Day of African Child: AU should wipe out NGOs who use orphans as Bridges

As Africa marks the Day of the African child today the 16^th June the main challenge that has continued to pressure the African leadership is the unchartered for orphans who have been used as a bait by NGO’s. Many orphans have been registered by the so-called NGO’s with the aim of purportedly assistance for them to access basic needs like any other child in the continent.

Just the other day, I was having a conversation with my grandmother who is 83. She is the one who brought me up since I was 2yrs old and took charge of me when I lost my mother in 2000. I was 10 then and she had a huge role of ensuring that I had education and later get my dream career.

She asked me, “Do you think this people who enroll our children to their organizations with the aim of helping them do so?” I understood what she meant and it was rather tricky to answer. But on a journalistic point of view I gave her my opinion. It is the same opinion I wish to share with you.

My cousin was registered in the NGO which is funded by the famous Compassion International in 2001. At that time he was in class two. The boy who is currently 22yrs says he has never spoken with the so called sponsor and therefore is left wondering was it necessary. Grandma on her part once told me that the organization has reduced the suffering children to be bridges for their personal gains rather than helping them to be better educated Kenyans.

Africa has 39million orphans and some cartels have invested in the huge number of orphans in Africa to enrich themselves at the expense of the young people who do not even access to university education leave alone the basic the primary and secondary education. On this paradigm, I wish to underline that if it were not for the good contacts in had, I wouldn’t be the blogger you see today. You wouldn’t be hearing of a name Felix Kilonzo anywhere on the internet.

I wish to appeal to Compassion international to live up on transparency and cease to use children as bridges to exploit them and fail to support them to access post secondary education which would make them better citizens in the respective goals in life.

Currently, my grandma is left to think on ways of taking my cousin to college despite the boy is listed as a sponsored child by compassion international. I wish to report that I realized the organization despite the purported sponsorship the sponsor-child direct link is limited to only letter writing a move that kills the will for the sponsor to help and the sponsored the right to enjoy the profound privilege.

As we mark today’s Day of African child, I comment on the Kenyan government by ensuring that every child has access to basic education and also giving education loans to students in Universities. I urge the African Union to step in and wipe such NGOs who are here on the continent to use our orphaned children as bridges to their richness.