Flower farms identified as child labor hotspots in Nakuru

Informal settlements and estates housing farm workers have been identified as some of the major hotspots for child abuse and neglect in Nakuru County.

According to data from the Nakuru Department of Children Affairs, more than 9,000 cases have been reported across the 11 sub-counties and reports indicate that the trend is increasing.

To meet these standards, K-Note, a non-governmental organization, has partnered with local communities to reduce cases under the EU-sponsored Tetea program.

According to Alice Wanyonyi, the county's children's officer, hundreds of cases, mainly in rural areas and informal settlements, have gone unreported.

She said the ministry was working closely with other stakeholders to raise awareness to reduce cases of abuse which have seen hundreds of children drop out of school.

“Last year we recorded over 9,000 cases of child abuse and neglect and we know the numbers could be higher and it is time to act on them,” she said.

Speaking in Karagita Naivasha during an awareness clinic organized by the K-Note organization, Wanyonyi noted that the county did not have a child protection policy.

“Such a policy would prove helpful in addressing the growing cases of abuse and neglect targeting minors in the county,” she said.

For his part, John Kinuthia of the Naivasha Gender Based Networking Cluster added that cases of desecration were also on the rise, mainly in informal settlements.

He said the cluster was working with other stakeholders to raise awareness in the community, with Karagita, Mai Mahiu, Kihoto and Kabati areas being the most affected.

“We have seen a surge in cases of gender-based violence in several informal settlements in Naivasha which incidentally house farm workers,” he said.

Maureen Nacho of the CISP organization said the Tetea program involved working with the community to identify cases of abuse and how to resolve them.

“Earlier, we conducted a baseline survey in which areas affected by these negative norms were identified before engaging the community on how to identify and resolve them,” she said.

Elizabeth Wanjiu, a community health promoter, identified early marriage, teenage pregnancy and substance abuse among the challenges currently facing the Maella neighborhood.

“We are concerned about school dropouts in the Maella region, where underage girls marry to hide their pregnancies and we hope that the Tetea program will help us,” she said.