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{
    "id": 1268919,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1268919/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 246,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Bungoma County, FORD-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Catherine Wambilianga",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you Hon. Temporary Speaker. Introduction of comprehensive health education in the curriculum is long overdue in Kenya. It will have a number of benefits to our children. I deal with a lot of gender-based violence (GBV) cases in Bungoma County as a result of lack of this kind of education for our children. If we have this education, we will prevent a lot of child pregnancies and STIs. It will also help us inculcate our cultural practices in the minds of the young ones. They are in our communities, but nobody talks about them to our children. In line with what the Member suggested, this would start at a level at pre-primary because children grow at different levels. We have the PP1, junior secondary, the high secondary and other levels. Before our children get to junior secondary school, they should be taught accordingly so that they get to know exactly what is expected of them. This will also go a long way in training our teachers on how to teach these children. We have done guiding and counselling in schools, but it does not seem to touch on key issues. Sometimes we brush on matters of sex without necessarily mentioning the organs themselves. I like the Member who spoke about it very candidly. When talking to children about sex, it is important to tell them about the vagina. It is also important to tell them and show them what the penis looks like. Most children do not even know what you may be talking about. They think it is just love they are going to make. For example, in my county, I came across a very serious case last week of a Class Seven child who impregnated a Class Six child. Of course, they go to school a little late. When this child gave birth, she did not know what to do with the baby. She went to the river and just placed the baby at the river bank and someone picked the baby and brought it to our office. Those are some of the predicaments we want to avoid by having this kind of education being taught in our schools. The media, churches, elders and parents will go a long way in assisting. In the present world, we have very young parents, as one Hon. Member said. They do not have time to talk to their children because they come home when the children have already slept and when they wake up, nobody speaks to them. So, introducing this in the curriculum in schools will help children. There are also methods of how children can defend themselves in cases of rape. They should be taught some tactics which will help them prevent such things. As parents, especially women, we have a greater responsibility of talking to our children about this even before they get to school. Because of poverty, some parents encourage their children to go and look for"
}