26/7/2011: We had the first child abuse awareness campaign in Lower Kabete Primary School.
The aim of these outreach campaigns was to learn from the children themselves, the various types of child abuse that they might be facing or know of, to help the children identify other forms of child abuse they might not be aware of, to educate them on where they can find help if they are or ever face child abuse, to promote child participation in decision making in areas affecting them.
To identify the common types of child abuse/ see how aware the children are about child abuse, we engaged the class 8 students in a timed (40 minutes) essay writing competition. The title of the essay was child abuse. 72 essays were submitted.
Class eight students at Arap Moi writing the essay
To promote child participation in decision making, we soon after collecting the essays, asked the class 8 students to choose 18 class 7 students to mark their essays.
John Chege of GVRC jotting down the names of the class seven students selected for the marking
Ken Otieno of GVRC going through the marking scheme
We released the class 8 students and gathered the class seven students. Together, we made a marking scheme. (In each of the essays they would be looking for a definition of child abuse, various forms of child abuse, current intervention measures and possible prevention measures). We all agreed that we would not be marking the grammar but the content. Each of the 18 students was then given 4 essays to mark and identify the top. The students were then grouped into six groups of 3 and given 3 of the 18 essays from the previous round to come up with the top essay. They were then grouped into 3 groups of 6 students with 2 essays. The 3 top essays identified from this round were read out to the whole group and the winner, 1st runner up and 2nd runner up chosen.
Some of the class seven students marking the essays
The class seven students also decided who among them would present the awards to the winners.
The 2nd runner up received a bag, a T shirt and a certificate. The 1st runner up got a bag, a T shirt, a certificate, a geometrical set and writing materials. The winner received a trophy, a bag, a T shirt and a certificate.
Right: Second runner up Dennis Njuguna
Left: 1st runner up Purity Nabwire
Left: Winner Grace Karanja
Ken Otieno of GVRC then had an interactive session with the students on child abuse. Students were either rewarded with T shirts or other goodies for correct answers to questions he asked. This session emphasized to the students that ANYONE was at risk of being abused, ANYONE could be an abuser, that any abused person must seek medical help within 72 hours of being sexually abused and the reasons why, the places one can find help, (Nairobi women’s hospital, calling childline Kenya free on 116) and the correct procedures that must be followed after abuse in order to preserve evidence etc.
After this session, all the students were given snacks before being released for home.
The sensitization session was attended by 47 girls and 46 boys
More pictures under the page child abuse awareness campaigns (photos).