, they have to engage their children in that trade because this is the only way they can put food on the table.

Partnership

Young children go about the business of drying fish along Honge Beach in Bondo District. Child labour is rampant in the fishing industry as children are kept off school to dry or sell fish. Pictures: Isaiah Gwengi “We sometimes keep our children from school to assist us in selling the alcohol when we are busy or when we are out of home,” said the parent who only identified herself as Adhiambo.

Even though she knows that it is illegal to engage children in any form of labour, Adhiambo admits that it is something they cannot avoid.

Exploitation

However, Otieno explained that this may be attributed to lack of parenting skills.

“This form of child labour can be caused by lack of parental responsibility and for the case of orphans, there is selfishness among guardians who assume that it is not their responsibility to take care of these children and hence they must work in order to eat or get the basic needs,” said Otieno.

According to Humphrey Wandeo, Siaya County Director of Children, this form of child labour is not only against the law but also exposes children to drugs as well as sexual exploitation.

“We are taking this matter into consideration and we are going to take very serious action against those who practice it,” Wandeo reiterated.

In a bid to eliminate child labour in Siaya, a local non-governmental organization, Support Community Democracy Alliance (SCODA), has been conducting awareness on the importance of child education.

According to Simon Akama, SCODA’s chief executive officer they have been carrying out capacity building programmes as well as issuing warnings through the media and community barazas.

“We have been conducting operations by arresting children who are out of school and parents who keep their children away from school before hearing the reasons why they are not in school,” Akama said.

Otieno said they have ensured that suspects are arrested and charged in court.

“We have already established child protection committees in every village to ensure that the rights of children are not violated,” Otieno stated.

Mugendi told the residents of Embu County that they have a golden opportunity to make history by creating a beginning with high standards which will set the pace for campuses that are to come in future. He observed that history will judge them by where they will place the university.

“We are not here to just establish one more public university, but we aim at making a difference,” reiterated Mugendi.

On the same note, he appealed to banks and other institutions to join forces by funding social projects at the university.

Speaking at the same function, Prof George Magoha, Vice Chancellor University of Nairobi said that the universities will endeavour to contribute in the realisation of the country’s Vision 2030 goal of access to higher education and improvement in literacy levels in the country.

Magoha challenged residents of Embu to fully support the university saying they had a responsibility and should not leave everything up to the Government.

“With the introduction of the devolved governments, it is the duty of the inhabitants of any given county to ensure its growth,” Magoha reiterated.

He said that the university will continue to lead in job creation and provide a ready market for the products adding that it has already had an immediate impact in the economic development of the county.

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

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Family’s struggle with son suffering from rare disease

By JACK JOSHUA If you meet 10-year old Gabriel Muchiri, you will find the look on his face misleading because he can pass for any ordinary healthy child, engrossed in his own world.

However, Gabriel’s is a sad tale to tell. He cannot rise from where he sits as he suffers from a condition called two-Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD).

His muscles have been wasting away since he was four years old, and all he can do now is rest on one spot and play with the tiny blocks of wood and the many puzzles his father has bought to distract him from his current tribulations.

“As a toddler, he was active and enjoyed playing like any other child,” says his father, Anthony Muchiri, 39.

He adds: “But he changed drastically when he got to the age of four years.”

The boy became laid back and disinterested in his studies while at Kindergarten II. “The teacher told me about Gabriel’s sluggish behaviour and we both agreed on corporal discipline to instil behaviour change,” says the senior Muchiri.

However, the boy’s condition worsened by the day eventually he lost control of his bowels as well as gross motor skills like walking and playing.

“He started having problems holding a pen and was constantly fatigued,” his father recalls.

A doctor in one of the many local health centres he visited referred him to see a neurologist in town.

Test

A series of tests which included blood test, biopsy (a test on muscular tissue) and nerve conduction study finally revealed Gabriel was suffering from two Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive condition in which muscles waste away, leaving

From left: Gabriel playing with wooden blocks puzzle. Gabriel is assisted to stand up by his father at their single roomed house. Pictures: Jack Joshua the person unable to move. The father blames Gabriel’s incapacitation on late diagnosis.

The slightest activity requires involvement of muscles and so when the muscles waste away, one has to depend on people to help him with even the simplest chores.

As the condition progressed, Gabriel’s father was forced to quit his job as a driver at a tour company to take care of his son.

“I attended two interviews last week and was on the line when I was told that a relative I had asked to look after Gabriel in my absence had left.

I decided to leave the interview to go attend to my son,” says Muchiri’s father.

His wife’s earnings as a house-help can barely support the family and pay

school fees for Gabriel’s eight-yearold sister who is in class two.

The boy attends daily therapy sessions at a centre in Nyali, Mombasa where his father takes him on a bicycle three kilometres away.

“He has been attending the physiotherapy sessions since June last year and I cannot have him miss a session as symptoms get worse without the exercise,” explains the father.

Among the exercises at the physiotherapy centre is standing using back plates and bandages tied to steady his legs for at least half an hour daily.

Dr Eric Maina who has been attending to Gabriel has suggested a muscle biopsy test that should be conducted in South Africa.

Even though the test can be con-

ducted locally, the doctor prefers it being carried out in South Africa where he says experts are more experienced with the condition and are likely to produce more accurate results.

Recommend

However, another specialist has suggested that a genetic test (Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy test) be conducted on Gabriel to establish the exact type of LGMD. In that case, the doctor says the boy will have to fly to South Africa only if the result of the test turns out negative for treatment.

However, the senior Muchiri does not have the KSh20,000 required for the test. Doctors attending to Gabriel say his condition could get worse if

treatment is not hastened.

He appeals to donors and wellwishers to assist him raise the diagnosis and subsequent treatment fees.

From the condition, Gabriel has now developed a heart problem.

Worse still, he at times gets moody and does not like having people around him. His face also looks disfigured when symptoms worsen.

Despite the current circumstances, Gabriel’s father still believes that his son will one day rise on his two feet and play just like any other normal child.

“I believe he will get better when the exact condition is diagnosed and he commences treatment,” the father says.

He is now appealing for help from well-wishers.

Man rendered helpless seeks help

By SKINNA HALISI Stancilus Mengo is in desperate need of a kidney transplant which he cannot afford, while at the same time one of his sons is paralyzed and a daughter is suffering from diabetes.

Mengo’s family of six is in dire need because of ill health.

The 51-year-old peasant farmer in Taita Taveta County is jobless after he was given an early retirement a decade ago. He started a bicycle-repair shed but closed down after two years because of ill health.

Mengo hails from Taita Taveta County, but lives in Malindi town, where ill health has depleted all his family’s savings leading to a situation of food insecurity, school fees arrears and total destitution.

“Poor health leads to poverty, which means one cannot work, produce food or afford to pay for education,” explains Mengo.

He says ill health has forced his family to a situation of hopelessness. Last year it was diagnosed that both his kidneys had failed. Efforts by his relatives and

friends only managed to raise a paltry KSh170, 000 yet he needs KSh1.5 million to travel to India for a kidney transplant.

“Kidney failure means that much of the urine cannot be released from the blood, and which has caused adverse effects. There is permanent pain on my loins and I cannot walk for more than 50 metres in a day,” says Mengo. He adds: “I am slowly losing my eyesight and memory.”

Afford

At the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa, Mengo was told that before the transplant is done he can undergo a short term measure where urine can be removed from the blood through dialysis at KSh15,000 per week.

This is an amount that the family cannot afford.

His 18-year old son offered to donate one of his kidneys should the money raised be enough for the transplant.

Mengo was retrenched from Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Malindi office, where he worked as a stores clerk in 2000. He then used his retrench-

ment benefits to start the bicycle repair shop, which did well for two years before his health deteriorated.

A doctor at Tawfiq Hospital in Malindi, diagnosed him with high blood pressure, for which he was treated, but the fatigue, constant thirst and pain around the loins did not go.

It was only until last year that he was diagnosed with kidney collapse by a consultant doctor at the hospital. This was later verified at the Coast General Hospital.

According to Dr Hussein Khan who diagnosed Mengo at Tawfiq Hospital in October 2012, it would have been appropriate for the transplant to be performed within six months; which has now lapsed. The doctor has links with the hospital in India where the transplant is supposed to be done.

While Mengo should be worry about his health, there are other family members who are facing challenges that he would like to deal with.

Three years ago, his 11-year old son was paralyzed and last year his 21-year old daughter

was diagnosed with diabetes.

This has forced his wife to stay at their rural home in Taita to take care of the sick children, as their daughter Lillian, 24, takes care of him in Malindi.

Lillian failed to join college four years ago for lack of fees, after she sat her KCSE. Two of his other children are also likely to drop out of secondary school because of fees arrears.

The family had resolved to survive by farming at their land in Taita but sickness has now curtailed the labour force.

Mengo’s family story illustrates how poor health can affect education, food security, selfreliance and family unity.

“I hope under the devolved governments there will be adequate health facilities and personnel, so that one does not have to travel abroad for treatment,” says the man who has now been confined to a chair and can only use a cane to support himself while standing against a wall.

Mengo is now appealing to well-wishers to help him raise the KSh1.5 million for the kidney transplant so that he can be able to get on his feet again.

Stancilus Mengo, outside his house at Ngala Estate, Malindi town. He has difficulty in walking because of the kidney failure.

Picture: Skinna Halisi

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Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

CRISIS IN MATERNAL HEALTH

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

More nurses needed to make free maternity dream true

By DAVID NJAAGA While the Government has promised free services at its facilities through the Free Maternal Delivery Programme, questions have been raised over its long term viability.

Medics say human and material resources are not adequate to sustain the project. They note that the Government should allocate more funds for the programme to succeed or suspend it altogether.

According to Dr John Ong’ech, Head of Department of Reproductive Health at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), though much has been done by the Government to guarantee women free cost services in its health facilities, there is still much that needs to be done to make nurses deliver quality services to these women.

“With the introduction of Free Maternity Project, the number of expectant mothers have doubled in government hospitals, which calls for additional workers in the hospitals,” Ong’ech noted.

He said Kenyatta National Hospital requires more than 7,000 nurses to handle the situation on the ground.

“Continuing working this way will mean that we over work our current staff,” he said.

However, the KSh3.8 billion for the year 2013-2014 has been allocated to the health sector by the Government, is an amount that keeps the medics in high spirits.

Budget

The national Chairman Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, Dr Paul Mwaniki, recommends an allocation of 15 per cent of the total budget to health as a substitute for the current six per cent since the present allocation can do little to cater for free maternity for expectant mothers delivering in government hospitals.

“Since the beginning of the pro-

gramme, there has been an increase of 8.2 per cent in the number of women seeking child delivery services in government health facilities,” observed Mwaniki.

Failure

According to Ong’ech, with the free maternity, the Government should work harder to ensure there are enough human and material resources to spearhead the move “failure to which the project will not materialise”.

“Currently Kenyatta National Hospital is falling short of 7,000 nurses and free maternity cannot operate effectively without more staff being deployed,” said Ong’ech.

His sentiments are echoed by Mwaniki who noted that without appropriate infrastructure and standards in the health sector, Kenya will remain behind, saying the Government should put in place deterrent measures to uplift service delivery.

“Today Kenya ranks amongst the bottom 20 countries in terms of maternal deaths in the world,” said Mwaniki.

Statistics from the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2008-2009, indicate that only half of all women in Kenya give birth in health facilities, with one out of 200 women dying while giving birth.

Mwaniki said the Government should first make efforts to combat non-communicable diseases by 2015 (as stipulated in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals).

He observed that the Government has done little as it depends on donor funds to sustain diseases like malaria,

A nurse attending to a new born baby at the Kenyatta National Hospital. The quality of the free maternity delivery services can only be achieved by deploying more staff. Picture: Reject Correspondent AIDs and diabetes among others.

For instance, in combating diabetes, little has been done in awareness creation with 1.6 million Kenyans being affected by the disease. Central Kenya region takes the lead as the highest affected region.

World Health Organization (WHO) statistics indicate that 4.8 million people die from diabetes worldwide every year, a figure that makes medics call for more solid guiding principles in a bid to oversee the condition in the country.

“There is need to raise diabetes awareness in Kenya, as numerous people in the country do not know

the causes of diabetes,” said Reuben Magoko, Chairman Kenya Diabetes Association.

He noted that the disease let down by the Government has led to it becoming a life threatening condition calling for deployment of 78 diabetes support groups in each county to create awareness and also educate on the importance of glucose monitoring.

“Glucose monitoring education is paramount to get through with the condition as this will help in quickening the response to high blood sugar or low blood sugar as well as help in planning of meals, activities and

knowing what time to take medications,” said Eva Muchemi, Execute Director at Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Centre.

The WHO statistics further indicate that about 347 million people worldwide have diabetes with an emerging global epidemic attributing it to rapid increase in weight, obesity and physical inactivity.

If the condition is not taken with a lot of concern it is predicted to be ranked the seventh leading cause of death in the world by the year 2030 with more than 50 per cent of the total deaths projected to rise in the next ten years.

Delivery services only free package on maternal healthcare Continued from page 1 Many women still opt to deliver at home with the help of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) than going to modern hospitals due to poor conditions in the facilities and the long distance that they have to cover to get there.

Other factors which have also contributed greatly to women delivering at home are the hefty fees charged, harassment by nurses or midwives, inaccessible health centres, fear of the compulsory HIV testing and or cultural and religious beliefs.

This trend has its own consequences and must be addressed as it contributes to maternal mortality which stands at 448 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The move by the Government to waive maternity fees was received with joy by most women, especially those in the reproductive age.

In rural areas, at a dispensary or health centre one will part with KSh2,500, KSh5000 in district hospitals and in the provincial hospitals they are charged between KSh10,000 to KSh17,000. In Kenyatta National Hospital, which is a referral facility, women are charged KSh20 000 while Pumwani Maternity Hospital charges KSh7,000 for normal delivery.

All these charges have been dis-

carded in all Government hospitals countrywide. However, pregnant women must remember that antenatal and postnatal care is not included in this waiver. Therefore, mothers must be made aware that they will continue to pay for other maternal healthcare services from their own pockets as usual.

Capacity

Cabinet Secretary for Health, James Macharia, made the clarification recently during a visit to the Pumwani Maternity Hospital. He declared that mothers, who delivered in Government hospitals on June 1, should go back and claim for refund of the money they paid.

“I would like to emphasise that it is only delivery that the Government has made free including any complications developed during the delivery.

This is absolutely free. Whether it is a caesarean delivery or any other referral delivery, the cost will be incurred by the Government,” Macharia reiterated. Capacity According to a nurse at Pumwani Hospital who sought anonymity for fear of being victimised, the Government’s plan is welcome but they must also employ more staff, expand bed capacity and improve on nurses’ remuneration as well as maternity handling

equipment.

She said Pumwani Maternity Hospital has 3,000 bed capacity and receives an average of 52-60 expectant women in a day. The nurse lamented that they are forced to work extra time since the ratio of nurses to women delivering each day is very big.

“For example in this ward, we are only two yet there are 40 expectant women waiting to deliver. Although their timings may not be the same, the work of mid-wifery is tiresome,” said the nurse. She posed: “Some may develop complications which need special attention and at the same time another one from a corner shouts for help, what do you?” she lamented.

“Why should pregnant women come to deliver at Pumwani for free but find nurses missing because they are in the streets striking, demanding for better pay among other needs?” the nurse further asked.

She disclosed that the nurses’ blue print requires six expectant women to be handled by one nurse but in Pumwani it is way beyond the suggested figure.

During our visit, Tabitha Waithera Njogu was one of the expectant women at the Pumwani health facility waiting to deliver through caesarean section.

Waithera, who lives in Githurai

Estate in Nairobi, was happy that the cost of her surgical operation was not going to be expensive as she could not afford it. She had to travel all the way to Pumwani Maternity Hospital because of the free delivery services the government had declared would be implemented in all public hospitals.

“I had planned to deliver at a nearby health centre in Githurai Estate but when the President announced that all public hospitals would provide free maternity services starting on Madaraka Day, I decided that Pumwani was my choice,” Waithera says.

Available

Waithera said beds were available but regretted that none of the nurses had attended to her apart from one who escorted her to the ward after admission. She noted that the facility needs more nurses to cater for the big numbers of pregnant women who will be showing up due to the free services.

Elsewhere, the Health Cabinet Secretary said the Government had set aside KSh1 billion for the free maternity services within the first 100 days of the Jubilee government. Another KSh8 billion would be allocated annually starting from 2013 to 2017.

“I am appealing to all mothers in the country to take advantage of this

new measure by the Government to have their babies delivered safely in any public hospitals countrywide and for proper care,” Macharia said.

Meanwhile, Nairobi Governor, Dr Evans Kidero, who was also born at Pumwani 56 years ago promised to give women a lifeline by improving the condition of the country’s busiest maternity facility.

However, Kidero regretted that the hospital had only one working theatre and a single ambulance that constantly breaks down and hardly meets the hospital’s demands.

“I have already identified some investors and plans are underway to invite them and assess the facility’s needs and eventually give it a facelift.

We should have six to seven theatres in such a busy maternal hospital to meet the rising demand,” he said.

The hospital needs close to KSh3.5 billion for its rehabilitation and plans were underway to have it improved by the end of 2014 to offer better and quality healthcare delivery services to the mothers.

According to Dr Omondi Kumba, the administrator at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, 93 women who delivered on June 1 were not charged. He said the hospital heeded the President’s directive immediately the announcement was made.

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

CRISIS IN MATERNAL HEALTH

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

5

Reproductive health services must also deal with obstetric fistula

By WILSON ROTICH Life has never been the same for Nuru Anyango since she went into the labour ward 14 years ago.

She emerged after two days with an ordeal of a lifetime that has left her with bitter memories.

Anyango recalls that she endured painful labour contractions for two days and when she eventually delivered, the baby was still born.

The misfortune was explained off by the highly superstitious traditional birth attendants as the prize of not disclosing the real man who was responsible for the pregnancy.

The untrained women, who had for days on end forced her to push, only told her the father of the baby must have had the biggest head on earth that made the baby get stuck while being born.

The tiresome delivery left the 12-year old mother with not only a bad name but also holes from which urine and faeces leaked uncontrollably.

“I used the few nappies that I had bought for my baby to keep myself clean for a few days hoping that the condition would soon go away.

However, this was never to be as the waiting protracted to the next decade. The man who tricked me into the pregnancy through little pocket money was nowhere near me,” she explains.

Anyango could not continue with her education beyond class five because no one could entertain her stench.

“I was isolated even at home. A very close relative accused me of stealing her baby shawl.

She thought I was turning to be a witch. The truth is that I had taken her baby shawl and used it as an improvised sanitary towel to keep myself clean,” she confesses.

She lived with the condition from 1994 until 2009 when a non-governmental organisation, Mumias Muslim Community Programme, that works with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) came knocking in her neighbourhood in Western Kenya.

Doctors from the UNFPA diagnosed her with obstetric fistula. She was referred to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret where the fistula was repaired.

Delay

According to Dr Amon Chirchir, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at the hospital, obstetric fistula is a condition that occurs when a woman undergoes delayed delivery or prolonged labour.

“This usually happens when the uterus or the entire delivery canal is so narrow or when the child is not well positioned to ease deliv-

ery. The solution should be convention delivery through caesarean section.

“When this delays, it may cause obstetric fistula — a hole in the vagina or rectum caused by labour that is prolonged for days without treatment. Usually the baby dies. Fistula leaves the woman leaking urine or faeces or both,” explains the doctor.

According to Chirchir, this is followed by social isolation, divorce, depression and even poverty. If left untreated it can cause a myriad of medical complications.

Another cause of fistula is delivery at home. “This causes a condition called perineum tear that may cause uncontrolled bowel movement. To the affected it becomes very messy and depressing.

Many may fear seeking medical assistance. This condition needs corrective Nuru Anyango a fistula survivor addressing a crowed during the World Fistula Day at the surgery,” says the doctor.

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret. Picture: Wilson Rotich Chirchir notes that a major contributing factor to obstetric fistula is Female productive health care.” ical officers the obstetrician and gynaecologists Genital Mutilation which is immediately folAccording to Dr John Kibosia, Executive in hospital emergency obstetric care using the lowed by early marriage, a process that comDirector Moi Teaching and Referral Hospiadvances in labour and risk management propounds the complication. tal, with the help of organisations such as the gramme,” explains Kibosia.

“The mutilated genitalia exposed to home United Nations Population Fund, AMREF and He says they are seeking to establish a delivery by young girls’ increases the risk of Freedom from Fistula Foundation they have comprehensive eurogynaecology centre to be birth complications,” the doctor says. been able to treat 1,200 fistula patients ending housed in the proposed reproductive health According to the UNFPA, an estimated two the shameful of leakage of urine or stool and centre of excellence. to three million women and girls in developat times both.

“This centre will not only provide sustaining countries are living with obstetric fistula, a able regular and comprehensive, preventive, condition that has been virtually eliminated in curative and investigative care but also rehabiliindustrialised nations.

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital is the tative fistula care,” says Kibosia. He adds: “This The Executive Director of the UNFPA, Dr second largest referral facility in the country. will also be the nerve centre for research on obBabatunde Osotimehin says: “Obstetric fistula Kibosia says they have trained over 300 gynstetric fistula. It will also be a centre for training is preventable and in most cases treatable and aecologists, medical officers, nurses, anaesthefor eradication of fistula.” yet more than 50,000 new cases develop globtists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists Efforts by medics to combat obstetric fistula ally each year and here in Kenya new cases are on fistula care. has received some political boost especially in estimated to be 3,000 each year. Victims of “We have two fully trained surgeons who Uasin Gishu County. obstetric fistula are women and girls usually provide surgery in our hospital. To end obstetThe county’s Deputy Governor, Kiprotich poor, often illiterate, who have limited access ric fistula, we have also trained midwives, medChemno, says his they are committed to the to health services including maternal and rerealisation of the Millennium Development Goals that ensure universal reproductive health care services.

According to Chemno, access to skilled birth attendants and family planning services are some of the known key interventions to prevent obstetric fistula.

While Kenyans are optimistic that the provision of free maternal care will radically reduce home deliveries by unskilled traditional birth attendants, birth complications caused by effects of female genital mutilations and underage pregnancies need to be addressed.

A debatable solution to this is the provision of adolescent reproductive health services like family planning to ensure that all pregnancies — Dr Amon Chirchir are timely and deliveries are safe.

Train

“This usually happens when the uterus or the entire delivery canal is so narrow or when the child is not well positioned to ease delivery.

The solution should be convention delivery through caesarean section.

Many factors may hinder success of free maternity care

By HENRY OWINO Before the Government made the maternity free in all public health facilities, pregnant women were forced to part with certain amount of fee to carter for the services rendered.

Teresa Anyango, a mother of three had all her children delivered at the Mbagathi District Hospital before the government waived maternity fees. She said any expectant mother used to pay KSh20 for card registration, KSh30 for compulsory

blood test adding up to KSh50 per for the first time.

Anyango said for every antenatal visit, one had to pay KSh20.

Depending on how many visits one made, the deeper one had to dig into their pockets.

Medical practitioners recommend that a pregnant woman visits the clinic from the fourth month of pregnancy and subsequent months until delivery.

“Before I gave birth to my first child, I made four visits to Mbagathi

District Hospital and for every visit I paid KSh20. By the time I gave birth, my bill added up to KSh80. At delivery time no payment was required,” explained Anyango.

She said the fee charged used to be less than KSh200 unless some complications developed during delivery compelling the doctors to carry out surgical operation. However, the cost of operation again depended on its complications but she is glad she never went through it.

As of now there are no fees be-

ing charged.

“The problem that makes many expectant women to deliver at home instead of health facilities is how nurses mishandle women. They are very rude, inconsiderate, unrealistic and even call women names instead of sympathizing with one’s situation,” Anyango lamented.

She noted that the waiver will not make much difference if nurses do not change their attitude of arrogance towards women delivering in government hospitals. In addi-

tion, she pointed out many women would either deliver in a private hospital or by the help of traditional birth attendant (TBA) at home.

Delivery might be free but its mission would greatly depend on how government motivates the nurses and doctors in public health facilities to reflect on how mothers are handled. It is a good move but what women are asking is that do they have to face intimidation from nurses just because delivery in public hospitals is free.

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Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

CRISIS IN MATERNAL HEALTH

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

Despite setbacks, free maternal health care will work out

By HENRY OWINO The free maternal healthcare could not have come at a better time.

According to Dr Paul Mwaniki, Vice Chairman of the Health Sector Board Federation the initiative may be having teething problem but what it is undergoing is normal.

Mwaniki noted that Kenya is a developing nation and most of its health sector managements are donor-funded. He cited HIV and Aids, Tuberculosis, Malaria and contraceptive as options in health that are heavily donor dependent.

“It is in order for the Government to prioritise free medical maternal healthcare because it was among the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” Mwaniki said.

Expect

“I think it is not right to say that free maternal healthcare came earlier than expected. This is just a starting point and there may be more free health services coming,” Mwaniki noted. He added: “We should not criticize everything even before it picks up. Remember maternal healthcare is among the eight MDGs among those that will halve poverty by,” Mwaniki said.

He urged Kenyans to be patient saying it would be normal to have setbacks such as insufficient health personnel, equipment, inaccessibility to healthcare facilities due to substandard roads or long distances, lack of ambulance services and insecurity in some regions.

He explained that maternal health entails a pregnant woman’s antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care services. He castigated the rumours that the programme is designated to fail.

“This free maternal healthcare is expected to last for long but it is not an experimental thing to serve just for a few months or years as many may doubt. It would serve many genera-

tions to come and so let us wait and see its fruits,” he reiterated.

He observed that as much as traditional birth attendants (TBAs) may be assisting women to deliver at home, there are risks associated with their services.

However, Mwaniki stated that should there be complications like transversal delivery where surgical operation is required, and then they cannot manage. This is why it is important for women to deliver at health facilities attended by doctors and qualified midwife nurses.

“In my own home district, Mutomo in Kitui County, I have seen women delivering at home and dying in the hands of TBAs due to complications,” Mwaniki said. He noted: “Some of those women could not afford the KSh20 charged at the dispensaries and KSh50 at health centres during pregnancy yet others assume delivery occurs too fast to go to a health facility.”

Seek

Mwaniki reiterated with free maternal healthcare, he hoped maternal deaths will reduce greatly.

According to Dr John Ong’ech, Assistant Director of Health and Head of Reproductive Health at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), the number of pregnant women seeking for maternal healthcare, especially antenatal servic-

Wilfrida Otieno, a nurse advices Lucy Nyambura in the Maternity and Physiotherapy Wards at Kenyatta National Hospital. Picture: Henry Owino es has increased by 100 per cent.

“Today at Kenyatta National Hospital we receive 30-40 deliveries in a day as opposed to previous years which was less. The number of those who used to come for antenatal care was 300 but this has gone up to 500600 per week which is an increase of 100 per cent,” Ong’ech revealed.

He concurred with Mwaniki that the free maternity initiative is viable and would last since the government was fully behind it.

He urged women to take advantage of the programme and deliver at hos-

pitals instead of homes due to the risks involved.

However, Ong’ech revealed that there is a deficit of 90 nurses at Kenyatta National hospital and they were requesting the Government to deploy more nurses.

Scheme

The Government has also promised to post at least 30 nurses to every constituency annually to cater for insufficient health personnel.

Ong’ech regretted that the free maternal healthcare scheme did not cater

“I would like to remind our clients that the free maternal healthcare service is only available in government health facilities and not faith based health institutions. So do not confuse the two because one is government and the other is faith based.”

— Dr John Ong’ech

for faith based health facilities which also offer same services. He pointed out that between 30-40 per cent of maternal healthcare services in the country are rendered by faith based facilities.

“I would like to remind our clients that the free maternal healthcare service is only available in government health facilities and not faith based health institutions. So do not confuse the two because one is government and the other is faith based,” Ong’ech cautioned.

According to James Macharia, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, this financial year — 2013-2014 — the Government allocated KSh34.8 billion towards healthcare.

“Approximately KSh3.8 billion has been specifically set aside for maternal health care and further KSh700 million for free access to health centres and dispensaries,” Macharia said.

He added that KSh3.1 billion and at least KSh500 million was allocated for hiring nurses other health workers and buying of equipment as a boost for anticipated increase and demand for maternal healthcare services.

Kenya way out of achieving development goals

By ODHIAMBO ORLALE In 2000, member countries of the United Nations set out an agenda that sought to eradicate poverty by 2015.

In the eight point plan, commonly known as Millennium Development Goals, the world was to see poverty reduced by 75 per cent.

Meeting the targets of these goals has been a challenge and Kenya is doing badly as far as the United Nations development goals are concerned.

So far, the Government is expected to deliver on MDG Two which sets out to achieve universal primary education by 2015. This target, being implemented through free primary education, was introduced into the country by retired President Mwai Kibaki, a decade ago.

According to the latest status report revealed at a public forum organized for over 50 officials from the civil society and organised by the Ministry of Devolution and Planning in Nakuru recently, the Government

has only scored well in only one out of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Ambitious

According to the records, net enrolment in primary schools has been rising steadily from 67.8 per cent in 2002 to 95.3 per cent in 2012. At the same time, transition rate from primary to secondary school increased from 66.9 per cent in 2009 to 73.3 in 2011. However, participants at the forum cautioned the Government to move from emphasis on quantity to quality in the education sector.

The latest in addition to the free primary education is the ambitious KSh15 billion project by the Jubilee Government in line with

its election manifesto to distribute over 6,000 laptops to all public priContinued on page 4

Participants at the MDGs conference held in Nakuru. The government has only managed to score well in achieving universal primary education. Picture: Courtesy of Ministry of Devolution and Planning

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

7

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Why girls in rural schools are having sleepless nights

By SHABAN RAWLINGS Girls from rural areas are exposed to high risks of reproductive health issues compared to their counterparts in urban centres.

A research carried out in most African countries has shown increased school dropouts among girls in the rural areas linked to reproductive health issues.

“The girls cannot count on frank and reliable knowledge from their homes and communities due to the absence of information and services on reproductive health and rights,” says Catherine Naserian, Executive Director Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Kenya Chapter.

According to Naserian, integrity of most adolescent girls has been corrupted through pregnancy, HIV and AIDS as well as sexually transmitted diseases, female genital mutilation, forced and or early marriages, rape and sexual harassment. Girls’ educational attainment has equally been affected especially in areas where girls lack information and services that meet their needs and fulfil their right to healthy sexuality and reproduction.

“Intervention programmes implemented by FAWE-Kenya intend to protect the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent girls by keeping them in school,” says Antonina Mulamola, chairperson FAWE-Kenyan chapter.

Sponsors

Mulamola says they are sponsoring the education of over 100 girls in five identified schools in Western and Nyanza regions.

“We have spent more than KSh600,000 to empower more than 1,000 adolescent boys and girls in five secondary schools in Western and Nyanza. They have been taught about adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR),” says Mulamola.

She notes 250 teachers and community facilitators have also been trained on adolescent sexual reproductive health and rights to enable them manage reproductive health issues in education.

Three of the schools are in Nyanza while two are in Western Province.

“We also offer them re-usable sanitary towels to keep them in school throughout the learning days,” she says.

The schools benefiting from the project include Koyonzo and Mwira secondary schools in Matungu district of Western region and Kit Mikayi, Koru Girls’ and Inungo in Nyanza.

The organisation has also embarked on community advocacy through sensitisations in places of worship, chiefs’ barazas and markets for safeguard of adolescent sexual and reproductive health rights programmes.

Challenge

“We are also training five mother-groups in the identified districts on making re-usable sanitary towels on a back-to-back basis to save the girls from the risk of missing classes during their menstrual days,” explains Naserian.

Last month, over 500 girls in primary schools in Khwisero District received sanitary towels worth KSh60,000 from a local non-governmental organisation meant to boost their welfare and education.

According to Franklin Olumasai, Chief Executive Officer Asira Foundation, the programme was meant to ensure girls got equal opportunity in schools just like the boys.

“Girls of menstrual age will not be forced to stay at home during ‘their menstruation days’ but remain in school to compete with their male counterparts in education,” explains Olumasai during the launch of the programme at Mundoli Primary School.

Doreen Angaya, head teacher at Mundoli

Asira Foundation director Franklin Olumasai donates boxes of sanitary pads to girls at Mundoli Primary School. Picture: Shaban Rawlings School head teacher, says sanitary towels have remained a major challenge to girls.

“About 90 per cent of the girls stay out of school during their menstrual days to avoid embarrassment, stigma and intimidation from their peers,” observes Angaya. She adds: “Government funding has not done much due to its meagre quantity. Many girls use unorthodox methods which pose health risks. They use old rags and pieces of mattresses and cotton which are not hygienic.”

She regrets that absenteeism may not end any time soon unless measures are taken by the society and government to address sanitary situation of the girl-child adding that the matter

“Integrity of most adolescent girls has been corrupted through pregnancy, HIV and AIDS as well as sexually transmitted diseases, female genital mutilation, forced and or early marriages, rape and sexual harassment.”

— Catherine Naserian, Executive Director, FAWE

has contributed to poor performance among the girls in higher primary classes of five, six, seven and eight.

According to Olumasai, the trend was an impediment to the country’s development, particularly in its efforts to ensure gender parity in education.

Head teachers of the beneficiary schools lauded the Asira Foundation saying the donation would enable the girls to attend all learning days and concentrate on their studies to favourably compete with boys in class work.

The towels will give the girls comfort, save on time and improve on their health status to enable them to excel academically and be better equipped to face challenges that hinder their education.

Asira Foundation was working on a pilot programme among 10 primary schools but intends to extend the programme to cover all primary schools in the district “The main agenda of Asira Foundation is to improve academic standards in the district and create a balanced competitive environment between girls and boys in school,” says Olumasai.

Kenya way out of achieving development goals Continued from page 6 mary school starting January 2014.

The purpose of the forum was to receive a feedback from the civil society organisations on the MDG status before it is shared with more stakeholders in Mombasa and later presented to the UN. The participants discussed at length the development priorities in Kenya in line with the MDGs and whether the goals provide adequate focus on those priorities. The meeting gave suggestions on what needs to be added before MDGs deadline in 2015.

Already Microsoft Global President jeanPhilippe has visited the country and assured President Uhuru Kenyatta that his firm would train all primary school teachers to enable them implement the computer in schools programme.

A report by the Ministry of Devolution and Planning says the Government is on track on goal Two, but has potential for improvement in goal three which seeks to promote gender equality and empowerment of women and Six that seeks to combating HIV and AIDs, malaria and other diseases.

It was noted that the country was doing badly in as far as achieving goal One that seeks to reduce extreme poverty and hunger was concerned. It was the same with goal Five that seeks to improve maternal health, goal Seven in ensuring environmental sustainability and Eight in developing a global partnership for development.

The report states that there has been slow progress in reducing extreme poverty and hunger and concludes that it would be unlikely for the Government to meet the goals in the deadline which expires in two years.

Slow progress by the Government was also reported in providing maternal health with fears that the goal might not be achieved by 2015. However, the picture is likely to change with the recent introduction of free maternity services in all public hospitals by the Kenyan government.

Attitude

The meeting was opened by John Nandasaba, senior director in the Ministry of Planning and chaired by G. M. Mailu, who is the acting Director of Projects and Programmes in the same ministry.

Said Mailu: “We are still having pregnant women who prefer to deliver in their homes rather than in a maternity ward. This is an attitude problem. We have also heard of men in Kajiado County who would rather slaughter a goat for their new born son but are not ready to pay for maternity fees.”

According to the last household budget survey conducted in 2005-2006 on goal One, Kenyans living below the poverty level had reduced from 52.3 per in 2000 to 45.9 per cent in 2006.

Nandasaba noted: “The Government has pumped billions of shillings to achieve the MDGs and is looking at working with the civil society to succeed. However, it is a shame that

despite the Government’s economic stimulus programmes poverty and maternal death are still on the rise.”

Since then, the Government had put in place a mechanism for economic recovery like the Economic Stimulus Package, Kazi Kwa Vijana (Work for the youth), national women and national youth development fund among others.

“Unless we move from over dependence on rain-fed agriculture to irrigation, our efforts to reduce extreme poverty and hunger in the country will remain a pipe dream,” noted Mailu.

On goal three it was noted that the proportion of female Members of Parliament increased from 4.1 per cent in 2000 to 9.9 per cent in 2009. Those figures further increased with the just concluded General Elections, due to provisions in the new Constitution focusing on affirmative action which saw 47 women elected as representatives of the 47 counties to the National Assembly in addition to those who were elected as MPs. A few more were nominated to the august House and Senate.

The report shows that gender parity index in primary schools was 0.98 in 2011. The 2012 Economic survey data indicates that gender parity had been achieved at primary level of education.

On the other hand, the total number of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector had risen to 31.9 per cent in 2011 from 29.5 per cent in 2000 against the sector target of 50 per cent by the deadline in 2015.

On goal Four, infant mortality rates were reported to have reduced to 52 per 1,000 from 77 per 1,000 live births in 2003. The under five year old mortality rates had decreased from 115 to 74 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009, while the proportion of one to two year olds fully immunised was 81 per cent in 2012 up from 76.1 per cent in 2000.

Impact

According to Pauline Kamau, Executive Director Greenbelt Movement, the adverse impact of climate change is compounded by local environmental degradation caused by illegal encroachment due to population pressure, de-forestation and livestock grazing.

She regretted that just like the founder of Green Belt Movement, the late Nobel Laureate, Prof Wangari Maathai, had indicated, forest cover in the country had fallen from 12 per cent in 1960 to about six per cent today.

Kamau noted that de-forestation was largely driven by private consumption, as the demand for households had doubled within the past decade because of high population growth.

On the positive side, the number of mobile phone subscribers rose by approximately 6,000 per cent from 180,000 in 2000 to 12.9 million in 2008. The number of internet users also rose from 200,000 in 2001 to approximately 3.4 million in 2008. The number of internet Service Providers (ISPs) increased by more than 100 per cent to 127 between 2000 and 2008.

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ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Residents cash in on garbage and smile all the way to the bank

By KAMUNDIA MURIITHI Embu town residents have found a better way to earn money. They are now turning their trash into cash.

A partnership to collect waste and recycle it involving the Embu County Government, Embu GK Prison and a non-governmental organisation has seen the level of cleanliness in Embu food market rise.

The Japanese Funded NGO, African Children Education Fund, collects garbage from the market which it transports to the Embu Prison from where it is recycled into a number of useful products.

Apart from keeping the town clean, the recycling process has provided an avenue to teach the inmates, prison warders and area farmers techniques on waste management and recycling.

After recycling the garbage, the end products include compost manure, plastic fencing posts, charcoal briquettes, baskets and polythene mattresses.

To achieve their goal, the organisation has provided different waste bins at strategic points within the market centre where traders and County employees deposit waste.

Decomposition

This is being done through a oneyear project titled “Aiding Creation of a Recycling System in a Society Project”. The project aims at recycling and re-using waste as well as reducing usage of products.

There is a separate bin for waste that decomposes such as banana leaves and another one for inorganic wastes like polythene papers and plastics.

The organisation has provided a

lorry and employed five people to collect the garbage and transport it to the prison.

They collect waste three times a week which amounts to about 35 tonnes which can produce 10 tonnes of organic fertilizer valued at between KSh15,000 and KSh20,000, which is given out to the prison and farmers.

It is hoped that the farmers will replicate the recycling of waste into organic fertilizer to use in their farms even after the end of the project in September.

According to Molly Rwamba, a trainer on organic farming with African Children Education Fund, in the foresight 10 years from now, the waste will have increased tenfold and the best measure to take is to maximize reusing and recycling.

“Once the waste is taken to an allocated piece of land at the prison, it is separated and put into heaps for easier use. We use the organic waste like banana leaves, maize cobs and fruit peels to make organic fertiliser,” explained Rwamba.

She said the plastics are molten to make plastic posts while polythene papers are washed and recycled into mattresses for sleeping on by humans and dairy cows.

It is during the recycling process that prisoners and a group of about 30 farmers who have attended theoretical classes on recycling and organic farming are invited and practically taught how it is done.

To make compost manure, they prepare the ground by digging a hole measuring four by eight feet and one foot deep. They keep the top soil aside for later use as it contains micro-organisms.

From top: Molly Rwamba, a trainer on waste recycling and organic farming guides inmates on separating waste to make organic fertilizer at the Embu GK Prison. Rwamba shows a vegetable garden grown using organic fertilizer at the prison. Pictures: Kamundia Muriithi The waste is turned over after every two weeks for a period of six to nine weeks when it is ready and has decomposed into small pieces.

It is then dried and grounded in a posho mill into fine particles that can be put into bags for easy transportation to farms.

Rwamba said the organic fertilizer can stay in the farm for a much longer period than inorganic fertilizer as it is not acidic and is also cheaper to buy.

“One tonne of organic fertiliser is adequate per acre of crops. The fertiliser is good for all types of crops and is not harmful to the human body,” explained Rwamba.

The prison uses the fertilizer in its 16 acres of farm saving the money

that would have been used to buy the commodity from agrovets.

According to Aggrey Onyango, the officer-incharge at the prison they supported the initiative and are dedicated to rehabilitate inmates through use of degradable waste to make inorganic manure.

Rwamba noted that 800 farmers and 700 prisoners have been trained on waste management while they target to train over 1,200 farmers from Embu at the end of the project before moving on to another county.

The organisation has built a permanent store at the prison farm

where a posho mill has been installed.

Rwamba said the store will at the end of the project go into ownership of the prison but community members will be free to use it.

Kisii County aged residents to benefit from devolved funds

By BEN OROKO The plight of the elderly men and women in Kisii County has reached the ears of Governor James Ongwae.

In that spirit of caring, the former governor who is a former Permanent Secretary, has big plans for the elderly many of whom he lamented had been neglected by their children.

The elders’ problems have been compounded by poverty as well as HIV and AIDs which have orphaned some of their children and grandchildren leaving them to shoulder the burden of parenting amid the increasing cost of living.

However, the senior citizens in Kisii County can now afford a smile after Ongwae promised to establish an Old Persons Cash Transfer Programme at the County level to compliment the Government sponsored one, to ensure the elderly enjoy a dignified life in their sunset years.

The Governor expresses concern that with increasing cases of rural-

urban migration among the elites and young people in the region, the elderly will be subjected to miserable lives and lead to early deaths.

Ongwae noted that time had come up to start a social protection scheme for the elderly at the County level, otherwise the community would lose its elderly to death due to neglect and poor living conditions.

“Poverty and HIV have contributed greatly to the increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children whose care depends on the elderly who lack the capacity in terms of resources to support them. The dependence ratio in Kisii County is currently 73:100, meaning 73 people working, with 100 others particularly the elderly, orphans and vulnerable children depending on them,” said Ongwae.

He noted that Kisii County government had introduced a cash transfer programme to the elderly to guarantee them of a dignified living standard as well as scale down the dependence ratio. This would in the end en-

“Poverty and HIV have contributed greatly to the increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children whose care depends on the elderly who lack the capacity in terms of resources to support them.”

— Governor James Ongwae

Kisii County Governor James Ongwae talks to an elderly man at Bogichoncho Village, Bobasi Constituency when he toured landslide displaced families in the area. Picture: Ben Oroko hance productive investment among the working class to spur economic growth in the County.

Meanwhile, Martha Moraa, 82, a resident of Giasaiga Sub-location, Sameta District in the Kisii County, welcomed the Governor’s plan to establish a cash transfer kitty for the elderly, saying it was long overdue as the one sponsored by the Government had not benefited the local elderly members since they were along being told the programme was on a pilot basis in selected areas.

Moraa lamented that she has been hearing of some elderly members of the society in some parts of Sameta District benefiting from the government cash transfer programme for the elderly but she had not been a beneficiary so far.

“I have been hearing that the elderly have been benefiting from the Government's cash transfer programme but as old as I am, I have never seen even a cent from that kitty as the local village headmen and the chiefs keep on telling us that the funds are meant for the el-

derly from selected areas,” said Moraa.

Moraa regretted that old age has compromised her eyesight making it difficult to discharge her domestic duties efficiently as she depends on the services of her grandchildren and neighbours, who complain and hardly provide reliable support due to their busy engagements. “Though I have not personally met the governor, I would want to recommend that he comes up with a structure that will ensure all the vulnerable elderly members in the County are identified up to the village level to ensure they benefit from the programme,’ she advised. Since 2006, the Government through the Ministry of Gender, Children’s Affairs and Social Services had been rolling out cash transfer programmes in three districts.

By the end of 2011, the programme had spread to 44 districts, benefiting 33,000 people. The monthly cash transfer per beneficiary had increased from the initial KSh1,000 in 2006 to KSh1,500 in 2011.

The Ministry was mandated to provide social interventions to the poor and vulnerable elderly persons in the country.

The cash transfer programme is the only national social protection programme that serves the non-pensionable and aged Kenyans who are not in formal employment.

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

9

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

UN appeals for calm as over 6,000 children are killed in Syrian civil war

By Mercy Mumo The United Nations reports that 93,000 people, who include 6,500 children, have been killed in the Syrian civil war in the past two years.

The victims include about 1,700 innocent children who were below 10 years.

Indeed, the plight of those children is the hidden outrage of that conflict.

The daily struggle for survival grows ever more desperate as the conflict rages on. Many innocent children have been forced from their homes, struggling to find something to eat, unable to get the right medicine when they become sick or are injured.

For some, the only refuge they can find is in parks, barns or even caves.

Most of those who have escaped into neighbouring countries are living in makeshift shelters, unsuitable buildings or overcrowded camps, amid growing shortages of food, medicine and water.

This clearly points to the collapse of childhood. If action is not taken soon the physical and mental harm will irreparably damage a generation of children. Such an impact would resonate throughout Syrian society for decades after the war ends.

Syria’s desperate case depicts that of other countries that have on-going conflict such as Africa’s the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Save the Children, the world’s leading independent charity organisation that promotes children’s rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries. It reports that scores of children are dying daily by the roadside as growing numbers of desperate families flee Syria’s bloody civil war.

War

Syria has a population of 22.5 million people with a life expectancy of 75 and a per capita of $5,100.

The civil war started in March 2011 and has played a major role in separating children from their parents and families while others become casualties of it.

Majority of them flee to Lebanon for refuge.

Others end up as refugees in neighbouring Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

For over two years, Syria’s children have endured appalling suffering following the Arab spring in the volatile region.

The aid agency spoke to civilians who have

recently fled the country who told of a “death journey” in which children were separated from their parents, with at least one 12 year-old boy being left behind to die on his own.

After his mother was killed, he became too weak to continue the journey due to shrapnel wounds.

Another family reported the death of a baby who died in the heat after being separated from her mother as they fled across the border.

The charity also received reports of children being targeted by sniper fire, forced to take flight under heavy shelling and driven to licking moisture from grass and leaves in a desperate attempt to stave off thirst in the searing heat.

Desperate

The reports, gathered by Save the Children ahead of marking the World Refugee Day, last month, painted a disturbing picture of the desperation and horror faced by Syrian children as they seek to escape the violence in the strife-torn Middle Eastern country. Some of the most graphic reports include: A 12 year-old boy – whose mother had been shot - being left to bleed to death with insecteaten shrapnel wounds as the group he was with was forced to abandon him and run for their lives A baby separated from her mother dying in the heat due to lack of milk Children being trampled underfoot as desperate civilians run for their lives under shell fire.

A 13 year-old girl being shot through her thigh during an escape attempt.

A boy of 16 beaten with sticks and displaying signs of physical torture after 15 days’ detention and interrogation.

And a 12 year-old boy having his throat slit by personnel manning a checkpoint.

There are currently 1.6 million people from Syria in need of refugee assistance in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. Syria’s one

Syrian children sleeping inside their family’s tent in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. There are currently 1.6 million people from Syria in need of refugee assistance in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. Picture: Courtesy Save the Children millionth refugee only crossed the border in March – two full years after the crisis started.

The number of registered refugees has increased 17-fold in the past 12 months and the two millionth refugees is expected to arrive soon.

The number of people in need of refugee assistance from Syria has increased on average by close to a third each month for the past year. Were that trend to continue, Syria would be emptied of civilians by as early as April 2014.

Save the Children Humanitarian Communications Manager, Catherine Carter, said: “The horrific stories we’ve gathered from refugees over the past few days show how children are bearing the brunt of the Syrian conflict. Children in Syria are being killed, tortured, recruited as soldiers and abused in horrifying numbers. Children are being separated from their parents, and some are dying alone at the roadside from their wounds.

“Meanwhile conditions are proving too much for the weakest and most vulnerable babies. Millions of children are beyond the reach of humanitarian aid and have no option but to flee.

Over half of all Syrian refugees are children and

“Meanwhile conditions are proving too much for the weakest and most vulnerable babies. Millions of children are beyond the reach of humanitarian aid and have no option but to flee.

Over half of all Syrian refugees are children and behind the frankly terrifying statistics of civilians fleeing their country are millions of individual tragedies.”

Catherine Carter

behind the frankly terrifying statistics of civilians fleeing their country are millions of individual tragedies.”

“Ultimately the only solution to this crisis is an end to the violence in Syria, but in the meantime, we urgently need to be able to reach those trapped inside Syria. Unless we can, I am afraid we will hear more horrifying stories of children forced into ever more desperate circumstances.”

Escape

Children inside Syria are especially vulnerable to the worst atrocities of the crisis.

Those who manage to escape often lack access to schools and safe places to play and are frequently living in cramped, overcrowded conditions.

As well as working with refugee communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, Save the Children is working across Syria to bring vital humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable communities.

However, due to restrictions posed by a lack of access, it is currently only reaching 10 per cent of those people targeted inside the country.

According to statistics from UNHCR, the number of registered refugees from Syria increased by an average of 29 per cent each month over the last 12 months.

There has been a recent drop in the rate of increase in registered refugees from Syria in host countries. This is likely due to fighting close to border areas leading to tighter security at registered crossings. Save the Children is monitoring that trend closely.

Additional information provided by Save the Children East Africa

Anti-graft lobby asks for tough measures to fight the vice

By DUNCAN MBOYAH All eyes are now on the national and county governments’ to end impunity by preventing, prosecuting and punishing acts of corruption.

According to Samuel Kimeu, Executive Director Transparency International Kenya Chapter, senior public officials must also not enjoy immunity when charged with corruption if the vice is to be eradicated.

“Kenyans should make use of existing reporting mechanisms to speak out about corruption that they witness or experience,” noted Kimeu.

Addressing guests during the launch of the Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) where he warned that without deliberate decisive action, corruption would be devolved to the

counties, Kimeu said such an action could greatly undermine Kenya’s quest for a more equal and prosperous society.

He urged both county and national governments to make the fight against the vice one of the performance indicators in performance contracting and a good score a factor in continued engagement as a public official.

Findings

At the same time, Kimeu challenged residents in the 47 counties to report graft cases to the relevant authorities for action.

“Both national and county governments will need to invest significantly in building effective accountability mechanisms that will include active citizen participation,” Kimeu

said.

He urged the public to use their voice and avenues of participation and accountability to support officials and institutions that espouse integrity.

According to the findings, three in five Kenyans believe that corruption is a problem in the public sector in the country.

Transparency International interviewed 1,121 people in a national survey in October and November 2012 using face-to-face interviews.

The report revealed that 61 per cent of Kenyans believe the vice is a serious problem in the public sector.

The Police service, as usual, toped the list of public institutions perceived to be more prone to corruption with a score of 4.8 on a scale of one to five, where one means not

corrupt at all while five means extremely corrupt.

Second on the list was Parliament (4.0) followed by the Judiciary (3.6) and political parties (3.5) as well as health and medical services (3.2) in the top five list.

Those interviewed indicated that they paid bribes to speed up their service at the public offices since it was through corruption that services can be acquired.

Report

Interestingly, 52 per cent of those interviewed said they would not report corruption cases since their reporting would not make any difference.

Overall, more than one in four people (27 per cent) reported having paid a bribe in the past 12 months

when interacting with key public institutions for services.

Among the eight services evaluated, the police and the Judiciary were singled out as the two most bribery prone.

An estimated 31 per cent of people who came into contact with the police reported that they had paid a bribe, whereas 24 per cent admitted having bribed a Judiciary official.

The report says that personal connections were viewed as a means to corrupt the public administration since most people prefer employing and serving those they were related to.

Nearly nine in 10 surveyed said that they would act against corruption by speaking up and reporting corrupt cases to the anti-corruption authorities.

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ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Wheelbarrow race comes to the rescue of Maasai girls

By NICOLE WAITHERA Negative cultural practices among the Maasai have affected girl child education due to early and forced marriages.

However, this will soon come to an end following an initiative that has been started to boost enrolment and reduce drop-out rates among the girls in schools.

The initiative was started by Kenya Wildlife Services in conjunction with the local community around Hells Gate National Park, near Lake Naivasha in Nakuru County.

For a long time the Maasai girl has been denied the opportunity to further her education on the basis that it is not beneficial to the community.

The stigma associated with educating the girl-child had forced many of them to shy away from taking education seriously.

However, the innovative initiative dubbed the annual Hells Gate Wheelbarrow Race aims at fighting to ensure that all girls from the Maasai community attend school to the point of completion.

Currently in its sixth year, the sporting event recently drew thousands of participants who came to support the young girls.

Finances

The race has managed to raise the KSh15 million out of the KSh30 million required to build an education centre for the girl child.

The event saw participants race in a seven kilometre event where they braved the dust, wind and water to ensure that the girl child receives basic education.

The race which is also dubbed as the “craziest race of the century” has moved from a mere local fun event to one of the largest tourist attractions in the area.

The funds that are raised through the park entrance fees and participa-

tion in the event is directed towards purchasing of books, clothing and sanitary towels for Maasai girls in the area.

According William Kibet, Kenya Wildlife Service director, the nomadic lifestyle of the Maasai has affected school enrolment and increased the dropout rates among girls.

“Some girls are married off in a bid to get rid of educating them leading to poor education standards in the region,” said Kibet.

The race was started by immediate former Kenya Wildlife Services Executive Director, Julius Kipng’etich, following his meeting with some Maasai women who sought help on promoting their daughter’ educa-

tion.

The funds raised will also be used to build a conservation education centre in the park for children who want to come and learn.

The centre will also be used to educate the public on the importance of protecting and conserving wildlife as well as alternative wildlife business for their economic benefit.

Race

More than 100 wheelbarrows are used in the race, whose course covers seven-kilometres in the park and starts at Fischer’s Tower.

Creativity is the key in the race.

The trick is to get a wheelbarrow that can sustain heavy weight and at the

Participants during the Hells Gate Wheelbarrow Race held in Nakuru County. The race was organised to raise funds required to build an education centre for the girl child in Maasai land.

Picture: Nicole Waithera same time move it very fast.

This has seen the development of wheelbarrows with shock absorbers and speed governors.

Along the course is a pond of water which often gets contestants by surprise. Located downhill, many contestants approach it at high speed, only to splash inside the murky waters. Crowds near the pond enjoy the spectacle.

As participants fall into the water, many are left behind with shocked looks.

“We were not aware that there was any place that we would meet with ponds. When we reached there, we were forced to take in the muddy water,” said Ann Njogu, a participant.

The racers are also forced to overcome hurdles of hay, which sees most of them topple on top of the hay. There is also a race that sees participants push wheelbarrows full of balloons filled with water.

“We want to ensure that the children’s quest for education will never go to waste,” said Kibet.

Drugs racket unearthed amid shortage crisis

By ODHIAMBO ODHIAMBO A racket involving the sale of Government drugs has been unearthed in Kuria West District, Migori County.

Workers from some health facilities have been selling out medicines to traders, some of whom come from neighbouring Tanzania.

This has put the hospitals under permanent crisis of drug shortage, with poor patients always being referred to buy prescribed doses from private chemists.

Fed up with the problem, the community through their vigilante group commonly referred to as Sungu Sungu launched their own investigations into the scam.

Their probe later bore fruit after they found one of the suspects believed to be part of the racket in possession of an assortment of government drugs, syringes, needles and malaria testing kits in his house located within Masaba division.

The man confessed that he had obtained them from Masaba Heath Centre but defended himself saying

he had kept them “for emergency to treat sick villagers”.

The suspect, who is not a trained medical practitioner, was later handed over to the Administration Police officers manning the local police post for further questioning.

His cargo was handed over to the officers. Some of the residents alleged that top management at the hospital were aware of the racket and were benefiting from it.

“This hospital virtually has nothing apart from panadol. All other drugs and items such as gloves we are told to buy from private chemists,” complained Benedict Matiko, area resident.

Allegations

“We want the suspect to be taken to court immediately because some of the officers in this district have been compromised by the suspects,” he asserted.

Area county assembly member Abednego Marwa said he had held several meetings with the hospital management over the alleged sale of

government drugs and they have only been promising investigations throughout.

“The discovery of the drugs has confirmed the residents’ fears and I am now taking up the matter with the higher authorities,” said Marwa.

However, the hospital officer-in–charge who only identified herself as Mrs Leonida said she had launched serious investigations into the matter.

“Claims that I may also be involved are not true and anybody with evidence to the contrary should come forward,” she said.

Police officers handling the case said the suspect will be arraigned in court soon after investigations are completed.

Some of the supplies are reportedly smuggled across the border to Tanzania where they are sold to proprietors of health facilities.

Investigations showed that some traders erase the initials “GK” on la-

Tablets at a government chemist. Some of the supplies are reportedly smuggled across the border to Tanzania. Picture: Reject Correspondent bels on the packets and boxes to avoid them being noticed by the Ministry of Health inspectors or hawk eyed Kenyans.

Mark

“Most Government drugs are marked on their packets and containers although previously all the tablets from the State stores were clearly marked GK. This has enabled us to disguise them very easily,” said a trader who spoke on anonymity.

Some of the Ministry of Health

workers are believed to be involved in this scam in which the Government has lost millions of shillings.

A senior Health official in Kehancha town disclosed that they were aware of the racket and were in the process of sealing the loopholes.

“It is true we have this problem and our proximity to the border has complicated matters. There were some cases we have received but are still investigating,” he said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

11

Mango farming promises better returns to farmers

By KAMUNDIA MURIITHI The breathtaking scene of countless mango trees doting acres and acres of land covering about three locations would fascinate any visitor travelling along the Embu-Ishiara road.

This area marks the bedrock of mango farming in Embu County and every first quarter is the succulent fruit’s season when mango bushes sag under the weight of both ripe and unripe fruit.

The main variety of mangoes grown in the area include Kent, Tommy and Vandeik and indigenous types which thrive well because of the favourable climatic condition.

In Karurumo Location some prominent farmers are renowned for bulk mango fruit production. Karanja wa Maembe has 200 acres, Mama Ngina has 60 acres and Nano Njenenga with 10 acres.

The trio are said to be making a fortune from their plantations where an acre can have as many as 70 trees which are spaced at a distance of 24 feet.

Indeed, it is a sight to behold as the area is a beehive of activity as farmers, traders and transporters mingle around some on motorcycles, pick-ups and lorries to ferry the fresh fruits to markets across the country.

Exploit

However, all that glitters is not gold for the small scale farmers who are exploited while their large rivals smile all the way to the bank.

Many small-scale farmers have on average 50 mango trees or less and, therefore, do not make as much money owing to exploitation from middlemen or losses arising from fruit fly.

Martin Njagi, who hails from Kabae in Karurumo location has 100 mango trees and is proud that that this aspect of farming is less stressful but with a reliable income. However, he notes that the money earned is low because of middlemen who buy each fruit at four shillings and they sell at KSh20.

“The supply of the fruit has increased in the market as farmers from other parts of the country like Meru and Ukambani also compete to

have a share of the mango market,” Njagi observes.

He says a large gunny bag full of mangoes fetches as little as KSh400 which demoralises them a lot considering that they spray expensive chemicals on the trees in order to contain worms and flies that attack and destroy them.

In order to address that challenge, farmers in the Karurumo area have united under Kabae Horticultural Mangoes Association to seek better markets and prices for their produce.

“As a group, we are trying to maximise on better production and market of mangoes. Mango trees do not affect cultivation of other crops making it easy for farmers with small pieces of land to cultivate,” explains Njagi.

He says mango trees grow best on flat land and require a lot of manure during planting which is done on a hole of two square feet.

The mango tree takes three years to mature and produces mango fruits but could be faster with application of manure and water.

The future of mango farming is now promising after Kenya Agriculture Productivity and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP) introduced better farming management and marketing of the produce in groups to new market outlets.

This has changed the gloom that previously prevailed among small scale farmers for many years. This year’s mango season some 1,400 farmers under KAPAP earned KSh30million from their fruits.

This is a tremendous increase from the lows of KSh5million that they earned every season in the past. It is expected that mango farming will now be taken seriously.

The Ministry of Agriculture in conjunction with International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) has embarked on supplying mango fly traps to farmers in the area with an aim of mitigating the effects of the pests.

The flies deposit eggs inside a mango fruit

A mango farmer sells his fruits to traders in Karurumo area in Embu County recently.

Picture: Kamundia Muriithi that is about to form sugar or ripen. The eggs hatches into larvae which bore into the flesh of the mango and make the fruit rot and fall to the ground.

Encourage

According to Albert Munyi, Kieni Division Agricultural Extension Officer, they are encouraging farmers to bury their infected mangoes to reduce fruit diseases.

They also advise the farmers to get an augmentorium net where one can put all the rotten fruits.

“Since no fly can penetrate inside the net, they will not breed,” explains Munyi.

Another method they are encouraging is natural fruit fly enemy or parasitoride where the fruit flies lay eggs but cannot hatch.

“We hope to get high quality mangoes from the area. We have started with Karurumo and Ugweri and will then go to Kigumo and finally cover the whole of the county,” he noted.

Munyi said the loss has been as high as 100 per cent in Kent and Sensation varieties and if one does not spray it can range between 30 to 40 per cent.

According to the Extension Officer, the methods they are promoting will save money and time as well as conserve the environment.

They will also be able to produce organically grown foods which are in high demand and easy to get to the export market.

Munyi is proud that last year some parts of the division got good mangoes free of the flies and the farmers were able to export several tonnes of the fruit to Uganda and South Sudan.

Quail farming gains momentum following diversification

By CATHERINE MURINGI Population growth in the country has led to fragmentation of farming land to uneconomic units.

This has led farmers to turn to other ventures to enhance food security.

Among the projects that are being undertaken are alternative poultry keeping.

However, there are some farmers who get into alternative poultry keeping not because of land shortage but as a passion for the beautiful sight of birds.

Quails are some of the birds whose rearing is gaining momentum in Nyeri County, with farmers keeping them for commercial gains.

Paul Gichohi Meme, 66, is one of the farmers rearing quails in the area earning thousands of shillings per month.

Gichohi, who retired from the civil service eight years ago, says he started keeping quails two years ago.

The former senior executive officer with the Judiciary set out to know more about the birds by visiting farmers who were successful.

A resident of Kagundu-ini village in Tetu District, Gichohi found out that unlike other livestock kept in the area,

one has to apply for a permit from the Kenya Wildlife Service before starting quail business.

Officials from Kenya Wildlife Service have to certify and inspect the structures before issuing the documents. This is because in Kenya, wild birds like quails, guinea fowls and ostrich are categorised as protected species.

“By the time I headed to the Kenya Wildlife Service offices which are a walking distance from Nyeri town, I had already built a structure, which they certified as one of the best and gave me the go ahead,” explains Gichohi. He adds: “I later travelled back to another farmer’s home where I purchased 60 birds at KSh500 each.”

Figures

Gichohi collects 40 eggs each day.

An egg sells for KSh20 which means that he earns KSh800 daily.

Women have not been left out of the business. Julia Waithira, 85, from King’ong’o in Nyeri town owns about 175 quails and collects an average of 45 eggs daily.

“I sell the eggs locally and have not been able to meet the demand. A single egg goes for KSh20 and I make about KSh900 in a day from eggs

From left: Paul Gichohi holds two of the birds at his home in Nyeri County. Some of the quails in one of the cages. Pictures: Catherine Muringi alone,” she says.

Quails are hardy than other conventional birds such as chicken. This is mainly attributed to the fact that they are wild in nature.

They also require minimal floor space which can hold about six to ten quails for a space of one chicken.

Quails mature very quickly and will be ready for the market five weeks from being hatched. During this time they will have attained a weight of approximately 180 grams.

Quails lay approximately 280 eggs per year, with a laying span of about 14 to 15 months and can start laying in about six to eight weeks. According to Gichohi their eggs are very nutritious and in high demand.

Other than being reared for eggs, they are also kept for meat, manure and feathers. Their meat is consid-

ered to be white meat and droppings can also be used as feed for dairy animals.

Gichohi says he is preparing to start breeding and selling mature quails after two months and these will cost KSh650 each.

“I shall soon start to breed them as I have already purchased an incubator.

I am first learning how to use the machine and have put some eggs in it for trial,” he says. Quail eggs take between 16 to 18 days to hatch.

Gichohi’s future plans are to increase egg production and sell them to locals and other markets outside the area. The targeted markets for his eggs will include tourist hotels in major cities like Nairobi and Mombasa.

Other than keeping quails, Gichohi also rears guinea pigs, dairy cows,

bees and rabbits. He is also into horticultural farming.

For those kept for meat production, quails take about six to seven weeks to mature. They start laying eggs at around 10 weeks and can lay more than 250 eggs in their lifetime. The eggs weigh between 10 to 12 grams.

The birds can be fed on protein containing grains, vegetables such as Irish potatoes, grass and cabbages among others. They need more protein in their feeds than chicken.

Gichohi’s advice to those who have retired from wage employment is that they should not stay idle but make good use of their land by diversifying farming activities.

He also appeals to the youth not to focus more on looking for scarce white collar jobs but instead practice farming and other small businesses.

12

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Rise of child acrobats in Kilifi linked to truancy

By ROBERT NYAGAH Carrying bags of different sizes and colours, a group of eight excited boys arrive outside a tourist restaurant along the Malindi Bay beach as dusk sets.

After curiously observing the surroundings, they settle on a concrete platform normally used by guests who wish to enjoy an open air lunch near the restaurant which due to the low number of tourists in Malindi is empty.

Soon, there is action and the agile boys are shouting some words, perhaps to improve their acting steam, the stilts are well organised and interesting even to the few guests who are leisurely enjoying their drinks at the Baobab Restaurant.

The boys, aged between eight and 13 years, are well coordinated and are acrobats.

At the end of the 30 minutes performance, one of the boys removes a small plastic container from one of the bags and walks to the restaurant periphery, stretching it for cash gifts and donations.

Some tourists respond by giving them cash in notes, some in coins and some end up giving in euros and dollars.

But Baobab Restaurant manager, Mary Mwangi, who had gone for some orders, returned to find the boys finishing their collection.

“Why are you interfering with the guests, I told you not to come back here to perform, you should be in school and not performing and begging from guests?”

Hesitantly, the boy collecting the cash manages to shout back in Kiswahili, “Lakini si hawa wageni wametupatia wenyewe baada ya kufurahishwa na maonyesho yetu, kwa nini wewe unachuki na unapenda kutufukuza kila mara (but these tourists decided to appreciate our performance by giving us the cash themselves, why are you always against us, always wanting to chase us away).”

Appreciate

A guest over hears the argument between the manager and one of the boys and intervenes “what is wrong with them performing and getting some cash from us, we appreciate, it is a real effort from such young children.”

Found unawares, the manager explains to the guests that although he and others are free to appreciate the performance by the children, the practice was not acceptable because in essence it is “child labour” and could eventually encourage the school-aged children to even abandon school.

Scenes like this are being repeated in various parts of Kilifi County where a large number of children are adopting acrobatic performance for entertainment targeting tourists.

Malindi hotelier Godfrey Karume says the boys may be doing well training and performing the acrobatic stilts for an income, but “the fear is eventually they will fall to truancy and abandon schooling for easy money in tourism”.

“These acrobatic performances should be controlled and allowed only in school during Physical Education (PE) lessons. If an income is to be earned it should be under the supervision of a grown up or a teacher,” says Karume.

He adds: “The problem now is that these groups of boy acrobats are growing in number and even becom-

Malindi Junior Acrobats perform their acts outside Casuarina Resource Centre in Malindi. Below: Boys from Bungale Primary school appeared to have trained quite well as self made acrobats as they entertained guests during a public functions. Such troupes are being discouraged from performing for tourists for an income on freelance basis. Pictures: Robert Nyagah ing a nuisance.”

Karume insists that the children’s department and chiefs should reign on these troupes which are increasing in number.

Within the last six months, Maweni assistant chief Nicodemus Mwayele, a tough protector of children and their rights, who through legislation has returned more than 3,000 children to school, says that acrobatic groups comprising of underage primary school children have been on the increase.

“I have dismantled at least five such groups and warned parents to be firm in dealing with their children to restrain them from truancy,” says Mwayele.

Challenge

However, all is not lost as stakeholders in children rights are rising up to the challenge and have asked the Kilifi County and Central government to find ways of returning more than 1,500 children who operate unregistered acrobatic troupes in Malindi tourist resorts to schools to curb growing cases of child labour in the County.

Malindi Youth for Environmental Movement (MYFEM) lobby group chairman, Dickson Ahuta, says that unless the Government starts a project to identify the huge number of young boys falling into child labour through performances, the county will continue to record some of the worst statistics in child labour.

“Malindi, Watamu and Mambrui have huge numbers of underage boys, mainly primary school dropouts, who are in self-trained acrobatic groups and engage in self-employment by performing before tourists in various hotels, this is child labour and is forcing many out of school,” explained

Ahuta.

He noted that his organization has registered more than 100 young people to volunteer to work as environmentalists and participate in clean-up programmes and sports as a means to ensure that the young avoid child labour.

In discussions during a meeting with leaders of 20 acrobatic troupes registered under MYFEM at the organisation’s office in Malindi, Ahuta said that his group encouraged formation of acrobatic troupes under sports and not as a means for the youth to venture into income-generating activities.

Ahuta said organization also worked with professional and registered acrobatic troupes which whenever possible, perform under legally signed contracts where they are paid between Sh40,000 and KSh50,000 per month.

Protest

Ahuta said he has protested severally over the decision by some hotel managements to allow children to perform at night when they were supposed to be at home doing their homework and sleeping.

MYFEM has been working closely with school management committees in Malindi, Watamu and Mambrui, the key areas where truancy has been linked to the rising number of illegal acrobatic troupes.

According to George Edage, a MYFEM trustee, some of the young people who have ended up in drugs in Malindi started with truancy and begging from tourists and ended up abandoning education.

He noted that some of the young children earn as much as KSh500 per day and that way it is hard to control them.

Some parents are also known to encourage their children to join the illegal acrobatic troupes dominated by underage primary school children.

On her part, Hadija Mohammed, a widow and mother of four who lives in Maweni when her son, Salim, who was in Standard Five started bringing in some cash from the acrobatic performances, she appreciated the income especially because the boy claimed he was doing it in the evening and during the weekends.

However, Hadija confesses that after some time, she realised that the boy among others was not attending school and despite leaving every morning in uniform, he appeared

to have other clothes elsewhere and changed to spend the whole day begging and performing before tourists at the beach.

“I stopped the outings and decided to be firm and ensure that Salim returned to school, I ended up losing an income of more than KSh500 per day,” says Hadija who insists that parents should not accept money from their children even if they are poor.

Hadija today monitors her son’s movements and always ensures that he attends school and remains near the house in the evening and over the weekend assisting her to sell fish and fried potatoes a few metres from her house.

ISSUE 087, July 16-31, 2013

13

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Kenyan media beyond March elections

By ODHIAMBO ORLALE A damning report about the media’s performance before, during and after the March 4 polls was recently debated by editors who did not take it lying down.

The audit by Media Focus on Africa, a visiting London School of Economics researcher Nicholas Bonequista of Networked News Lab and a Moi University journalism lecturer focused on feedback from participants who attended and contributed during eight monthly public forums to gauge their perception of how the media covered major issues of the day around the most closely-contested elections in the country’s 50-year history.

According to Harrison Manga, a programme officer with Media Focus, a majority of the participants at the media roundtables held at Alliance Françoise in Nairobi were happy with the peace campaign promoted by the local media but criticized the media for shying away from its watchdog role.

However, the criticism was not taken lightly by Vitalis Musebe (KBC), Mutegi Njau (Royal Media), Catherine Gicheru (The Star), Pamela Makotsi-Sittoni (East African) and Charles Kerich (Radio Africa), who defended the media saying covering one of the country’s hottest contested presidential race was not easy because the country as well as reporters and editors were polarized between the two major coalitions — Jubilee and the Cord.

Other concerns by the public was that the print and broadcast media concentrated too much on politics and in Nairobi and major urban centres at the expense of other national issues and the 47 counties.

There was also concern that the Media Focus Africa report did not include the issue of corruption in the media which is a big problem.

Profit

In a rebuttal, the 18 editors who attended the forum said as profit making outfits it was unrealistic to expect them to set up bureaus and or offices in all the counties.

Sittoni challenged investors to cash in by taking advantage of the opportunities in the counties.

Musebe took issue with the report for focusing more on the criticism and not the solutions as a way forward. “Whereas we appreciate the criticism, can we also know what solutions were proposed so that we can learn and do better?” he asked.

The eight topics were: hate speech; peaceful elections; political mobilisation of women and vernacular radios and ethnic hostilities. The other topics were media coverage of opinion polls; patriotism in the media; self-censorship; and media in a changing environment.

On his part, Manga clarified that during the public forums there were attempts to come

up with solutions, but he did not raise it during his presentation due to time constraints.

He said plans were underway by Media Focus Africa to roll out a county-wide training programme for journalists to address the concerns raised about their lack of capacity especially in areas of covering technical issues and budget-making process by county assemblies.

Said Mburugu Gikunda of Media Focus Africa: “We had one session during the forums on corruption because it is a problem that we must all face and address. It is an on-going discussion and we are ready to respond with the parties concerned.”

Complaints

In another session, Stephanie Muchai from Article 19, a media non-governmental organisation noted that journalists had complained to them during countrywide workshops that most training was organised by civil society organisations while a few media houses had their own inhouse training focusing more on libel law related issues.

She also identified Media Council of Kenya as a leading trainer of journalists in the country.

“Some journalists also claimed that the trainings have been selective and favoured bluedeyed boys and girls. We were also told of some editors sending the same favoured journalists for training over and over again at the expense of their colleagues,” noted Muchai.

She told the editors that there was need for a long-term thematic based training on elections coverage in order to make a positive impact.

Other issues raised were lack of boldness by television and radio journalists during live interviews for fear of annoying some important personalities.

On a lighter note, it was revealed that the broadcast media does not have a threshold to talk about relationship and sexuality. Case of adverts by companies selling condom and sponsoring programmes as advertorials was raised.

“Some journalists also claimed that the trainings have been selective and favoured blued-eyed boys and girls. We were also told of some editors sending the same favoured journalists for training over and over again at the expense of their colleagues.”

— Stephanie Muchai

From top: Some of the editors who attended the Media Focus on Africa roundtable, from left to right, Josephine Karani (KBC), Mutegi Njau (Royal Media Services), Pamela Makotsi-Sittoni (Nation Media Group) and Cyrus Kinyungu (Standard Group).

Organisers and main speakers at the forum held at Ole Sereni Hotel, Nairobi, from left to right: Stephanie Muchai (Article 19), Mburugu Gikunda (Media Focus on Africa), Harrison Manga (MFA) and Nicholas Benequista (Networked News Lab).

Pictures: Courtesy: Media Focus on Africa Concern was also raised about the lack of content during live coverage by television and FM radio presenters and journalists. The case of the live coverage of the historic presidential debates was cited as an example.

Debate

“We may need to have more discussion on issues of sexuality and relationship and best way to cover them on broadcast and print media,” noted Gikunda.

Matu Nguri, a lecturer at Moi University praised the presidential debates saying that they gave all the eight candidates an opportunity to open up to the public and discuss their personal, professional and political issues openly for the first time.

“They were made to stand as individuals and not as party leaders, politicians and/or tribal chiefs. There were some good engagements in some parts but lack of the same in others on ideological issues,” noted Nguri.

He observed that “the believability of the candidates” was put to test by the media very well.

The two presidential debates scored highly”. He added that the two month publicity prepared Kenyans for it and created interest and anxiety.

Nguri said the media and public are learning best ways to cover elections professionally and

soberly.

He also observed that opinion polls are a reality that the media must promote and allow to grow saying that in Kenya television is still an elitist medium.

Mutegi Njau (Royal Media Group) noted that the presidential debate created Mohammed Dida and affected others who were better known nationally.

Achieve

According to Nguri, the marathon live debate achieved their goal and was good for Kenyans.

Kwamboka Oyaro (Standard Group) said that on the eve of the polls, Kenyans had decided who to vote for. What most people remembered about the debate was the comic relief by late entrant Dida who spent his time teaching Kenyans about nutrition.

Musebe on the other hand said that “issues of ethnicity, funds mobilisation, and partisan issues are major and affected last polls.”

Charles Kerich (Radio Africa Media) recalled that the issue of tyranny of numbers came into being in 1990s after the re-introduction of multiparty politics in the country. Since then, he said, it has increased by devolution and that is causing conflict and violence in Mandera and Wajir counties among others.

Executive Director: Arthur Okwemba Editor: Jane Godia

Write to: info@mdcafrica.org

Sub-Editors: Mercy Mumo, Joyce Chimbi and Odhiambo Orlale Designer: Noel Lumbama

www.mdcafrica.org

Contributors: Henry Owino, Isaiah Gwengi, Kariuki Mwangi, Jack Joshua, Skinna Halisi, David Njaaga, Wilson Rotich, Ken Ndambu, Shaban Rawlings, Nicole Waithera, Kamundia Muriithi, Ben Oroko, Andre Elijah, Odhiambo Odhiambo, Duncan Mboyah, Robert Nyagah and Catherine Muringi

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