A clarion call for the need to recognise children's rights as enshrined in the Constitution dominated performances at this year's Lake Region Music Festival.
The week-long festival, which is being held in St Kizito Nyansiongo Boys in Nyamira County, started on a high note on Monday with many of the presentations addressing contemporary topics and passing important messages in hearty recitations replete with melodic voices.
The plight of the boy child featured prominently with performers making the case that young boys had been neglected and left to suffer, which was in stark contrast to the unveiling of numerous girls empowerment programmes.
A performance by pupils of Victoria Primary School from Kisumu titled Why Me thrilled the audience as it illustrated how girls were showered with attention at the expense of boys.
In the poem, an unnamed boy is raising his voice to his mother who gives his sister, Aloo, preferential treatment, which leaves him depressed and in solitude.
A piece by Itierio Girls High School titled Nyanchoka Moga Hezron (Nyanchoka, Hezron's wife) depicted the kind of cruelty some children undergo in the hands of harsh guardians.
In the folk song by Daddius Nyokwoyo, the narrator condemns Hezron's wife who is described as a warthog for killing a neighbour's young son.
St Theresa's Rapogi Girls Primary School moved the audience to tears when they staged a choral verse titled Junior about an orphaned boy who is left to suffer in the hands of a cruel aunt.
The boy is subjected to corporal punishment and starvation until his classmates have had enough of his suffering. Junior's fellow pupil finally alert the police who rescue him from the heartless relative.
The pupils of Omoya Primary School from Ndhiwa in Homa Bay County presented a Kiswahili verse that resonated strongly with the audience.
The verse titled Mafarao (the evil ones) depicted how men abuse the rights of girls.
In the poem, an unborn child narrates that she does not want to be born because of early pregnancy and marriage, rape and child labour that children are subjected to by the Mafarao.
A choral verse by Royal Metropolis Academy from Nyamira County titled Our Source of Happiness tickled the audiences as the pupils shared their satisfaction with a decision by the Teachers Service Commission to employ good teachers.
