Family.
This is the most powerful single word in the world.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to pause for a moment and think about your family.
Your father. Your mother. Your children. Your brothers and sisters. Your cousins; uncles and aunts.
Think about your grandparents. Think about the family that you are rooted in.
I know that for many of us, some family members may no longer be there. But they remain in our hearts. Part of our family.
This reminds me of those memorable words of Desmond Tutu that, ‘You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.’ How true.
Ladies and gentlemen, pause again and think about your family members. Even if they are difficult and aloof, they are God’s gift to you as you are to them.
The kinship program that has brought us all here tonight is all about family. In fact, kinship is just another way of saying family.
Indeed, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which came into force almost thirty years ago on 2nd September 1990, recognizes that children have the best chance of developing their full potential in a family environment.
Kinship provides a family environment that is both intimate and permanent. Such is the environment that is fertile ground for a child to grow up into a grounded and productive adult. Such is the environment that cannot be replicated or manufactured in an institution.
Kinship restores a family environment for innocent and vulnerable children.
Kinship opens the door of family for these children and ushers them into the warmth that only a family can provide.
Ladies and gentlemen, family is the most important thing in the world. When Princess Diana said those words, she was merely voicing what the African culture has espoused and practiced for ages.
Through the kinship program, Susan and all the wonderful colleagues at Little Angels Network have for many years held the hands of children and led them to their extended families. In doing so, they reconnect children with their families and reignite a family atmosphere that is priceless for the wellbeing of a child.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me at this juncture to talk to you about Agenda 2040. This is the African Union Agenda for children’s rights. It grew out of the African Children Charter and is thus a continuation of a legislative journey that began more than two decades ago. To the extent that it obligates states to develop annual plans, Agenda 2040 is insistent on the responsibilities of States to nurture children.
Agenda 2040 breaks down the aspirations for an Africa fit for children. The fifth aspiration of this Agenda couldn’t be clearer. It states that by 2020, States should be supporting family and community-based actions that enhance children’s health, nutrition and wellbeing. The same aspiration further adds that we need to reach out to children who are outside the family environment.
Little Angels Network must contribute towards the achievement of this agenda and other pieces of legislation that seek to protect children through family-based care. We will do so by having a much more vibrant Kinship program.
Ladies and gentlemen, Children need to grow up in families, not on the streets and not in institutions.
I will end by telling you about the children you see every day in your neighborhood. Whenever you see them, they are usually riding bikes, laughing together, buying lollipops, kicking balls and playing all manner of games. When the sun sets, they retreat back into their homes; into the warmth that only a family can provide.
Fellow Kenyans and friends from across the world, we called you here today so that together, we can ensure that as many children as possible can grow up in families like yours, cared for by loving parents like you. This is possible through kinship. It is the pathway that can lead vulnerable children into the daily, warm embrace of families.
Your support today, together with your continuing friendship, will help lead more children to this pathway of kinship.
For that, we are eternally grateful.
Thank you very much.
May God bless you and may He keep unifying our efforts so that we can reach out to more children.
