An Overview of Our Four Site Visits in Kenya
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty, which outlines the civil, political, social, medical, and cultural rights of each child around the world. The treaty focuses on what is best for children. Children have the right to survival; to be protected from abuse or exploitation. Children have the right to a quality education; encouraged to go to school to the highest level possible. Children have the right to food, clothing, a safe place to live; to have one's basic needs met. No matter the distinct identity of each of the four sites that Necessary Arts had the opportunity to visit during this trip, each one does their best to meet the Rights of the Child.
The children of Pipeline are either "orphans" in the truest sense of the word or "economic orphans"; those whose parents cannot afford to take care of them, so the church community stepped in. The girls of Kajiado are "rescued orphans" from the Masai tribes to prevent female genital mutilation (FGM) and early childhood marriage. The children of Waithaka are "daytime orphans" who need a safe place to grow and learn, though returning to either the street or home each night, depending upon their stage of development. The girls of Lamu are enrolled in a traditional Kenyan educational program where they board at the school, but have families to return to during the holidays.
All four sites have reached unique populations of children who might seem by some to be the unreachable. Rather than focusing on any negative plights that have brought the children to this point in their lives, it is important to focus on how to move forward, to empower, to educate. Our social behaviors enable us to embrace the differences of the world, which thereby promotes peace, freedom, and justice for all mankind. Necessary Arts is honored to be a part of this process of developing global citizens.
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