More than 100 street children roam Bulawayo

BULAWAYO is witnessing an increase in the number of children leaving their homes to live and work on the streets with the shift often leading them into illegal activities, including drug and substance abuse.

Over 100 street children, mostly teenagers, are scattered throughout the city to beg, scavenge, or offer small services like car washing and carrying goods for market vendors. The streets, where these children spend most of their days, are filled with litter and debris, adding to the city’s growing littering problem.

Drug and substance abuse is another grim reality for many of these street children. A Chronicle news crew yesterday moved around the city centre and observed that some of the street children sleep on pavements, and in makeshift homes fashioned from cardboard boxes and tattered blankets, tucked away in corners or under bridges.

The news crew caught up with a Zvishavane boy who had recently returned to the streets citing alleged ill-treatment by his family.

“I come from Zvishavane, I used to live with my relatives, but they ill-treat me and I cannot live with them,” said the boy.

Another one from Makokoba said he fled home after stealing some money from his stepmother whom he claimed physically abused him.

“I used to stay in Makokoba with my step-mother who ill-treated me. She would assault me each time I asked for money to buy clothes until I decided to flee home after stealing her US$20,” said the boy who identified himself as Thabani Ndlovu.

“I am living in the streets and surviving on washing cars to raise money to buy food.”

Khumbulani Dube (17) who spent the greater part of his childhood on the streets, said he came to Bulawayo in 2014 when he was 10 years old.

“There is a man who offered to assist me and on several occasions, he would see me sleeping on the pavement along 9th Avenue. He offered to help me become an entrepreneur,” he said.

“He gave me US$5 and that is the money which I used as capital when I bought cellphone charging cables for resale. From that amount, I managed to make profits and eventually decided to venture into this business, which is now my source of livelihood.”

Khumbulani said he has since started selling other merchandise which includes car steering covers, dashboard sprays, and car air fresheners.

Bulawayo provincial social welfare officer, Ms Energy Mlambo said the city is witnessing a rise in homelessness, with over 100 children now living and working on the streets.

Ms Mlambo said the growing number of street children is accompanied by a surge in drug and substance abuse leading to various social ills. She said a majority of these children come from impoverished backgrounds, often driven to the streets by family breakdowns and poverty.

According to the Social Welfare latest statistics, 133 children are living on the streets of Bulawayo.

“Of that figure, 29 males and seven females live on the streets, while 97 of them come from family homes to earn a living by doing menial jobs in the city centre where they wash cars. Of that figure 71 are males and 26 are females,” said Ms Mlambo.

“We have noticed there is a growing number of children living and working on the streets. Some come during the day to sell their merchandise and return home in the evening.”

Ms Mlambo said Bulawayo is witnessing an increase in children on the streets who are gradually transitioning from working on the streets to permanently living on the streets.

Most of those children are from suburbs such as Makokoba, Mbundane, Iminyela, Trenance, and Cowdray Park.

Ms Mlambo said there is an urgent need for concerted efforts to tackle homelessness and its associated problems, ensuring that children have the opportunity to grow up in a safe and supportive environment.

“Some of these children living in the streets are enjoying the freedom and money they get in the absence of guidance from their parents. They encounter a number of issues such as rejection and acceptance by families, communities, and at the school, and end up feeling like outcasts hence resort to going back to street life,” she said.

Ms Mlambo said some of the children living on the streets end up suffering from mental health issues after fleeing abusive homes.

Ingutsheni Central Hospital’s chief medical officer Dr Nemache Mawere said mental health challenges are common among people living on the streets.

“There are social aspects that are at play and these include family setups, the economy plays a role as well. The issue of drug and substance abuse. The rising numbers of people living on the streets should not be taken lightly,” he said.

“Most of these people on the streets are also addicted to drugs and therefore prefer living on the streets where they have easy access to money to get more drugs.”

Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA) chairperson Mr Winos Dube said the growing number of people living on the streets is worrying.

“This is a serious challenge because these children are exposed to drugs and substances. Some of these children run away from their homes just to be on the streets,” he said.