Increase in street children as economy worsens

Zimbabwe's worsening economic conditions were one of the key reasons for the growing number of children on the streets, according to a recent survey. Results from an assessment of children living and working on the streets in urban areas around the capital, Harare, showed that the majority ended up here as a result of poverty, sexual or physical abuse and family breakdown. Of the 450 children interviewed by Zimbabwe's National Council for the Welfare of Children, with support from UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), 58 percent had become homeless during the last year. In a statement on Friday UNICEF said the assessment indicated that the number of children in Harare and Chitungwiza, 35 km east of the capital, could be higher than the current estimate of 5,000. "It is still unclear exactly how many children are on the streets, especially since they fall into several categories. There are those who live on the streets permanently, and then there are children who work on the streets during the day but return home at night. Until a formal survey is done we cannot be sure of the numbers, but in Harare alone there are at least 5,000 street children," UNICEF information officer, Tich Chikowore, told IRIN. "Often we find that parents are unable to make ends meet. They don't have the money to pay school fees or feed their children. These children then have to drop out of school and find work on the streets. In some cases children leave home because they feel they can survive better on their own," Chikowore added. Although Zimbabwe's consumer inflation last month declined to just below 400 percent, ordinary households are still unable to afford basic commodities. Chikowore stressed that physical and sexual abuse continued to be a major issue - street children had often been sexually or physically abused at home and on the streets. "Although many children have expressed the wish to return home or be placed within a family, there are those who would rather stay on the streets because they fear that they may encounter the same kind of physical abuse which forced them to leave home in the first place," he said. The assessment highlighted that more male than female children were on the streets, and the highest number for both sexes was in the 14- to 18-year age group. Moreover, 55 percent of the children interviewed had no birth certificates. One of the obstacles affecting intervention programmes was a generally negative attitude to street children. UNICEF noted that reactions to street children tended to be "punitive", while "anti-social and delinquent behaviour is not considered in its proper social and psychological context". The children's agency said interviews with childcare workers revealed that all programmes for street children lacked adequate funding and skilled personnel, and experienced problems with co-ordination between similar organisations.