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"speaker_name": "Prof. Maathai",
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"legal_name": "Wangari Muta Maathai",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I want to also congratulate and thank Prof. Mango for 3368 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 22, 2007 bringing this very important Motion, which we hope will become law at one time to take care of orphans and vulnerable children. Throughout the world, it is men who are in charge of much of the resources that any country has. Most of the time, children and women depend on the men to make the necessary and right decisions so that women and children can be taken care of. It is often the children who suffer most when the State or those who are in charge do not make the right decisions to take care of the vulnerable members of the society. Therefore, it is right that we should have a law to protect children, especially these vulnerable children. The state of children and women in any country is actually a reflection of the kind of leadership and commitment the menfolk have towards those they hold dear, because most women are either daughters, mothers or wives of some men. Since it is the men who make most of those decisions, it is extremely important that we raise the consciousness of our men to the level that they feel that they are responsible especially for the children. While it is important for parents to be held responsible for raising their children, it is completely unacceptable, in a country like ours, where resources are controlled by men, to allow our children to be sleeping out in the cold and eating in dump-sites as if there are no parents in this country. It is amazing that we can afford to kill those who we think are causing insecurity and yet we are not prepared to hold parents responsible to take care of their children. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is completely unacceptable that children should be raising themselves in the streets. Some of the children, who in the previous years grew up in the streets and dump-sites, are today the Mungiki and the organized youth groups who are causing havoc in this country. We allowed that phenomenon to happen and now with HIV/AIDS pandemic, a new phenomenon is actually developing where thousands of our children are growing up in deplorable situations because they cannot attend school and do not have food and care because their parents died due to HIV/AIDS. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to support this Motion so that we can have a law that ensures that a certain amount of money is set aside to make sure that these children go to school. Many children are left to their grandparents. I support the idea of supporting these children within the households of their relatives. So, many people start children's homes. It is sometimes out of good will and compassion but we also know that there are some people who actually start children's homes and use those children as a conduit to collect money which is not spent on the children. So, I think it is very important that the State sets aside funds so that children can be supported within the households of their loved ones. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we say that blood is thicker than water. Sometimes, relatives are under a lot of pressure, either because of their own children or they cannot support their own children or do not have the energy. Nevertheless, I am sure that the love and compassion that those children get from their relatives is far much greater than what they would get from children's homes. I am not saying that every children's home exploits children, there are some children's homes that are established out of compassion, especially those run by religious organizations. But far too many homes, unfortunately, are set up by greedy people who then exploit children or sometimes even use them, molest them and put them under conditions that are completely unacceptable. As a State, we cannot allow children to live under such situations. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think there should be a mechanism where such children are identified and supported within the home. This would also help to remove one of the greatest handicap that these children will have. That is the stigma of having their parents die of HIV/AIDS scourge. In my own area, I am told sometimes that children do not want to go to school because they are teased by their colleagues that their parents died of HIV/AIDS scourge. Many of them avoid schools. However, when a child is living with relatives, it is possible for them to give such a child moral and psychological support, love and compassion, so that they do not suffer from August 22, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3369 that stigma. The stigma can actually hamper, not only their willingness to go to school and participate in social activities, but also make them never fully exploit themselves. They will never be allowed to grow up with confidence and self-respect like other children. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all know that this country is very rich. However, it is only a small number of people who are extremely rich and the majority are poor. I think the rich have a moral responsibility to pay taxes and support these children through such a fund. I know that it is always very popular to go and give alms or goodies and be photographed with these children in the newspapers. Sometimes it is very discouraging to see that some of these pictures used by aid agencies to seek help contain scenes of emaciated children that look awful. To me, instead of exploiting this situation, let these people pay taxes or even give a certain amount of their money to the state. In fact, I wish our country would start that philanthropic culture where people are encouraged to give their wealth and then they are exempt from paying a certain amount of tax. By so doing, a lot of money would be given to the State to take care of such children. The rich can part with their money in an honourable way, without exploiting the vulnerability of our children through pictures. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is very important to couple this effort with education. We need to educate our young people, especially the vulnerable age group that it is very important to take care of themselves. They should not allow themselves to die early and leave their children in such vulnerable situations. We know that many people accept that they have HIV/AIDS scourge. Recently we saw how the age group of 15 to 30 years or so, is still extremely vulnerable to HIV/AIDS pandemic. Many of them are dying young and leaving very small children. We need to raise the awareness, especially in our high schools, to make our children become really responsible young adults. They should wait until they are ready for marriage, so that they can really raise their children and not leave them in such vulnerable situations. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, I want again to say how important this Motion is and to strongly thank the hon. Member. With those remarks, I support."
}