A family has finally ended the search for a child who had been reported missing for seven months.
Kevin Otiende, a businessman in Nairobi, bumped into the child named Clinton outside Nation Centre when the young boy approached him to ask for Ksh 10 in early October.
Otiende was touched by the child's story when he revealed that he had been sleeping on the streets of Nairobi for seven months after coming from Bungoma.
"I asked him if he had family and he gave me his older brother's contacts. On calling, the man wept hysterically. They've been looking for him for seven months," the well-wisher explained.
Otiende decided to rescue the young boy and took him for a shave and shopping which included supplies to take to his family back in Bungoma.
"I cannot wait for schools to reopen as I have resolved to educate him until college," he vowed.
Covid-19 restrictions imposed earlier in the year such as the cancellation of learning in schools coupled with the economic downturn has had a negative impact on children.
There are three main ways through which children are affected by this crisis: infection with the virus itself; the immediate socioeconomic impacts of measures to stop transmission of the virus and end the pandemic; and the potential longer-term effects of delayed education goals.
The UN estimated that 42-66 million children worldwide could fall into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis.
The silver lining is that children have been largely spared from the severe symptomatic reactions more common among older people.
The Ministry of Education has also commenced the phased reopening of schools even as parents complain of extra costs being affected by school heads.
Parents have been asked to cater for expenses such as masks, rehabilitation of schools and upgrading of sanitation equipment.
