KELIN trains Orphaned and Vulnerable Children on lobbying and advocacy strategies on SRHR and utilizing public spaces

“I have never known that as a girl, I can stand up and advocate for my rights. I watched my mother suffer, she was HIV positive, I was 19 years old and pregnant with my first born child and taking care of my bedridden mother. I lost hope when she died, thanks to KELIN for making me feel that it was not my mother’s fault that she died of HIV.”

The above are the sentiments of one of the participants during the training conducted by KELIN on “Enhancing Lobbying and Advocacy Strategies on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Utilizing Public Spaces by OVCs”. KELIN reached 30 orphaned and vulnerable children and young persons (OVCs) in Kisumu County through this training.

The training revealed that OVCs in Kisumu County face numerous challenges in their communities and are marginalized with little space available to them to voice their concerns. These children grow up in some of the poorest communities and are unable to access both services and information and are not cognizant of the power they hold to influence decisions when well organized. A number come from child-headed households, a testament to the devastating effect HIV has had in Kisumu County especially for children left without the support and guidance of their parents.

KELIN committed to create a safe space where issues that face OVCs could be ventilated and possible solutions could be discussed. In particular KELIN used the two-day training in Kisumu to: empower orphans on HIV and sexual and reproductive health rights; discuss avenues orphans can use to lobby for SRHR; and identify the exiting complaint mechanisms and referral channels that can be used by the OVCs to report violations Kenya.

At the end of the training KELIN, with the support of the participants, created outreach groups among the OVCs who will reach out to other OVCs and disseminate the information they have received.  KELIN committed to use its SMS Platform to share opportunities for OVCs to engage in advocacy and influence the decision making process by highlighting issues that affect and holding the County Government accountable for protecting the most marginalized in the community.

To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our social media platforms: Twitter: @KELINkenya using the hashtag: #breakingthebarriers; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya

For more information contact:

Grace Otieno, DREAMS Coordinator

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, KELIN

P.O BOX 7708, Kisumu

Tel: +254-57-2532664/0708342197

Email: gotieno@kelinkenya.org