Why State funding for Child Welfare Society is critical

In the recent Cabinet approval to merge and dissolve some State corporations, it was also ordered that professional bodies categorised as state corporations be declassified and denied budgets.

Among the batch of organisations to be defunded was the Child Welfare Society of Kenya (CWSK), although its charter does not define it as a professional body.

CWSK advocates for the rights of children and young people, especially those in dire and disadvantaged situations. It is not a professional body but a state agency in existence since 1955, helping children with food, shelter, education, medication, family-tracing and psycho-social support among other dire needs.

In fulfilling its responsibility to protect and promote the rights and welfare of vulnerable Kenyan children, the government has, for 70 years, funded various programmes through CWSK, which devotedly reaches thousands of children annually.

In the last financial year alone, CWSK reached 937,144 children across the country. Key interventions included, responding to emergencies affecting children, rapid response and rescue of children in distress, family-strengthening, family-tracing and re-integration, alternative family care, education and skills development, combating child labour, capacity building, supporting child participation, counselling, mentorship and other welfare interventions.

The Society targets the hard-to-reach children and vulnerable young persons, giving priority to food and shelter to promote school retention and attendance hence affirming the right to education for every child.

In the last annual period, the organisation undertook a pilot school feeding programme to support day secondary schools in six constituencies in six counties, namely Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nyandarua, Kiambu, Murang'a and Nyeri and special schools in Tharaka-Nithi. It also supported extremely poor communities in Tana River, Kilifi, Kwale, Isiolo, Mandera, Nairobi and Kiambu counties.

Under the CWSK's Education and Skills Development Programme, the organisation has helped 183,905 children through education support by paying school fees and levies, alongside provision of education materials like uniform, back-to-school shopping items.

The Society also supported over 51 vulnerable young persons to join the National Youth Service (NYS) for skills development. CWSK reached 47,627 children through rescue, family tracing and reunification services and provided alternative family care services in some of the poorest communities.

The decision to classify the agency in the professional bracket and to defund it puts the lives of over 700,000 children under its care at serious disadvantage and has potential to create a full-blown crisis in communities where CWSK has been providing frontline help.

Since news of the possible closure spread, ground representatives of poor communities that have been relying on CWSK have expressed fears that their education dreams will be shattered. This decision has far-reaching consequences, with the futures of these children hanging in the balance. The Kenya Kwanza government has committed to safeguarding the rights of children. We appeal humbly to President William Ruto to intervene and retain CWSK in the funded brackets of State agencies.

The writer is a Trustee at Child Welfare Society of Kenya