Garissa children's officer Bishar Abdullahi said the forum will give children a chance directly take part in issues that have an impact on their lives.
He made the statement in Garissa during the election of Garissa County governor, deputy governor and regional speaker at the weekend. Children from Fafi, Ijara and Lagdera attended the election meeting.
He said: "The Kenya Children's Assembly will enhance child participation in matters affecting them and act as a medium to articulate the various issues raised by children, especially in matters concerning education, health, protection from violence, abuse, exploitation and HIV/AIDS."
He gave the example of Northeastern province where FGM is a common practice. Children will now get a chanto the young ones saying that because they had not been given a forum to talk about it, it was becoming difficult to weed it out.
He went on:"It cannot get any better for you than this, for once you have the opportunity to interact with your colleagues from other parts of the country and share with them your experiences, not forgetting that you will have the opportunity to directly interact with your leaders and tell them your problems." He challenged the children to come up with idead that could be implemented to make society a better place for all.
Newly-elected 15-year-old governor Khadija Jibril, a Form Two student in Ummu-Salama Secondary School, said the children's council was long overdue and that it would go along way in empowering children with knowledge and skills on rights and responsibilities.
The concept of children assemblies aims at inculcating in children principles of participation critical in promotion, inclusion, equality and development of democratic values in children. Every county will have its representatives in the national assembly.
Disclaimer: Post taken verbatim from The Nairobi Star. The views expressed here in do not reflect the editorial view of GCB.
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