The government is working on ensuring all women prisons across the country have at least one Child Care Centre.
Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination Winnie Guchu says the centers are meant to ensure children born in prisons, or those accompanying their mothers are brought up in a child-friendly environment.
Speaking during a visit to the Eldoret GK Prisons, Guchu noted that already a number of prisons have set up Child Care Centres.
The CAS further noted that as part of ensuring a good environment for children in prisons, they have been implementing an initiative where all women prisoners sleep in beds.
Eldoret Women’s GK prison has already fully implemented the initiative to have women sleep in beds.
“In some women’s prisons, we have been able to do child care centers. Our first priority was to have all women sleep in beds and in the process remove children from sleeping on the floor. We are now working on having child care centers in all our women prisons,” said Guchu.
“Children born in prisons or accompanying their mothers to prisons have a right to enjoy life as children. We must create an environment with the prison where children feel and behave like children,” she added.
The CAS noted that Eldoret GK prison already has space that will be used to set up the Child Care Centre, and the Ministry is now working to getting resources to facilitate the program.
“We need to look at how to get resources from government or well-wishers so that we can have a child Centre here,” she noted.
There are currently 16 children living with their inmate mothers at the Eldoret GK Prison where Guchu had visited to check on the progress of the mass vaccination campaign in prisons.
