Hard economic times and joblessness has hit Athi River residents hard forcing school children to stay home for lack of school fees, area MCA Jeremiah Kaloi has said.
Kaloi said his office and that of Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti have embarked on an ambitious programme of helping the suffering residents seek jobs in private companies within Athi River subcounty and its environs.
He said the country’s economic situation is dire such that some companies are either scaling down or closing shop.
"There are lots of problems, our people have no jobs due to hard economy. Most children are at home due to lack of school fees after they reported to their respective schools but were sent back home,” Kaloi said.
He spoke when he launched the Machakos County Government Bursary forms issuance at his Athi River Ward at area chief Cecilia Musyoki’s office within the subcounty on Tuesday.
He said the programme targeted bright but needy children from Athi River Ward. At least 1,000 children will benefit from the bursaries.
Kaloi said beneficiaries are drawn from secondary schools, colleges and universities.
"Machakos County Government through Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s office has launched this programme to support children’s education. It’s an exercise that is currently ongoing in all the 40 wards within the county,” Kaloi said.
He said the programme will run in first, second and third terms to help financially disabled parents educate their children.
Kaloi said the current drought and hunger across the country as well as high rates of unemployment among Athi River residents has worsened the situation.
"We are talking to companies around so that they can employ our youths. We have started a programme of engaging the firms," he said.
"We understand that the companies also go through challenges businesswise. But, we keep on talking to them. Some companies are closing, we are pleading with them to hire our people," Kaloi said.
He urged well-wishers and foundations to come up and support vulnerable children’s education.
Chief Musyoki said the level of vulnerability in Athi River was alarming and worrying since majority of the residents were jobless despite the fact that Athi River is an industrial town.
“I receive tens of residents in my office who come to seek for food, school fees, jobs, cash to sort out medicines and medical bills, etc,” Musyoki said.
The administrator said she at times equally become helpless on how to handle some of the cases, majority of which are always genuine.
She said most of the residents were struggling to eke a living due to the high inflation and economic times.
