By Lumbiwe Mwanza
THERE are over 700 street kids in Lusaka Province, Minister of Community Development and Social Services, Doreen Mwamba has disclosed.
Ms. Mwamba said after interaction with the street kids, her ministry discovered that some of them were running away from decent homes.
Ms. Mwamba however told The Scoop that the government would continue implementing social protection programs in an effort not to leave anyone behind with regard to protecting the vulnerable people, especially children.
She said that in an effort to appreciate the challenges that children staying on the street were facing, her ministry visited the street within Lusaka where it was discovered that at least 700,000 children were roaming the streets.
“We went to the streets of Lusaka as the ministry where we learnt that there are over 700,000 street kids. During the interaction with them we discovered that not everyone on the streets is actually vulnerable and living on the streets but have homes where they come from, ” Ms. Mwamba explained.
The minister added: “Indeed, some of them are very vulnerable and what we did as a ministry is, we contacted their families to further understand why the children were leaving the homes for the streets, and also putting them on social protection programs as long as they assured us that they will not allow the children to go back on the streets.”
She said the children would be counseled and taken back to school.
The Minster also said that for the children that have been exposed to some diseases such STIs, TB among others were being treated and counseled.
She acknowledged that the problem is huge but the government remained committed to tackle it holistically.
She warned that the government will have no option but to arrest all the children that would revert back to the streets after enrolling them in schools and putting them on various social protection programs.
Ms. Mwamba said that for now all the children are taken as victims and the government would do everything possible to make sure that their rights were protected and provided with the support needed.