The Kenyan Government seeks to close all privately owned children’s homes and orphanages according to Florence Bore, the Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary.
Florence was in Isiolo County on Sunday and mentioned that only the government-owned homes would operate. These government-owned homes are registered under the Child Welfare Society of Kenya.
The main reason warranting the closure of private homes is that they have been an avenue for child trafficking, according to Florence. This move would directly reduce the rate of child trafficking as it would be easier to hold the government accountable than it is to individuals.
“We are closing them up because we have been given directions under the Children’s Act that the private homes should be closed. They have also been routes for child trafficking, so the government wants us to retain the institutions under the Child Welfare Society of Kenya,” Bore mentioned.
The Social Protection Cabinet Secretary said that the government will implement the changes within a period of 8 years.
“In the next eight years, those private homes will not exist. We need to prepare in order to absorb those children that will come from private homes,” she said.
Children Homes
According to the Social Protection Department, there are 45,000 -50,000 children living in approximately 855 private charitable children’s homes and others living in government-run institutions as of November 2022.
The main aim of the Children’s Act is to support the rights of children to grow up in families and communities. Consequently, having fewer homes means a better opportunity for children to be adopted and taken in by foster parents. The government is equally working on deinstitutionalising children by creating safe homes for them, according to the CS.
In Isiolo , I met the Staff and Children at the Child Welfare Society of Kenya Temporary Place of Safety. The Government is working on the Deinstitutionalisation of Children.
— Hon. Florence Bore (@WaziriBore) September 30, 2023
Deinstitutionalisation of Children is the process of reforming child care systems and closing down of… pic.twitter.com/3CLNVI1V0Z
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Despite the positive intentions for retaining government-owned homes, these homes are less equipped compared to those privately owned. Furthermore, the number of children would be too many to be hosted in the homes already in lace, creating a possibility of congestion in those homes.
People have responded to this by mentioning that government-owned children’s homes need to improve their facilities and level of care if they go ahead with dismissing private institutions.
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