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Nakuru, March 24, 2007

First Lady Mrs. Lucy Kibaki join children from Little Sisters of St. Teresa of Child Jesus for a dance in Naivasha where she opened a new home for them.

First Lady roots for orphans' welfare

First Lady Lucy Kibaki urged communities, the civil society and the private sector to support the Government in catering for orphans.

The First Lady said while the Government initiated several programmes to help vulnerable children in the country and all stakeholders should support it to adequately address the challenge of orphans.

"Such support can be availed through establishing more children's homes as well as strengthening existing homes," the First Lady said.

She was speaking today when she officially opened the St. Theresa House of Hope Children's Home at Elementaita in Nakuru District and reiterated her call to parents in Kenya to treat every child as their own.

The First Lady called on all Kenyans to show compassion to orphans by treating them like other children, saying it is only in this way that they can demonstrate that Kenya is a caring and humane society.

The First Lady appealed to corporate firms in the country to support orphans by donating food, land and material goods as part of their corporate social responsibility.

She pointed out that among the programmes the Government has put in place is the Cash Transfer programme which transfers money every month to each family fostering orphans, saying that in the last financial year the Government allocated Kshs 48 million to the program while in the current financial year the amount has been increased to Kshs 56 million in aid of poor families in 17 districts in the country.

In addition to these efforts, the First Lady said the Government has opened an urgently needed window of opportunity for millions of orphans and vulnerable children through the free primary education program which has accorded them an opportunity to obtain the knowledge and skills that will secure them a decent future.

She said the Government has also developed child adoption regulations with a view to streamlining the process of adoption and protecting the rights of adopted children, noting that legal guidelines to regulate charitable children institutions have been developed and gazetted.

The First Lady added that the measurers are meant to guide the establishment and the management of charitable institutions that cater for children.

"I take this opportunity to appeal to well-wishers to take advantage of the improved regulatory environment to adopt children and to establish charitable institutions that provide care to orphans," the First Lady said.

Equally important, the First Lady noted that the crisis of orphans particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa has wide implications for human welfare that extends far beyond Africa, affecting governments and people worldwide.

She, therefore, called on the international community to fully embrace the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by playing a more proactive role in providing care and hope to orphans.

In this regard, the First Lady stressed the need for wealthy nations to keep the issue of orphans high on the global agenda and to provide increased resources as well as technical support to poor countries to enable them cope with the increasing number of orphans.

Noting that in African tradition orphans were taken care by members of their extended families, the First Lady regretted that today the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on the adult population has resulted in large numbers of orphans than extended families can handle.

"Indeed, while many orphans are still supported by their relatives and other members of their community, an increasing number of orphans are unable to benefit through this traditional system of social security'. The First Lady said.

She, therefore, called on the society to embrace their moral duty to take appropriate measures to save the lives of orphans amongst them by providing the support they require to lead normal lives and become productive citizens.

The First Lady expressed her gratitude to the Little Sisters of St. Theresa Mission for responding to one of the most pressing challenges in the society, saying through this noble initiative more of girls orphaned by HIV/AIDS will be able to access essential services as well as the spiritual nourishment they need in order to lead normal lives.

On HIV/AIDS, the First Lady said it is estimated that there are 2.4 million orphans in Kenya, 60 per cent of them have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Noting that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS are often stigmatised by society, the First Lady called for a stop the stigmatization of HIV/AIDS orphans.

She noted that the distress and social isolation experienced by these orphans is worsened by the shame, fear and rejection that often surrounds people affected by HIV/AIDS.

"Because of this stigma, children may be discriminated against and denied access to schooling and health care. In other cases, they may also be denied their inheritance and property," she said.

The First Lady took the opportunity to urge women in the country not to allow themselves to be misused by politicians who are out to further their selfish political interests.

She particularly cautioned Kenyans to be wary of some unpatriotic politicians who have resolved to cheap propaganda and lies to discredit their country and the Government.

"Women and Kenyans in general should not fall into the trap of these politicians who prefer telling lies about the Government and their country instead of working towards improving the welfare of the electorate," the First Lady said.

Stressing that President Kibaki has been working hard to improve the lives of Kenyans, the First Lady once again appealed to Kenyans to give the President another term so as to enable him take the country to greater heights in development.

She said Kenyans should only vote for development-conscious leaders come the next general elections, noting that there are some politicians who have done nothing for their constituents despite the Government's efforts to take development to the grassroots level through initiatives such as the Constituency Development Fund.

The function was preceded by a mass which was presided over by Bishop Peter Kairu of the Nakuru Catholic Diocese.

Other speakers included Assistant Minister Jayne Kihara who is also the area member of parliament and the Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner Mr. Hassan Noor Hassan.