Factors that Affect Strengthening of Family Units Unearthed
Several factors have affected the family institution leading to calls for change to strengthen the family units.
According to the speech Florence Bore, Cabinet Secretary for Labor and Social Protection read by Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Dr. Eddyson Nyale said the factors include religious extremism, Sexual and gender-based violence, and drugs among other factors.
They spoke during the World International Day of the Families meant to celebrate and create awareness of various issues and factors affecting this critical unit of society.
“Religious extremism has added to the long list of issues affecting families which encompass gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, violence against children, elderly abuse, homicides, drug abuse, challenges associated with raising children in the digital age among other contemporary concerns in families,” said Nyale.
He noted that the family structure in Kenya has undergone several changes, the drivers contributing to these include; socio-economic, socio-cultural, and health-related factors among others.
“ Family interventions are remarkably required from all of us to ensure that they remain cohesive,” he added.
The COVID-19 pandemic period worsened issues in families such as gender-based violence, and mental health concerns, and increased the number of teenage pregnancies which caused a re-thinking in the parenting approach in this country.
“Some of the efforts put in place by the Government through my Ministry include the development of the National Policy on Family Promotion and Protection whose goal is to provide an environment that recognizes and facilitates family well-being, and social order and empowers families to participate in the socio-economic development of the country. The Policy has since been re-submitted to the National Treasury for concurrence and I wish to commit to follow through the remaining processes to ensure that it is enacted soon.” Nyale noted.
Uasin Gishu County Commissioner called upon families to embrace procreation highlighting urban areas families who have switched to family planning methods among other birth control mechanisms, unlike the rural areas. This he says is against the religious teachings that call for multiplication with kids being a form of blessing from God.
“We all believe in God and his message is Go ye and multiply and fill the earth. There are a lot of issues affecting our families and children, our children have too much confidence in us and therefore we should empower them to become better individuals aside from the alcohol and substance abuse including the triple threat of HIV/AIDS, early pregnancies, and sexual and gender-based violence,” noted Edison Nyale, Uasin Gishu County Commissioner.
With family structures undergoing so many changes and challenges, the directorate through the social department of social development used the day to launch a national parenting manual that will be used to train and support parents positively in taking care of families.
“The directorate, through the social department of social development, in the Ministry of Labor and social protection has launched a parenting manual, it is a national positive parenting manual to train and support our parents in taking care of our families because of the challenges that we have,” added Judith Barasa, Deputy County Coordinator, Directorate of Social Development, Uasin Gishu County.
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