Resource 4: How Mrs Masiko found her story

 Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

Beatrice Masiko tried to think of a story that was not well known. She remembered an idiom that was based on a story. The idiom said: ‘There is no jackal bigger than another, all jackals are equal in size.’ She remembered that the story was about a master and his servant travelling on horseback, and that the servant told his master about a jackal that was the size of a calf or an ox. She also remembered that there were rivers to cross, and one of them was called ‘the river that drowns all liars’.

Since she was not sure of what actually happened, she asked her sister-in-law Ruth about the story. Ruth said that the servant in the story was a habitual liar. Once, he even told a story of a bug, likening it to something so big, the story could not possibly be true. They were still short of details, so they went to Mr Kagwa, who had been a teacher of Luganda, now an inspector of schools. He could not remember the story, but remembered that a version of it was in a particular reader.

One day, Beatrice was speaking to Mrs Cissy Mirembe, a maths teacher, and found that she knew the message behind the story. She said that the master used a certain technique to stop the servant from lying. He didn’t want to accuse him directly of lying. Mrs Mirembe said that the technique worked, as the servant repented and told the truth before they reached the river. But she also couldn’t remember the details of the story.

Beatrice then went to Mr Henry Kibedi, an attorney. He also knew the idiom and the message behind the story. He thought it had arisen because a community was sick and tired of the lying of a particular man. They decided to put him to a vigorous test, and teach him a lesson. Mr Kibedi’s version of the story is at Resource 5: The river that swept away liars.

Resources

The Children Act Cap 586 Laws of Kenya Government of Kenya The Act addresses the rights a child is entitled to and the role of the government and parents in protecting these rights. It also sets out the general roles and responsibilities of parents in ensuring the wellbeing of the child. Available from: Department of Children’s Services. Ministry of Home Affairs. P0 Box 46205. 00100 Nairobi. Kenya tel: +254 020 228411 email: childk@nbnet.co.ke

National Programme guidelines on orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS Government of Kenya The guidelines are intended to assist in programming for orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS and in effectively responding to the effects of the pandemic on such children as well as discouraging harmful practices in Kenya. Available from: Department of Children’s Services. Ministry of Home Affairs. P0 Box 46205. 00100 Nairobi. Kenya tel: +254 020 228411 email: childk@nbnet.co.ke and National AIDS Control Council (NACC), Office of the President. P0 Box 01307Nairobi. Kenya

Guidelines on child rights and child protection for police officers African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect, 2001 A resource for police officers on the Children’s Act 2001, for use in cases concerning children.

The guidelines are also intended to enhance police officers’ understanding of the provisions of the Children Act, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and finally to enhance service delivery to children within the Kenyan Juvenile Justice Systems. Available from: African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN), P0 Box 46516, 00100 Nairobi. Kenya tel: +254 020 2722335 fax: +254 020 2723104 email: admin@anppcankenya.co.ke website: http://www.anppckenya.co.ke

The HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill, 2003 Government of Kenya, 2003 This Bill provides for measures for the prevention, management and control of HIV and AIDS. It also provides for the protection and promotion of public health and for the appropriate treatment, counselling, support and care of persons infected or at risk of HIV and AlDS infection, and for other connected purposes. Available from: Office of the Attorney General. P0 Box 30520. Nairobi. Kenya

Taken from: Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) – http://www.rapcan.org.za/ and

Memory Work taken from: Trainer’s Manual, Appendix 2 Legal Contacts and resources