Turkana rescue centre reunites 16 street children with families

Sixteen vulnerable children rescued from the streets in Lodwar and rehabilitated at the Lodwar Rescue Centre have been reunited with their families.

The County Directorate of Social Protection is capitalising on the centre to address the problem of street children in major towns that has been blamed for increased criminal activities.

Mr Ignatius Idoka, county assistant director for social protection, said that most of the children have both parents but they choose the harsh street life, which exposes them to defilement, drugs and substance abuse, malnutrition, starvation, early childhood marriages and other social and psychological issue

"The Lodwar Rescue Centre is playing a crucial role as a haven for street children with extensive rehabilitation services. The rescued children are sheltered temporarily at the centre as they undergo psychosocial support and medical checkups for their general well-being," Mr Idoka said.

He said the centre prioritises the desires of the children and they can't force any child to go home unwillingly.

"The reunion takes place once the child normalises and is ready to join the family. The rehabilitated children who don't want to go home are alternatively sheltered at approved children’s charity institutions (CCI)," he said.

Poor families are assured of relief food support from the rescue centre during routine follow-up to ensure lack of food does not drive the children back to the streets.

Children intentionally neglected

He said that plans are underway to establish a second rescue centre in Kakuma, where many children have been forced into child labour and early marriages.

Local leaders pointed out that the parents of the street children intentionally neglected their duties, with some leaving them under the care of vulnerable elderly grandparents.

Turkana County youth leader Paul Jalinga noted that some parents are even contributing to the problem by sending their children to the streets for food and child labour.

"Parents must be responsible and ensure their children remain at home and are provided for," Mr Jalinga said.

He said that the number of street children in major towns always rises during school holidays, attributing the problem to poor parenting, lack of access to food and child labour.

Mr Jalinga said that some children are lured to the streets with food for work or are paid to dispose of garbage from shops and hotels, with some selling sticks for brushing teeth and groundnuts in towns.

He said that when parents do not take up their parental responsibilities the situation translates to an increase in school dropout rates.

"Children as young as eight years are being left on their own to decide whether to go to the streets or school. If punished after being used to street life, they neither go home nor return to the same school and therefore streets are the only option," he said.

Homeless street families in Lodwar told the Nation that life on the streets worsened when the government introduced strict Covid-19 protocols including the night curfew to control the spread of the virus.

They said that curfew enforcement kicked them out of their comfort zones in dark streets where they used to spend cold nights on shop pavements.

The expansion of the Lodwar fresh produce market to provide enough space for traders while conforming to the social distancing directive also forced them out of the unoccupied stalls that acted as their warm rooms.

Muddy houses next to the Lodwar livestock sales yard and forest near Moi Gardens became the best alternatives for street families, including pregnant and breastfeeding street girls.