There are growing concerns in the rising number of institutions being built in answer to the crisis caused by the high population of HIV and AIDS orphans. At a recent conference in Nairobi of over 400 delegates, many delegates warned that a further surge in the number of children being placed in institutions is likely unless action is taken to support family-based alternatives to children’s homes. These reports are a warning that failure to keep children in families, out of residential institutions and off the streets, will be another barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

We have also noted that prolonged stay in institutions perpetuates dependency and denies children of the warmth and personal bonding that only a family can provide. Institutionalization is also not a sustainable way of supporting vulnerable children.

We therefore support the Kenya Government’s efforts to strengthen the capacity of families to protect and care for orphaned and vulnerable children, by ensuring that orphans stay within their communities and are cared for effectively.

We do consider basic care services (including education, health, protection and shelter and psycho social support), as vital to children’s development. Our Child Protection program therefore aims to deliver these services by working more closely with caregivers at household level.

We shall provide skills to caregivers in towns and slum communities to enable them address their problems and to protect their children from all forms of abuse. We shall also seek more opportunities for child adoption, foster care and family re-integration.