Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to welcome and thank everyone of you for coming here tonight for the Wema Centre Annual fundraising Dinner. Your support for the activities of Wema Centre will go a long way in ensuring that more children are rescued from the streets and provided with an opportunity to learn and grow into secure, confident and resourceful people.

Allow me to observe, at the very outset, that the need for joint efforts in support of vulnerable children cannot be overemphasized. This is best understood when we note that in Kenya today, we have an estimated 2.4 million orphans. We may further note that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has continued to claim lives leading to an increase in the number of destitute children. Moreover, the post election crisis we witnessed early in the year affected many children some of whom lost their parents.

In the absence of parental care, these destitute children can only survive through the support of every one of us as members of their community. There is, therefore, need for us all to work together and ensure that these children have a fair chance in life rather than perish in the streets.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our Government has unveiled a wide range of measures aimed at catering for vulnerable children. The Government, for example, has committed 579 million Kenya Shillings to the Orphans and Vulnerable Children programme in the current financial year. This program which targets households that provide care and protection to orphans has helped many disadvantaged children who would otherwise have ended up in the streets in search of a livelihood. So far, 30,000 households are receiving a Cash Transfer of 1,500 Kenya Shillings per month towards the upkeep of orphans.

It is important to note, however, that the Government cannot effectively cater for all vulnerable children single-handedly. This underscores the need for communities, civil society and charitable organizations to play an even greater role in providing care to vulnerable children. I commend all those organizations involved in children programs, and challenge them to strive to do much more in order to cater for the increasing number of disadvantaged children.

In particular, I urge the corporate sector in the country to invest in sustainable programmes that will benefit our children as part of their corporate social responsibility. Indeed, we need to move beyond traditional charitable contributions and embrace broader principles of corporate social responsibility that view the welfare of children as part of the corporate agenda.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Beyond the rehabilitation of street children, there is an urgent need to protect our children from sexual violence, which has been on the increase. I am saddened to note that many women and children suffered sexual violence during the post election crisis. I, therefore, wish to register my deep concern over reports that cases that were reported were not appropriately addressed.

I call upon the team that was recently constituted to investigate cases of sexual assault during the post election crisis to move with speed and undertake thorough investigations that will lead to the prosecution and punishment of all those found guilty. I take this opportunity to urge all survivors of rape and sexual assault to report the crimes to the police. I also advise them to seek medical attention and other support services for purposes of ensuring their physical, psychological and emotional health.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
In addition to sexual crimes, we must bear in mind that the incidence of commercial sex tourism among children remains a matter of great concern. Children engage in commercial sex due to many factors including financial difficulties and peer pressure. Research findings also indicate that some children are often forced into prostitution by older people, including parents who are themselves involved in sex work.

I am glad to note that in a bid to address this problem, the International Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism was introduced in 2006. I urge all those in the tourism sector, especially proprietors of hotels, villas and boarding houses to sign up to the code and help save the lives of our children.

I wish to remind Kenyans that we have in place an effective legal framework for eliminating sexual crimes through our Penal Code, the Children's Act and the Sexual Offenses Act. I call upon all Kenyans to report parents and individuals engaging in or exposing children to sexual exploitation. You only need to call 116 which is the 24-hour free helpline the Ministry of Gender and Children Affairs has put in place to facilitate timely reporting of cases of child abuse.

In conclusion, I wish to thank the Wema Center for their continued efforts in rescuing street children and providing them with the necessary support to grow into productive citizens.

Thank You and God bless you all.