Today (24th May 2024), The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Directorate of Children’s Services, in conjunction with Koinonia Community, other like-minded organizations and schools, joined hands to commemorate the International Day of Missing Children 2024 at Shalom House, Nairobi. This year’s theme, “Empowering Communities to Safeguard Children from going Missing” resonated deeply with the urgent need to empower communities to protect children from going missing.
According to statistics from the Child Protection Information System and the Directorate of Children Services, over 7,058 cases of missing children have been recorded from the start of this financial year (June 2023) to date. Of these, only 1,383 children have been found and reunited with their families, leaving a significant number still missing.
In a speech from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection’s Cabinet Secretary, Madam Florence Bore, delivered in her absence by the Secretary Admin to the State Department of Social Protection, Mr. Benson Mugo, the Ministry highlighted several measures that it has put in place to protect children from going missing. These include Online Child Protection, the Child Help number 116, provision of cash transfers to meet the basic needs of families – lack of which may be a push factor for children to leave their homes and the prevention of violence against children through the Stop it Stop it Campaign.
To strengthen the response and management of missing children, the Ministry, in collaboration with its partners, has developed the “Guidelines for Management of Missing and Found Children in Kenya” which was officially launched during today’s event. These guidelines emphasize safety measures, case management and data protection for missing and found children. Everyone can obtain a copy and familiarize with the guidelines with the help of the Directorate of Children Services.
It was also acknowledged that this whole endeavor to prevent children from going missing cannot be achieved by the Ministry alone. The department relies largely on the support of all its partners and the community at large, in accordance with the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”