CISA NEWS REPORT
NAIROBI, October 25, 2013(CISA) -Josephine Kulea Leseita, the 2013 UN in Kenya award winner has called for action to promote girl child education in Kenya.
Speaking after receiving the award at the UN offices in Nairobi during the celebration of the UN day on October 24, Ms Kulea called for collective responsibility by all stakeholders to promote girl child education and shun from retrogressive cultural practices.
“We are lucky to come from a country where laws and policies are against harmful cultural practices and are very clear both in the Children Act 2001 and the constitution of this country. However, it is not enough to pass these laws, they need to be implemented”, said Ms Kulea
Ms Kulea is a child rights activist working in Isiolo and Samburu County and is the founder of the Samburu Girls Foundation.
Her work of rescuing girls from early forced marriage, harmful beading practices and Female Genital Mutilation and taking them to join school was featured in a documentary aired by one of the local Kenyan Television station, NTV, called the Beads of Bondage.
Kulea, a qualified nurse is married with three children, one adopted.
She started her mission to rescue girls from who faced dangers of forced marriages and other harmful practices in 2008.She has rescued over 1000 girls in her mission.
The United Nations in Kenya award was started in 2002 as the collective UN family of agencies honor to an individual or institutions for succeeding to bring to public notice significant issues related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which are sustainable and serve as an inspiration to all Kenyans in keeping with the ideals of the UN.
The selection of the winner is made after extensive consultations and voting and through formal endorsements by the Heads of the UN agencies.
No cash is however, given to the winner of the award except for a commemorative plaque presented during the UN day celebrations.
Some of the previous winners of the award include Gudliye Farm (2012), Ms Pamela Achieng’ Sombe-Nurse-Duru, Kadero in Nyanza province(2011), Mr Abbas Gullet, Secretary General Kenya Red Cross (2007).
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS
Comments