four_kennys: Eastleigh Youth Parliament

Members of the Eastleigh Community Centre Youth Parliament discussing the role of Children's participation in children's rights and decisions.

Joan has been a part of the Children's Parliament at the Eastleigh Community Centre since 2006. She has been encouraged by the growing participation of her fellow students who have come to see the parliament as a means to "expressing their problems and feelings without fear".

Once a week, the Eastleigh Youth Parliament convenes to discuss issues close to the heart of children living within Eastleigh and Mathare Valley. The children of the Eastleigh Centre, elect their own representatives to form a parliament on their behalf. In parliament, the respective ministers raise issues that students have brought to their attention during the week. As the "minister of justice", Joan has seen her fair share of important issues dealt with by the Children's government including the problems of parental alcoholism, child labour, sexual assault, homelessness, and poverty. For Joan these are real issues facing her friends and classmates as they struggle to get ahead.

Joan, herself, has persevered thanks to the love and compassion of her grandmother who cares for Joan and three of her cousins, making a home for them in the Mathare Valley. Each day as Joan walks to school, she confronts boys and girls who remain trapped in the grip of dire circumstances. As part of the youth parliament, Joan is able to find a voice to speak out against issues that affect children around her. From driving away people peddling unsafe frozen treats made of dirty water, to putting a stop to inappropriate behavior among students, the parliament mobilizes children at the centre to protect one another.

Joan and her fellow member of parliament, Gibril, are looking forward to one day meeting with Kenya's national parliament and especially for a chance to meet Kenya's Children's Minister. Joan aspires to continuing her education in Kenyan secondary school, and then university where she hopes to study law. She dreams of one day becoming a lawyer and serving as an advocate for her community. Gibril, who came to Kenya as a refugee from Somalia in 2000, wishes to one day join his father living in America. Gibril wants to study medicine so that he can become a doctor and return to his "homeland of Somalia". Both Joan and Gibril, share a strong sense of responsibility to make their communities a better place to live -- restoring lost hope!