How one positive parenting programme is empowering 22 champions to transform 180 families

By Elisabeth Ngami -  Kenya

Community Manager and Ambassador of WWO

In the heart of Embu County, where the rhythm of rural life pulses through farms and families, a transformative movement is quietly gaining momentum. Courtesy of the World Women Observatory of WUCWO, in collaboration with the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) – Family Life National Office, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (State Department for Social Protection   Directorate of Social Development), the Lumos Foundation, and the Catholic Women Association (CWA) of the Catholic Diocese of Embu, the National Positive Parenting Programme has launched a facilitators’ training that is both timely and trailblazing.

Hosted at St. Mary’s CWA Centre in Kiaragana, Runyenjes, this initiative sought to respond to a crisis that affects not only children but the entire social fabric of Kenyan families. The training equipped  22 dedicated participants now champions of positive parenting with tools to nurture love, discipline with dignity, and build homes free from violence. Their mission: to reach 180 parents across the Diocese and restore family strength as a foundation for lasting societal change.

Embu County, predominantly agricultural, faces a matrix of interconnected challenges: poverty, substance abuse (especially the cheap and potent muguka), shifting family structures, absentee parenting, and a growing sense of youth disillusionment. The 2019 National Violence Against Children Survey (VACS) paints a sobering picture 45.9% of girls and 56.1% of boys in Kenya have experienced some form of childhood violence. These numbers are more than statistics they are stories of silent suffering, of broken trust, and of futures put at risk.

At the facilitators’ training, the mood was urgent and raw. Participants shared experiences of teenage pregnancies, drug addiction, rising mental health struggles, and even suicide five cases in May 2025 alone in Manyatta Constituency. One voice captured the collective sentiment: “We educate our children with hope, but they return to us irresponsible and broken.” Behind this lament was a call for healing: for families, for youth, and for the community at large.

The positive parenting approach promoted during the training pivots away from authoritarianism and towards relationship-based, values-driven upbringing. Participants were urged to see each child as a garden “mtoto wa kuzaliwa ni kama shamba ambayo haina kitu” a blank field where love, values, and guidance must be sown. This nurturing model goes beyond the provision of basic needs; it demands intentional presence, mutual respect, and clear moral modeling from both mothers and fathers.

Yet, within many homes in Embu Diocese, the absence of fathers has become a source of systemic imbalance. Grandmothers, single mothers, or even older siblings carry the burden of raising children, with limited tools and increasing stress. The training called forth a revival of fatherhood, with male involvement in parenting framed not just as ideal but essential.

The role of women in this journey is central not only as caregivers, but as empowered advocates, equipped with parenting skills and platforms to challenge gender-based violence (GBV). By engaging women as trained facilitators and frontline protectors of children’s rights, the project contributes directly to their empowerment, amplifying their voices in family life, church, and community development.

The training’s impact extended beyond parenting skills to encompass family strengthening, mental health and psychosocial support, prevention of child-family separation, promotion of alternative care, and building of resilient communities. These themes resonated deeply with the facilitators, many of whom are now laying groundwork for localized rollouts in their parishes and communities.

At the graduation ceremony, the Bishop of the Diocese of Embu, Rt. Rev. Peter Kimani, affirmed the project’s deeper purpose. He reminded participants that every child deserves affirmation, not condemnation that society must “stop labeling children by their mistakes and start affirming them with values and hope.” His remarks echoed the mission of the Catholic Church’s Youth Apostolate Commission, where he serves as Vice Chair, emphasizing mentorship, responsible fatherhood, and moral leadership.

What began as a five day training has now become a movement with ripple effects beyond its rural roots. Empowered women facilitators. Re-engaged fathers. 180 targeted families. A community reawakening to the truth that if families are strengthened, children will be protected.

And as Proverbs 18:21 reminds us, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” Let this movement choose to speak life into homes, into hearts, and into the future of Embu.