NGO wants radical policy on street children

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street kids Malawi

A child rights organization in Malawi has urged government to make a sustainable child protection policy which can protect the rights of street kids in the country.

According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there are almost 8,000 children on the streets in the country most of them are boy; 80 percent are orphans and most of them end up becoming dangerous thugs.

To curb the proliferation of street kids, executive director for Eye of the Child Maxwell Matewere said there is need for government to come up with a sustainable child protection policy in order to protect the rights of street kids.

street kids Malawi
Street kids in Malawi causing insecurity.

He further said that children must be encouraged to stay in school in order for them not to think of going to the streets.

Matewere added that parents, chiefs as well as councillors should help in reducing the problem.

In the country’s major cities, street children beg for food and money, and this exposes them to physical and sexual abuses.

However, it seems that unless there is a radical policy, street kids will never be a thing of the past in the country.