BARCLAYS BOOSTS CENTRES' KITTY

Barclays Bank has donated Sh107 million towards the rehabilitation of 4,000 street children in the country.

The donation is part of the Sh670 million global community investment programme aimed at aiding disadvantaged children out of poverty.

The Bank’s chief executive officer for Global Retail and Commercial Banking, Frits Seegers, said the financial institution had entered into a three-year partnership with Unicef to reform street children roaming in the country’s major towns.

The programme will establish three centres in key urban areas and will house about 4,000 children, providing them with food, clothing, shelter and education. It will also provide counselling services, vocational training and skills development to children based on their age, ambition and ability.

Mr Seegers said Kenya was the first country to benefit from the partnership programme.

The money was later presented to President Kibaki at a function held in State House, Nairobi, yesterday.

Earlier in day, speaking at the function held at Serena Hotel, Vice-President Moody Awori said the Government was formulating a national policy for children to provide legal and financial framework that will help address the problem.

The VP said the Ministry of Local Government had already identified sites for the establishment of four drop-in centres in Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret.

Unicef Kenya country representative, Olivia Yambi, said the partnership with Barclays will enable the organisation advocate for a national policy to help reach more street children in Kenya.

There are estimated to be about 300,000 street children across the country.



SOURCE: DAILY NATION