Ace Africa Kenya project officer, Everlyne Yongo, was recently interviewed on Kenya’s KTN prime time news channel about the difficult issues surrounding rape and child rights in rural Bungoma, Kenya. Rape episodes are common in Kenya and have recently been reaching the headlines across rural Bungoma, especially for young children. 38 cases of rape were reported in the county within the month of October alone, the majority against young school girls. The major issues highlighted in the interview were the lack of action taken by the local officers in Bungoma and parents of affected children being unable to effectively pursue court cases. As Ms. Yongo noted, “The families come to court but problems such as high levels of poverty, the cost of taking a child to hospital (to be tested) and other logistics hinder the process.”

Ace Africa’s inclusion in the interview emphasizes the central role that Ace plays in helping communities tackle such challenging issues. Ace Africa responds to the rise of such cases in an effective and sustainable way. Examples include i) educating parents on the importance of protecting their children against sexual violence, ii) educating children on their rights to be free of such harm, iii) creating Child Rights Committees that work to resolve such cases, iv) supporting families with access to services such as hospitals and police and v) engaging both the county government and national government in these issues to ensure action is taken against the culprits.

Please follow this link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL9rVeuFXg8 - to see the full interview in Swahili.