Stakeholders have vowed to provide a voice for the challenges affecting the residents of Turkana
The stakeholders include Turkana County, the National government, Unicef, civil society organisations, the Centre for Behaviour Change and Communication (CBCC) and others who met during the one-day multi-stakeholder capacity strengthening workshop in Lodwar.
Eunice Majuma, Children protection officer at St. Patrick's Kanamkemer Hospital, said there is a need to get feedback from the community to highlight the challenges they face and how they can be addressed.
“We have so many problems affecting the community in Turkana. There is the issue of Non-governmental Organisations starting to implement projects without even consulting the community what they need or challenges they face first,” she said.
“Children, both boys and girls are also affected. Girls have fallen the victims of early and forced marriages while boys battle with child labour for businessmen,” she said.
She said that by having all stakeholders on board, they will get feedback directly from the community for accountability to address the problems.
Philip Kinyota, Associate Director for Social Behavior Change and Communications at CBCC said they aim to enhance the understanding and implementation of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) standards.
He said the AAP is about putting the needs and interests of the communities the organizations serve at the centre of decision-making.
Kinyota said the AAP will ensure the needs and voices of affected populations are effectively addressed in ongoing and future interventions.
“This initiative is part of a broader effort supported by UNICEF to promote accountability and community engagement in development and humanitarian response,” he said.
“This ensures the most appropriate and relevant outcomes for them while preserving their rights, and dignity and increasing their resilience to face situations of vulnerability and crisis.”
He says, people including children and adolescents have a say in decisions that affect their lives, they need to make informed decisions, have access to safe and responsive mechanisms to provide feedback, and have equitable access to assistance in proportion to their needs, priorities and preferences.
“UNICEF has been actively involved in implementing humanitarian and development interventions, focusing on the needs of vulnerable populations and ensuring AAP has been a critical component of these efforts, aiming to improve transparency, participation, and feedback mechanisms for the communities served,” Kinyota said.
Kinyota said the CBCC Africa has been integrating AAP into its emergency and development programs through the DigiRedio Social and Behaviour Change Platform.
He says it facilitates dialogue between multi-sectoral players and the public to educate, amplify community voices, catalyse action, create social accountability, and enhance participation at all levels for sustainable development primarily through a network of community and regional radios, social groups and online.
He said the DigiRedio creates a platform that ensures inclusivity, and access to information, encourages participation, and empowers communities to state their needs, have their voices heard and take part in decisions that affect them.
Kinyota said through the Support from UNICEF Kenya and working with national, and county governments and various stakeholders, the platform has run the ‘Tuwajibike Tunawiri’ campaign for almost two years.
He said the campaign focuses on eliciting feedback from community members regarding any aid or services they receive or need, as well as setting up functional complaints and feedback mechanisms.
Triza Kachila a manager and presenter at Ejok FM one of the SBC Platforms says they have been incorporating AAP in their programs (Makala ya Tumaini)by inviting different stakeholders to be interviewed in the show and addressing feedback they get from the listeners.
Francis Lopetot, a presenter for the CBCC platform explained that last year, they helped a girl who wanted to commit suicide because her mother could not afford to send her to secondary school, despite her excellent exam performance.
"I was hosting a show featuring the recorded program Makala ya Tumaini. After the show, I opened the lines for calls from the locals," Lopetot said,
"Fortunately, I received a call about a girl who had scored 318 out of 500 marks in her KCPE exams but couldn't join secondary school due to financial constraints, and she was contemplating suicide."
He said through the help of stakeholders, they managed to reach out to the girl, provided counselling, and facilitated her school enrollment with the assistance of a County bursary.
He also mentioned helping a girl who had dropped out of school after becoming pregnant and being forced into marriage.
"We intervened in a case where a student was on the verge of early and forced marriage. She became pregnant, and the man responsible negotiated with her parents, paying the dowry in animals to take her as his wife."
"We were informed in time and, with the help of stakeholders, managed to rescue the girl. She is now continuing her studies with their support," he said.
He further highlighted their efforts to address child labour issues with the support of authorities.
He mentioned that they have received feedback from their audience about business communities in Lodwar employing underage boys and paying them in cash.
Lopetot said that whenever they learn of such cases, they report them to local authorities to ensure action is taken