Ministry of Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary (CS) Florence Bore has launched the National Positive Parenting Programme (NPPP) guideline and manual which is aimed at enhancing parents’ and caregivers’ schemes, religious, beliefs, practices, and attitudes on parenting to strengthen the capacities of families and promote healthy child development.
The CS said that the program will be delivered through existing structures under National, County governments to the Sub County and constituency through the services of well-trained social development officers, counselor volunteers, and child protection volunteers to leverage existing support system services provided by the community for families.
She highlighted the problems affecting families as being drugs and substance abuse, digital online technology is ubiquitous in today’s contemporary world under no parental guidance and care.
The CS revealed that she is collaborating with stakeholders to begin developing a national positive parenting program.
“The stakeholders began the journey of developing NPPP in 2020 which is spearheaded by a 25-member multisectoral technical working group drawn from relevant government agencies, academia, religious organizations, development partners, and organizations implementing NPPP,” She Said.
She also insisted that the problems affecting families need a multisectoral approach since it is emergency dimensional.
While speaking on Monday at an event to celebrate international days of Families at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in Nairobi, the CS urged leaders and stakeholders to implement the program in depth.
“Before we release this program we have said today, we want what we have discussed implemented, otherwise it is meaningless to sit here in the boardroom, draw allowances while the program stays unimplemented,” Bore appealed.
State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) Joseph Motari observed that the Kenyan society of today has over-borrowed westernized cultural practices.
National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) Director General Dr Mohamed Abdikadir Sheikh revealed that the majority of families in Kwale and Murang’a have 35% and 55% respectively combined income of less than Sh.5,000 according to the research carried out in the two counties.
Adikadir further revealed that according to a study NCPD conducted, 63% and 56%of families in Kwale and Murang’a respectively have no kind of savings at all.