Nairobi, Kenya: Center for Missing Children Kenya has launched a campaign and will host a public solidarity event on missing children on 21st November 2014 at the Supreme Court grounds from 2.00pm.
Ms. Mureithi a 25 year old vegetable vendor in Nanyuki who was a single mum until a cruel criminal hand tore her 6 year old son away from her just 2 months ago. Playing meters away from her stall, he was suspected to have been lured off and abducted. His little mutilated body was recovered in a river bank by the police after three days. The agony caused to Ms Mureithi cannot be described.
Little Mureithi represents many other missing children whose whereabouts are not known.
A toddler strays from his parent in the streets, a teenager runs-away from home, a mentally challenged child wanders off, a child is abducted for ransom, another one is stolen or traded off by a guardian and trafficked off to urban slavery. These are typical stories making our news in the last few years.
Hundreds of families in Kenya are in agony searching for their missing children. Not less than 35 cases are reported to police stations across Nairobi every month – that is a child a day in Nairobi alone! Hundreds more cases go unreported or properly recorded. Usually the police reports are made when it is too late.
According to a 2007 UNICEF study an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 children live or work in the streets and over 200,000 are housed in registered children’s homes across the country. Some of these are missing children being sought by their families. Yet, without a database to help share and capture comprehensive information about missing and lost children, tracing becomes nearly impossible.
A group of child rights defenders is calling for a national survey and database on missing children. The Center for Missing Children Kenya is standing with families and missing children to hold on to hope for re-unification. On 21st November 2014 stakeholders including government agencies, families of missing children and well-wishers gather at the Supreme Court grounds from 2.00pm for a public solidarity event.
Hosted by the newly founded agency, the solidarity event marks the 3rd anniversary of the disappearance of a 5 year old child abducted in Nairobi in 2011. The event also aims to create awareness about child security and to celebrate individuals and agencies that have been lending a helping hand to shelter, trace and re-unite missing children.
Today, 20,000 children will go missing around the world. With the pandemic numbers of defilement cases, child labour, and trafficking, the vulnerability of a child who is involuntarily separated from his/her family increases exponentially. The first few hours are critical to finding a child safe.
Teach your child a few basic security tips. This could determine if you will ever see your child again if they go missing. Teach them the family name, name of school or home place, an emergency number such as the toll free child help line 116 and the parent’s number.
Children should also know how to shout for help if they suspect they are about to be harmed or kidnapped.
Join the solidarity event on Friday 21st November to learn and share more on missing children.
#forgetmenot #missingchildren Twitter @MissingKidsKE Facebook Center for Missing Children Kenya.
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