Pastor Dorcas Rigathi on Tuesday made a passionate appeal to the men of Kakamega County for the girl child.
Speaking during the Kakamega Medical Camp at the Approved Ground in Kakamega, Pastor Dorcas expressed concern over the high rate of teenage pregnancies in Kakamega following the brief she received from local and county leaders.
“I have been told teenage pregnancies are in their thousands. This is shameful. Even if I am advocating for the boy child, my boys, do not destroy the children. These are your children.”
“If you were father, would you want your children to be raped at nine or ten years? If you would not want that done to your child, do not do it to another,” she said.
Pastor Dorcas said she was looking forward to the day she would visit the county and Western region, and there would no cases of teenage pregnancy, and the boys and men would be free of addictions, busy working and building the nation.
She advocates for the raising of male champions against gender based violence, and female genital mutilation as they would educate their men and the community against the vices.
She also attributed most of the rape and defilement cases to intoxication, and urged women to stop the brewing of illicit brews for their children.
“This alcohol is not good. It has killed so many. My boy children, you are supposed to protect your families, will you do so in the graves and in prison? And women, stop brewing illicit brew for the boy child. A mother is supposed to protect the child, not brew alcohol,” she said.
Pastor Dorcas affirmed that she would not give up in the fight for the boy child.
Kakamega First Lady Prof. Janet Barasa decried the high rate of the consumption of alcohol and drugs in the county.
“Many people are affected by alcohol and drugs here in Kakamega County, and the numbers here are higher than the national statistics. The youth, and the middle aged are the most affected, and when those ones are affected, the whole community is affected,” said First Lady Prof. Barasa.
She added that Kakamega had a problem of drug addiction, alcoholism, SGBV, HIV/AIDs, and teenage pregnancies, and all these were interconnected. “When someone is an addict, we shall have SGBV, rape, defilement and teen pregnancies,” said Prof. Barasa.
The First Lady, who advocates for the girl child, working towards reduction of teenage pregnancies and readmission to schools for the affected girls pledged to work with the office of the spouse of the Deputy President (OSDP) in empowering both the boy and girl.
“We shall work hand-in-hand and our society will be at peace, and prosper. As parents, the society and community, we have made a mistake by not giving the citizenry the right values for life,” said Prof. Barasa.
Lurambi MP, Bishop Titus Khamala urged fathers to take their place in the society and participate in the transformation of the boy child.
“We are the fathers; let us call the boy child, where they are so the boy child can be transformed and the seed carrier preserved,” he said.
CEC Health Kakamega County Dr. Bernard Wesonga said that families would be complete when we take care of both the boy and girl.
Pastor Dorcas launched the two-day medical camp geared towards screening for addictions, and taking the willing for rehabilitation. The camp is also open for the community for different health check-ups.