Norah Mwangi: Strengthening Child Protection and Giving Children a Voice

Norah Mwangi is a dedicated Child Protection Program Officer at the International Centre for Reproductive Health Kenya (ICRHK), with over seven years of experience designing and implementing rights-based programmes focused on child protection and gender-based violence response.

She holds an MSc in Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy and Programming from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a BA in Development Studies from Mount Kenya University.

Through her work, Norah has contributed significantly to the protection and wellbeing of vulnerable children. She has been directly involved in linking more than 1,500 children affected by commercial sexual exploitation to essential support services. She also contributed to the revision of the Kenya Children Act 2022 and is a co-author of a peer-reviewed paper examining depressive disorders among children at risk of commercial sexual exploitation.

Giving Children a Voice

At the heart of Norah’s work is the belief that children are never too young to understand issues that affect their lives—including how resources influence their access to education, healthcare and protection.

She advocates for the use of child-friendly tools and inclusive platforms that allow children to express their views meaningfully and participate in decisions that affect them.

One of her notable abstract presentations, “Without Them, Many Children Would Suffer in Silence,” explores the vital role of Child Protection Volunteers in strengthening child safeguarding systems in Kwale County, Kenya.

Through this work, Norah highlights how community volunteers can serve as an important bridge between formal child protection systems and grassroots communities. By identifying concerns, supporting referrals and amplifying children’s voices, these volunteers help ensure that vulnerable children are seen, heard and protected.

Her Impact

•  Strengthening child protection: Contributes to rights-based approaches that improve protection systems for vulnerable children.
•  Connecting children to support: Has helped link more than 1,500 children affected by commercial sexual exploitation to essential services.
•  Amplifying children’s voices: Promotes inclusive and child-friendly approaches that enable children to express their views.
• Supporting community safeguarding: Highlights the important role of Child Protection Volunteers in identifying and responding to risks.
• Influencing policy: Contributed to the revision of the Kenya Children Act 2022.
• Advancing knowledge: Contributes to research and evidence on the wellbeing and protection of children at risk.
• Bridging communities and systems: Demonstrates how community-based action can complement formal child protection structures.

Conclusion 

Norah Mwangi’s work demonstrates that effective child protection requires more than formal policies and institutions—it requires people and communities willing to listen, respond and act.

Her commitment to strengthening systems, empowering communities and ensuring children’s voices are heard reflects an important principle of safeguarding: children should not only be protected; they should also be meaningfully included in conversations and decisions concerning their lives.