Parents Flee Homes, Abandon Children to Cope Alone Amidst High Cost of Living
In Nyamira County, two families have been forced to abandon their homes due to extreme poverty and the soaring cost of living, leaving vulnerable children to fend for themselves.
One of the children, a 14-year-old class 8 pupil, recounted that her mother left one day without any explanation, leaving her and her younger brother behind. Her father had passed away years earlier, leaving them solely in the care of their mother, who eventually disappeared without a trace.
As a result, the Class 8 pupil had to do odd jobs to provide for herself and her brother, who was in Grade 5. She shared that after her father’s death, her mother brought them to their current situation but abandoned them without warning.
The girl’s teacher, Zablon Onyoni, expressed that the school had raised concerns about the matter. Still, they could not offer substantial assistance as there were many similar cases in the area.
The siblings had gone without food for several days and relied on the generosity of well-wishers who occasionally shared food with them. They lacked proper uniforms and had to sleep on the floor in dire living conditions.
The 14-year-old girl appealed to the government for help, expressing their desperate situation. Similarly, in another family in the same area, a 10-year-old girl was left to care for her 7-year-old brother after their father fled following a criminal act.
The young girl recounted that their mother had also disappeared in an attempt to escape poverty and the high cost of living. She pleaded for her parents to return and take care of them.
Their neighbour, Adna Kwamboka, said they would share some of their food with the children but acknowledged that they were suffering. The Children’s Officer for Nyamira County, Billy Adera, explained that parents abandoning their children had become alarmingly common in the area.
He emphasized that such actions were criminal and urged residents to report any such incidents. The heartbreaking stories of these abandoned children highlight the devastating impact of poverty and the high cost of living on vulnerable families in Nyamira County.
The lack of necessities such as food, proper clothing, and shelter has forced these children to fend for themselves with little or no support from the community or the government.
It is a stark reminder of the urgent need for measures to address poverty and support families in distress, as well as the importance of reporting cases of child abandonment to prevent further harm to vulnerable children.
Parents Flee Homes, Abandon Children to Cope Alone Amidst High Cost of Living
