Why children’s homes are mines for the lost

By Michael Oriedo

Innocent eyes and tenderly smiles welcome one into a room packed with children at Nairobi Children’s Home (NCH) in Kabete.

The children jump, push and pull as they struggle to catch the attention of every visitor. As one endeavours to respond to dozens of greetings all uttered without harmony, one gets a feeling of a big happy family.

However, the children are diverse. Aged between a day and six years, they are among a growing number of children in the country whose families consider them lost without a trace while some are abandoned by their parents.

Muthoki who was picked by police at Kamukunji {PHOTO/ MICHAEL ORIEDO/STANDARD}

Monitoring children

Njoki recalls a case where a caregiver at the home overhead a woman who had turned up at an identification parade telling another of how she had seen that her son was very healthy.

During the months of January, June and December during the festive season the cases of lost or abandoned children increase.

"The numbers rise depending on seasons. Many children are deserted over the December holiday and at the beginning of the year," Njoki says. She attributes this to some parents’ wish to spend the holiday without their children burdening them.

Before a child is accepted at NCH, they must have passed through the children’s court for it to ascertain that they are in need of care and protection.

"This is to ensure that the children’s home receives only children who are genuinely lost or abandoned," says Rebecca Kariuki, an officer at Nairobi Province Children’s Department.

Once the organisation receives them, it gets their details from those who can talk and tries to trace their parents.

"We have managed to unite some lost children with their parents but we are stuck with a majority," says Rebecca.

Njoki says the law allows them to stay with the children for a maximum of six months as they search for their parents but this has not been possible.

"Most of them live here for several years. We later transfer them to other homes where they can stay until they turn 18," she says.

Police Spokesperson Eric Kiraithe says abdication of parental duty is not an ordinary criminal action.

"We do not treat such a crime as any other normal crime. This is because such a parent and the child both need psychological and emotional support," he says.

Kiraithe says when the police come across such a parent, they hand them over to the children’s department who will then take them to court.

However, he says child abandonment is a complicated issue that the society needs to look at in a holistic approach.