The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
The dark side of the illegal daycare centres in Naivasha came to the fore again after a two-year-old child died in one of them under unclear circumstances.
The body of the girl was found on a bed in Karagita estate, which is home to hundreds of flower farmworkers.
Emotions ran high as the child’s mother, a flower farm worker, came to terms with the death of her only child.
The estate has the highest number of daycare centres that are run by elderly women, majority of whom do not have formal education.
Jane Wambui, a social worker, said the woman had left the baby in the centre at around 6 am. The woman responsible for the centre allegedly fed the minor before placing her on the bed.
“She says the baby was not sick. Only a post-mortem will determine the cause of death,” she said.
Wambui decried the high number of daycare centres in the estate, saying nearly all of them were illegal and the environment is unhygienic.
“In some, one woman takes care of 20 children. Authorities must act fast,” she said.
Early in the year, authorities termed illegal daycare centres as a source of diseases for children.
