By Martha Sunda | Child Helpline Coordinator
Two Brothers Rescued From the Abusive Hands of their Father
The case of twelve year old Kevin* and his six year old brother was reported to the Children Helpline by a journalist working with a community radio station Nairobi. She had received a call on her radio show from a Community Social Worker who presented the case of the two children who were being physically abused by their father and step-mother. The children were also not going to school. Kevin* had been badly beaten and his private parts were swollen making it difficult for him to walk and was therefore bedridden. The neighbors had tried to intervene to have Kevin* taken to hospital but his parents were very hostile.
When this case was received, the Helpline’s Children Officers planned a rescue operation involving Government Children Officers nearest to the child, The Police, and an ambulance service. With the support of the community members, the children were rescued. Kevin* was taken to the Hospital while his brother was placed at a safe shelter.
Meanwhile the Area Chief and the Children Officers mobilized the community members to locate parents who had since gone missing, arrested them and they could be charged with assault of their children. The case is still in Court and it is our hope that the case will be decided in the best interest of the children and serve as warning to other parents who are assaulting their children.
All these would not have been possible without the collaboration between the child protection actors at different levels and the community. The media’s role in blowing the whistle ensured that the children got assistance before it was too late.
Kevin* is healing well, at least physically but the Helpline counselors will have to take both him and his brother through debriefing and long-term counseling sessions. Once their cases are resolved, they will either be reintegrated back home to live with relatives or moved to a more permanent shelter.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the people involved*
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