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PARTICIPANTS OF THE EDUCATION
FOR THE STREET CHILD PROJECT FEEL THAT THESE ARE SOME OF THE
REASONS AS TO WHY THERE ARE CHILDREN ON THE STREETS. HOWEVER
IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER REASON PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE OUR
FEEDBACK FORM Neglection:
Some parents here in Uganda bear/ have over ten children.
Their incomes are at times very low so they can't provide
essential needs to the family members and some luxuries. In
this way, the children feel that they aren't shown enough
love, they end up going to streets thinking that its a good
life out there.
Drunkard parents: A survey has
been carried out and it has been revealed that 70% of the
parents here in Uganda do booze. You may find an occurrence
whereby a parent boozes beyond repair, in other words he
boozes until late in the night. Some even come back Beyond
2:00 am. in the night. When he arrives home, he calls the
children or the wife to open the door for him. Poor woman or
children, at times they are in deep sleep so the father just
kicks the door open for himself. He gets hold of his stick so
as to teach his members a lesson for having slept and not
opening the door for him. One time I
personally witnessed an occurrence where by a neighbour of
ours came back home very late in the night, he had come back
with a bottle from a pub nearby. He asked the family members
to open the door for him but as they were in deep sleep, they
didn't do it earlier enough. After a good time of calling, the
elder son of his opened the door; he (father) got hold of his
bottle and banged the son. This may go on for a considerably
long time and so the members at times feel that they can not
hesitate this, the children end up going to streets thinking
that its a good life out there.
Stepparents: A stepparent is
one who is not the biological parent of a given youth or
adult. In some families after breaking up, the father or
mother demands to stay with the children. Say like the
children are staying with their father who now goes out to
look for another woman. He them succeed and finds a new woman,
this will now be the children's new mother (step mother). In
Uganda, most of the stepmothers do not love their step
daughters/ sons so they end up violating their rights. These
violations include starving them, burning them and not taking
them to school. The children in this state feel that they are
not showed enough love and end up going to streets.
Orphans: Some children are on
streets because they lost their parents in the past. Some of
these have lost both of their parents; the relatives are not
helpful after the parents' death. Since these kids (orphans)
remain with no body to cater for them, they end up living on
streets in search for better lives. Another issue arises
whereby the children have been living a permissive life. After
their parents' death, at times the relatives may be willing to
help- since these children were living in a society of
ultimate freedom, they can not cope up with the new society of
less freedom in their relative's home. They end up moving to
the streets thinking that it is where they could get quick and
free access to the prior freedom.
Bad peer groups: Some street
children went on the streets because they had friends who were
living on the streets. These compelled their friends to come
on the streets- they go further to entice them with stories
and how life happens to be so free on the streets, getting
everything easily and freely (begging) passersby. They go on
to narrate to them the agony of living with a parent who does
not care about his/ her child. After all these vain stories,
they (kids) ended up running away
from their parents home so as they could enjoy the narrated
easy life on the streets. |
