EASTERN PROVINCE

RWAMAGANA — To end the problem of street children, poor families need sensitization, an official of the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) has said.

Joakim Sibomana, a technical assistant for street children in the ministry said poverty was largely to blame for the increasing number of street children in the country.

He was speaking in an interview with The New Times at AVEGA Center in Rwamagana, where over 320 former street kids, picked from Kigali streets, are attending rehabilitation course before being resettled and enrolled in schools. The two-week training organized by the Gender ministry started on May 7.

"There is need for sensitizing poor parents to take care of their children because most of the children escape their homes because of poverty,” Sibomana said.

Apart from poverty, he added, family conflicts and negligent parents have also prompted children to head to streets. Other causes of street children are associated with orphanage and need for adventure on part of the children, Sibomana noted.

He however predicted that the problem would be contained within five years due to numerous interventions by the ministry. He appealed to local leaders to sensitize residents about the problem of street children and parental care in order to find a lasting solution to the problem.

According to Sibomana most of the street children were picked around Nyanza dumping site in Kicuciro district, Kigali City. He observed the children were almost similar to dustbin.

They lived around Nyanza dumping site and ate food left-over they picked from the dumping site. Feeling the plight of these children, he added prompted the line minister Dr. Jean D’arc Mujawamariya to intervene. 

It has been observed taking the children into rehabilitation will achieve the intended results, unlike previously when the children were forcefully rounded up by police and as such they would escape and go back to the streets.

The aim however remains the same, to rid streets of children and its associated impacts. At the camp children are taught about government programmes, the importance of life and the dangers associated with drug abuse, said to be a habit for about 90 per cent of street kids.

They also learn the history of the country, conflicts that characterized Rwandan history, genocide and its effects. Through interactive lessons, children themselves point out why they flee homes and propose solutions. They are taught the value of homes, education and to lay strategies for a better future.

The children are also expected to take lessons concerning heroism, patriotism, good hygiene and improved sanitation, job creation and the need for unity and reconciliation. Every after noon they are engaged in other activities including playing football and entertainment.

Juma Mukasa  who is 15 years old, said he was chased home by his father Heri Mukasa, after the death of his mother.

"My father is also a musician, so I also sing Indian bits on the streets to earn a living. Whenever I go to the cinema I cram Indian bits which I recite on the street and people give me money,” Mukasa said. He however said he holds a lot of ambitions and was ready to join school for studies.

"And when I finish university I will become an army general or a minister,” he added, appealing to his peers who remained on the streets to go for the solidarity training, saying it is lively. 

Ends