Isiolo residents urged to shun giving money and goodies to street kids

Isiolo, Friday June 30, 2023

KNA by Kirimi Raphael and Harnam Mohammed

Isiolo residents have been urged to desist from giving money, foodstuffs, and other goodies to street children.

The Director of Programmes at ‘Shine His Light Street Families organization’ Ms. Cate Namate said that much generosity to the kids will encourage them to run away from their parents and drop out of schools to adopt street life.

Speaking at Checheles area during a community engagement forum to create awareness on the best approach to help urchins, Namate said it should be a collective responsibility to “ensure our towns are free of the street families as envisaged in the vision 2030 blueprint.”

She said that the vision 2030 blueprint advocates for towns and cities that are free from street families and hence the need for communities to embrace and adopt more sustainable approaches to help street kids.

Among the strategies Ms. Namate noted includes rehabilitating street children for a short period, offering psychological support in the form of counseling, addressing root problems that led them to the streets and then reuniting them with their parents and relatives.

The programme officer observed that after interacting with street families since 2014, she had established that 90 per cent of the street kids had either one or both parents and they stray from home due to challenges like drunkenness amongst caregivers, and being in a position to easily access money and other fancy goods such as drugs.

She added that through her organization, at least 200 children had been put through rehabilitation and re-united with their families, noting that it takes three months to one year to fully change the mindset of a street kid and their parents so that their relationship is fully restored.

Chechelesi Assistant Chief Mr. John Yebei Emuria warned area residents against selling addictive substances like glue to kids or even offering them cheap labour arguing that they play a major role in aiding children to stray away from their families and school and eventually end up in the streets.

Emuria added that those implicated in the vice would be dealt with accordingly, their status notwithstanding.

A resident of Bulapesa area Ms. Lydia Muthoni called for responsible parenthood and further urged parents to plan their families well to minimize chances of children ending up in the streets.

One of the reformed street kids Mr. Victor Saikon said that the rehabilitation model adopted by Shine His Light Street Families’ Organization helped him retrace his roots, quit drugs and go back to school while his parents have also been transformed and stopped taking alcohol.

The Checheles area of Isiolo is one of the regions adversely affected by irresponsible parenting with most of the children from that area roaming Isiolo Town streets.

Courtesy ; K. N. A