Author: Beatrice Ogutu, Director, Investing in Children and their Societies, Africa
June is UNICEF’s Global Parenting Month. It is a month dedicated to raising awareness for parental and children’s well-being, and it serves as a reminder that parents play a crucial role in their children’s growth and development. Our Global Early Childhood Development – East and Southern Africa initiative aims to support caregivers and their young children from pregnancy to age three. We partner with Investing in Children and their Societies to support their two-generation approach that helps young parents provide adequate and nurturing care for their children.
Irene, a young woman from Kakamega, Kenya, became pregnant while still in high school, just before turning 18. Irene had to leave school to raise her daughter who is now 6 months old. Despite her challenges, she found time to attend a community dialogue session on parenting. She is eager to get information and training on how to raise her child and take care of herself better. She has gained courage to speak about her feelings, challenges and aspirations. Her hopes of becoming a professional teacher and succeeding in life now seem possible. Because of this, she continues to find time to regularly attend the parent education meetings that have been organized in her village by Investing in Children and their Societies (ICS SP).
At Investing in Children and their Societies (ICS SP), our mission is to create safe and nurturing environments for children to reach their full potential. Over three decades, we have worked to prevent the negative experiences of underage pregnancies among girls from limiting and defining the potential and future of children and young people. To help more young mothers like Irene, we implement the Gender transformative skillful parenting programme to break the cycles of hardship.
Across different regions in Kenya, the ICS SP gender transformative parenting programme is comprised of 12 topics aimed at promoting children’s positive development, improving family dynamics and preventing violence in the family. Under the guidance of well-trained government frontline workers and community champions, young parents come together in peer groups to; reflect on and challenge unequal gender norms, improve their skills to equitably care for their children, gain skills to protect themselves from physical, emotional and sexual violence, strengthen their family relationships and improve their personal mental health and wellbeing. This programme also equips male partners and the caregivers to these young girls with the right information and skills to help with childcare, support the emotional well-being of young mothers and to create a nurturing and accepting environment.
The impact of this programme is evident and has served as an inspiring example to governments and local organizations. Between 2019 and 2023, the Kenyan government adapted the key aspects of the programme into the National Positive Parenting Programme. In partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, government frontline workers from social development and health services in Kakamega county are being empowered and equipped to deliver the programme to young parents with children aged 0-3 years. This 3-year initiative spanning from 2023-2026 will positively transform the lives of 2000 young mothers like Irene.