It is a chilly evening in Eldoret Town and everyone is busy on a rush.
They want to get to their homes as others.
Others jostle to finalize their last tasks for the ending day.
But the picture is different for street families.
They have no place to call home; they endure the cold weather and go for days without food.
Some found themselves in the streets.
Others fled from their families after hostility from their relatives.
This forced them to seek live in the streets. They live miserably.
Altogether, to them survival for the fittest is the best way.
Begging for help in the streets and hotels is the order of the day.
Some well wishers, can aid them to get at least food for the day.
Others bash them for being a nuisance in the streets.
The ones this writer spoke to say their life in the streets has been hard.
They face a myriad of problems which include; going for days without food, mistreatment, access to health services and the harsh weather conditions.
Samuel is one of them.
He is a street child and you will find him at a parking lot directing people where they can park their vehicles.
He says he came to streets in 2009 after harassment from parents and the poverty.
“I came here almost 13 years ago after disagreement with parents. I decided to shift to this town to fend for myself,” said Samuel.
However, the streets are no different to him.
Samuel said that they get harassed and arrested unnecessarily.
A few meters from him was Mwangi.
Mwangi was directing vehicles too at the parking.
He expressed his worries as the nation is gearing to the general election.
“I came to the streets in 2009 since I could not get the freedom I needed at home,” said Mwangi.
He asked those who are very young and have families to just return home and resume their studies.
Most of them sniff glue as others buff cigar.
They claim that these deeds keep them busy and forget the hard situation they are in.
Once they are in the streets, many other threats await them.
Some of the challenges include difficulties in maintaining basic health and accessing services, violence and abuse and dangerous working conditions.
Girls fall into prostitution to make a living.
Benson Juma Akumu who is social activist providing humanitarian assistance to street families says that there is a big problem confronting street families.
He asks the nation and the county government to handle the matter before it worsens.
“This is becoming a very serious problem especially at this time of Covid-19,” said Akumu.
According to Akumu, the numbers are seriously alarming and keep rising.
He said the county government has no proper structures to give the deserved support to street families.
Rescue Centre
Some of the street children have been taken to rescue centers where the government take the responsibility of providing them with food and other needs.
Only those below the age 16 are allowed in the rescue centres.
“The rescue center is underfunded by the government causing a lot of challenges in the implementation of rescue initiatives,” added Akumu.
He said the county government should critically think of ways to tackle the matter.
This includes coming up with legislation on how to find lasting and amicable solutions.
Akumu said the national government should be at the forefront to coordinate and end the problem.
He said the problem has escalated to almost all towns in the country.
He called for the government to solve the matter in a holistic way as it needs a serious attention.
“The county government must take a lead role in this to ensure success in the implementation of the matters street children.”
Situation during Covid-19
Akumu says that the situation is really bad during this Covid-19 Pandemic.
“Access to housing, health and food is a basic right but street families don’t enjoy it,” he said.
On the allegations that most of the street children are engaging in robbery in the streets, Akumu says there are some people masquerading as the street children.
“A real street boy or girl cannot have the energy to engage themselves in robbery if they do not have anything to eat,” Akumu said.
He said there is need for drug peddlers to be arrested and arraigned in the court of law.
Akumu called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare street families’ issue a national disaster.
“It is high time that the president declares this a national disaster because it has spread to all the towns in the country,” said Akumu.
According to the National Census of Street Families report conducted in 2018, 40 percent of the respondents were talented in ball games, followed by singing and art and craft at 23 percent and 10 percent respectively.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago asked parents and all stakeholders to help tame the surging numbers of street families.
