Catholic Diocese of Murang’a runs 5 Charitable Children’s Institutions which include St. Michael Rescue Centre (30 boys), CDM Upendo Home (40 girls), Don Orione Center for Children with Special Needs (26 girls and 19 boys), Orione Community Training Centre (55 children with special needs), and Mother Mozzarella Children Home with 30 children.
In 2018, the Diocese established the Children’s Desk as an integral part of Diocesan ministry to enhance coordination, and timely response to cases affecting children in Murang’a and Kirinyaga counties. Over the last 2 years alone, the Diocesan Children’s Desk has intervened in over 384 cases of children by providing psycho-social support on cases involving child neglect, abandonment, missing children, orphans, children with disabilities, physically and sexually abused children, children at risk of starvation, and those in need of school fees.
The Children Protection Desk has also established Child Care Team structures for child protection through the establishment of Local Church Child Care Teams (LcCCT), Parish Child Care Teams (PCCT), Deanery Child Care Teams (DeCCT), and Diocese Child Care Teams (DiCCT). It has also developed the Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS) to enhance case management processes and data protection.
Through this project, the Diocese seeks to strengthen alternative care approaches within Murang’a County and establish best practices for possible scale-up in the future.
CDM Child protection desk approaches
The children’s protection desk works under three approaches namely;
(1) Curative:
1.1 Identification
Cases are identified by Parents, Children, the Child care Team, and the Community at large and reported to the respective authorities.
1.2 Reporting
Cases that are already identified are reported to the children’s protection desk by themselves or other parties.
1.3 Evaluation
Cases at the Children Protection desk are assessed and responded to including Emergency cases such as child abuse.
(2) Preventive:
This involves mentorship in schools and churches and talking to parents about children’s rights.
(3) Monitoring and Evaluation:
This involves follow-up of cases that have been referred to the children’s protection desk by the children’s care team.
Capacity Building
This program has established a stronger social workforce that is responsive to the concerns of children in need of care and protection. The program provides training for foster parents, CCT, staff from the DCS, CCIs, the Police, and the Local Administration.
Alternative Care Reforms
The program adopts a multi-stakeholder approach to encourage the deinstitutionalization of children in Murang’a County. In this view, the program will support a system of foster parenting, kinship, adoption, and CBR&C as alternative approaches to caring for children guided by the National Care Reform Strategy. It shall further provide minimal support for Care Leavers to transition into independent living.
Networking and Collaboration
In partnership with the DCS, the program strengthens and leverages existing partnerships at various levels within the county. This includes establishing close working relationships with the community, other implementing partners, CCIs, religious institutions, local administration, the police, and County and National Government ministries and departments, among others. The program also promotes stakeholder engagement through training, review and planning meetings, and case conferencing, among others.
Disability Inclusion
The program integrates the CBR&C as an approach to reach out to marginalized CWD. This will also include adaptive approaches for Household Economic Strengthening (HES)for uplifting the economic status and social well-being of CWD and their households.
Lobbying, Advocacy, and Communication
Care reforms being a relatively new approach in Kenya, having only been piloted in Murang’a, Kilifi, and Nyamira, there is a greater need to bring all actors involved in child protection and care to embrace its implementation. The program supports efforts to create an enabling environment for care reforms and capacity strengthening of DCS. This includes support for legislative and policy frameworks for better prevention and responsive care of vulnerable children. In particular, the program also supports efforts to sensitize, disseminate, lobby, and advocate for the full implementation of the National Guidelines on Care Reforms (NGCR), and the National Guidelines on Parenting and Parenting Manual (NGPPM).