Introduction

On this page you’ll find audio outputs from 3 sets of community conversations relating to early marriage and child labour. Facilitated by the community participants of the research team, each community conversations took place with different community participants: 1) was facilitated as part of the Chief’s Barazza at Omware Secondary School, with the local Elders; 2) took place at the Chief’s offices in Cham gi wadu where Community Health Workers shared their experiences of modern slavery; and 3) again in the Chief’s offices, was conducted with survivors of early marriage.

These last set of conversations were much more difficult to facilitate and required a great deal of patience and empathy for the vulnerability of each participant. We discuss our findings from these discussions elsewhere on the blog and will return to this issue there.

The purpose of this page is simply to archive the materials and provide an accessible platform for disemination. In these programmes, modern slavery – especially, early marriage and child labour are discussed in the local DhoLuo language, although the occassional English phrase can be heard also. Before we present the programmes, we list 6 jingles which were made for promotional purposes. Both Jingles and radio programme were produced for broadcast on local radio in the South Kanyajuok sub-location.

Jingles

It should be noted here, that the jingles are solely promotional and, whilst containing content from the programmes, there is no numerical connection between them, e.g., jingle #1 does not relate directly to programme #1 and so on.

The story behind Jingle #1

The girl used to sleep in the kitchen while the other family members sleep in the main house. During football season the husband would come home late after watching games on TVs at the centre and force himself on this 12-year-old girl in the kitchen where she was sleeping. When the matter was reported, we wanted to arrest the man. So, I helped in filing the case with the necessary authorities and it took off, I had to travelled to Uganda when I came back to follow up on the progress of the case. I found that the father to the victim was given 2 cows by the perpetrator and that case was dissolved. This child’s life was destroyed like that. She dropped out of school and she was infected by HIV/AIDS.

The story behind Jingle #2

One of my relatives took her niece to live with her. So, the girl used to sleep in the kitchen while the other family members slept in the main house. During football season the husband would come home late after watching games on TVs at the centre and force himself on this 12 year old girl in the kitchen where she was sleeping. When the matter was reported,we wanted to arrest the man. So I helped in filing the case with the necessary authorities and it took off. I had to travel to Uganda when I came back to follow up on the progress of the case. I found that the father of the victim was given 2 cows by the perpetrator and that case was dissolved. This child’s life was destroyed like that. She dropped out of school and she was infected by HIV/AIDS. This was some years back now and recently he repeated the same incident on his own daughter. Again he was arrested but later on he walked free, now the daughter is pregnant and the case has disappeared. Some cases are helped, some victims are just silent because there is no hope. so sometimes the admin works for us and sometimes against us.

The story behind Jingle #3

That woman lady did not have a husband, she preyed on young boys, I saw her getting close to this boy , they would go everywhere together and they started living together. She provided everything for this boy. The boy forgot home. This is something I witnessed seeing a young boy like me getting into a relationship with an elderly woman.

The story behind Jingle #4

Poverty drives child labour, to make it worse. After these boys are paid, the young boys don’t do anything constructive with the payment, these older women are the ones who take this money by enticing them. Their mothers back home will not even see the son buying a kilo of Sugar for the family to use. It’s sad that this money does not help them. It’s used on other people wives. It’s a big problem in the community that can be addressed to help us. To save the future of the children, women and men.

The story behind Jingle #5

Not all the administration officers are good people. Some of them pretend that they are taking the legal action against the perpetrators of early marriage and sex defilement cases only for them to benefit. They will lie to you that he has been arrested and taken to some police station. At the police station they tell the perpetrator that if the case goes forward you will be jailed for life so let’s help you sort this thing at this level before it goes any further. He’s told to go and buy two cows to appease the victim’s family.

The story behind Jingle #6

Radio Programmes

The narrative for the jingles above, provides indicative samples of the dialogue contained in the programmes presented below. Each programme has been produced to raise awareness of issues relating to modern slavery within the local community. They were recorded and edited with the purpose of being broadcasted on local radio. For this reason, the community conversations about modern slavery were conducted and recorded in the local Dholuo language. Summaries of each programme accompany the video podcasts below. Special thanks go to former CM4K student from Rongo University, Kore Abong’ Flora, who translated and summarised the community conversations in each programme.

Radio Programme #1

Drawing on their experiences and knowledge of working with and representing the interests of their community, the local Elders start by discussing how children’s rights are violated through being forced labour into child labour. They discuss the ages of the children that undergo these practices and also identify forms of child labour before considering how they can rehabilitate the children and put a stop to the practices.

It is suggested that some forms of child labour are caused by parental or guardian neglect of the children. An example is given where a lady abandoned her children and ran away after her husband’s death because the responsibilities, she faced were overwhelming. The children did not know where to turn to, so the eldest took to fending for the siblings. He dropped out of school and did casual labour for survival. The death of parents that leaves children orphaned, especially when HIV/AIDS was prevalent, is something that was also looked into. The Elders agree that poverty is the chief cause of child labour that leads to slavery.

The Elders also discuss early marriage in the community – what causes it and how it might be eradicated. Inability of parents to communicate effectively with their teenage children was found to be a problem that drives children away from home. Most parents are strict and don’t take time to learn the needs and challenges of their children. Underperformance in school was found to drive children into early marriage and an instance was given where a student who failed his exams on a number of occasions resorted to dropping out of school and doing casual work instead. Mistreatment at home and lack of basic needs like sanitary towels or proper food and clothing, are also cited as factors that drive children away from school. A case was presented where young girls get married to men who lure them with things like sanitary towels and basic consumables like soap. Pressure from within peer groups was considered as another factor leading to early marriage. A young girl sees her friends all married or pregnant with kids and the appearance of comfortable lives feel left out, and without proper guidance can easily fall prey to men at a young age.

The problematic nature of the rehabilitation process is discussed, as some children are stubborn and keep running away. It was suggested by a community member that during counselling it is important to explain the benefits of education and staying in school to the children. As is the need to listen to the problems they may be having that discourages them from staying in school. It was also suggested that children who run away from child labour to get married eventually end up back in child labour in order to support themselves and their families since they live in very harsh conditions – linking child labour to early marriages.The importance of government involvement in ending early marriage is discussed. It is suggested that the emphasis on protecting the girl child, whilst important is often at the expense of the boy child who is also often forced into child labour and/or forms of sexual exploitation and abuse but doesn’t receive the same level of publicity or acknowledgement.

The need for more government teachers in schools is examined as a means of discouraging children from dropping out and doing casual work in order to afford school fees. Whist education in Kenya is theoretically free, the number of teachers supplied and funded by the government falls well short of local needs with leads to Boards of Governor’s (BOG) appointees to make up for the shortfall, but this has financial implications on Schools, communities, and families. Schools impose fees on parents to pay for BOG appointed teachers. Children from families living in poverty often can’t afford these fees and often skip lessons and engage in casual labour in order to pay. This means that they fall behind in the curriculum as a consequence or drop out of school all together. Whether it is to put food on the table, or to pay school fees, the reality is that the government’s education policies are contributing to the continuance of child labour and early marriage.

Corrupt government officials who do not take proper legal action and accept bribes when presented with cases of exploitation, as highlighted above, were said to be thwarting the efforts by the community to eradicate such social pathologies, making it hard to protect the children and keep the community safe.

Radio programme #2

The next 3 programmes were recorded at a community conversation in Cham gi wadu with Community Health Workers (CHWs). The previous day’s community conversation about child labour and early marriage, with the Elders, is summarised by the conversation.

The participating CHWs identify themselves and explain how they got training and some of their responsibilities in the community. They act as a link between the community and hospital by acting as quick response during emergencies and writing referrals. They explain their roles in their fight against early marriages and child labour. They try to seek solutions by educating the community, listening to them, and also engaging the local authorities in rescue operations.

Relatives who take HIV/AIDS orphans (parents who died from HIV/AIDS) in promising to take care of them but turn them into workers were blamed for violating children’s rights. They highlight how conflicts within the family between parent and neglecting their children makes their children seek casual work to support themselves.

Plight of the boy child was explored, and emphasis placed on how widows and/or married men take advantage of them by luring them with food and labour. There are instances where the young boys find it easy engaging in sexual activities with older women saying their female age mates are stubborn and hard to talk to, oblivious of the consequences. Also, the lack of understand of the needs of weaker students, not encouraging or being patient with them leads to them being driven out of school especially if they see their peers fending for themselves as they struggle with education.

Radio programme #3

Community health workers explain observations they have made within the community concerning early marriages and slavery. They highlight how most parents are not good example to their children making it hard to be key disciplinarians. They suggest educating men and women of the community on effective parenting, saying the church is not offering enough information. Before getting into early marriages, men lure young girls and sleep with them in the sugarcane plantations. Boys are not safe either, they are lured for labour and are used. The young boys are even raped by other men like school watchmen.

The workers explain how children are lured into drinking alcohol and are told it will make them courageous. Some of the women who take advantage of them sell illicit brews and give it to the children so as to make it easy to take advantage of them. The administration has been accused of benefiting from these cases by issuing threats and misinformation and eventually not having solved anything. Young men engaging in sexual activities with widows and being made their slaves is against the Luo culture and traditions.

The community health workers have been commended for their good job in rehabilitating the children, calling together the community in a ‘barazza’ (a local gathering that discusses community issues) and ensuring effective communication within the community. They have been termed as problem solvers – friends to the community.

Radio programme #4

The community is trying to expound on how economic poverty is not solely to blame for early childhood marriage. A community health worker explains how there can be mental poverty fuelled by ignorance in a way that assets like land can’t generate income. Boys who are academically weak are fetched for wives by the relatives instead of being encouraged to study. Peer pressure among girls and ignorance causes early pregnancy that leads to marriage and poverty.

Most men after getting their pay from sugarcane harvest, they disappear to squander money on drugs and alcohol leaving their families to suffer and remarry, this might drive their children to run away and get married to strangers who promise to take care of the situation at home. It is resolved that the entire community needs education and awareness. Parents and guardians are encouraged to be good example to their children and know how to instil discipline and take responsibility.

Radio programme #5

A few ladies between ages 15-18 who have survived early marriage introduce themselves and talk about their experience. They take us through how it all begun; from their boyfriends befriending them to them running away. Some say they ran away due to peer pressure where their age mates seemed to be living a more comfortable life living with men.  Most confess it was a bad idea and they feel lucky to be back to school. Some say they needed “freedom” since the guardians at home are always harsh and like quarrelling. They talk of their experiences and how harsh life was forcing some to willingly go back home.

Most of these victims of early marriage lived like captives. They were locked inside by their “husbands’ who do not want them to be seen by anyone. Sometimes they are hardly fed and were given tins to use to relieve themselves. Finding these girls and rescuing them can be very difficult and the Chiefs and village Elders, along with the community police have to plan raids on the homes where the girls are held at around 3am after receiving a tip off.

Whilst for these girls the ‘husbands’ were adult men of varying ages, for some girls, early marriage is with boys their own age. The girls speak of violence from their partners whenever they ask to be taken back home. One of them has taken a break from school after giving birth. One thing in common about all of them is calling this a bad idea and thanking the community for reaching out.

Radio programme #6

Reflecting critically on what they’ve been through, the girls condemn the situation. One says she looked weak and raggedy when she came back. She says she is inspired to go to school and eventually become an important member of the community, regretting the decisions she made. All say they do not care about the status of a man should any approach them, all they want is to complete their education and open themselves to more opportunities. They say they did not expect the life they anticipated and regretted their decision.

Most of their experiences are heart breaking. The Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Rongo has been recognized for her efforts in offering counselling the young girls and even offering the police van for rescue operations, supported by the chiefs and the headmen. The girls would like to discourage their peers from getting into early marriage and dropping out of school. They would also like more awareness to be created and people to get education so they know the reality. They say it felt more like slavery than marriage.