On 22nd March – 8th April 2021, GNRC member in Kenya the Cry Of A Young One organized a three-week campaign for children and the community of Mathare, Nairobi to sensitize them on the rights of children as ascribed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The campaign also aimed at sensitizing the public on COVID-19 and Arigatou International’s response to the pandemic. The campaign similarly distributed food items to the community who have faced economic challenges.
Through the sensitization program, the Cry Of A Young One conducted community schooling for children between 3-18 years who were on holiday after school closure. Children were taken through their schoolwork revisions, peace activities and life skills among other activities. The Cry Of A Young One utilized sports to promote peace for children through games such as football and athletics. The sports training targeted children between 10–15 years.
Caregivers and parents were similarly involved in the sensitization process. Specific attention was given to adolescent mothers, widows and single ladies who went through a month-long training on business-skills and business ideas, strengthening family values, peace facilitation and sensitization on HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.
With the world witnessing great economic and social disruptions worsened by the COVID-19, poverty reduction efforts in Kenya have also been dealt a blow, more so in informal settlements like Mathare in Nairobi, with a population of approximately 500,000 people, most of whom have lost their jobs. This has prompted the Cry Of A Young One to educate the community on how to stay safe in the slums amid the pandemic. The GNRC member similarly received support from the GNRC Secretariat, Kenafric Industries, Nehemiah Christian Church and other well wishers to distribute food stuffs and sanitation equipment to the vulnerable households.
The Cry Of A Young One aims to continue sensitizing the Mathare population towards a better world for children – a place where every child can enjoy not only the right to survive, but also to thrive, making positive contributions to a world filled with peace and dignity for all.
