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Lungelo Ndhlovu
SITHABILE Mpofu, 13, (not her real name) sleeps in an old abandoned National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) train wagon in Bulawayo.
It is home for scores of other street children in the city, a sanctuary where no one would find these kids, disturb or drive them away to face a chilly night.
During the night, Sithabile scampers for protection against the chilly weather as temperatures drop below freezing point. A few dirty rugs and cardboard boxes are the only sources of warmth she has.
She did not consider the reality that would face her when she decided to turn her back to her home in Dete. She just boarded a train bound for Bulawayo, hoping that she would make it in a different environment better than the harsh conditions she faced at home.
During the day, she scavenges for food in the overflowing, smelly-rubbish dust bins around the city. She also survives on begging for money from passersby along 10th Avenue and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street. On a day that Lady Luck smiles at her, she can get a dollar or few rand coins, to buy bread to see her through the day. On a harsh day, she fails to get even a single rand in which case she is left with no option but to invade the nearest night spot to sell her “sexual wares” so she gets money to grab something to fill her tummy.
She has nothing to be ashamed of since she is not the only one doing this. Other groups of teens, girls and boys, ages 13-20 also do the same. Boys come to the bar to buy beer so that they can drown their sorrows. After drinking beer and sniffing glue, they go back to the old trolley where they will meet up with their girlfriends and have unprotected sex. Others indulge in unprotected sex with more than one partner in a single night.
On the streets, the law of jungle operates, literally the survival of the fittest. Often, it is only quick reflexes and a nimble pair of feet that keep the inhabitants of this shadowy world out of serious trouble. Street kids are always in conflict with the law.
Sithabile has been on the streets for the past seven months and has learnt quickly that for her to obtain food, she has to look for it in a dangerous and disease-ridden environment. Everyone on the streets minds their own business. There is no one else to turn to for help. Her relatives don’t even know about her whereabouts since she ran away from home immediately after her father decided to remarry, following the death of her biological mother.
She is one of Bulawayo’s burgeoning numbers of street children.
The city is fast losing its glamour as scores of street children, vagrants and mentally-challenged people have virtually invaded the Central Business District (CBD) making it their home.
Places such as the Railway Station, Bulawayo Centenary Park and on the corner of 10th Ave and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street near Power Sales are home to these children. Fast food outlets like Nandos and Golden Grill are the most popular places for these kids, where they wander from street to street, pestering the public for food and money. When nature calls, they relieve themselves on the streets where they sleep.
The situation has irked some business people in the city, who are calling on the city fathers to urgently find alternative accommodation for street dwellers, especially during this chilly winter.
“We are calling on the city fathers or the organisation responsible for the children on the streets to remove these vagrants from the CBD.These people can do anything. They can even urinate and relieve themselves in front of our shops. Every day I have to clean urine and human excreta left by these kids on my door step,” said Siphiwe Ndlovu who operates a clothing boutique.
Apostolic Faith Mission Pastor Lamlela Maphosa said it is the duty of the church to look after the welfare of these street children.
“In the Bible Jesus loved the kids and embraced them. It is everybody’s duty to look after these kids. We should assist them with clothes, food and show them some love. It is our social obligation as humans to try understand these people and also investigate issues which push them to the streets,” said Pastor Maphosa.
Children living on the streets are exposed to a raft of abuses on daily basis and are vulnerable to sexual exploitation which has seen incidence of sexually transmitted infections increase amongst them.
Scripture Union Thuthuka Street Children programmes officer Sikholiwe Ncube said that there are countless children roaming around the streets of Bulawayo and her organisation is working hard in trying to reintegrate them back into their families.
“We are an organisation working with children living on the streets. Here in town we have got a contact centre where we provide these kids with food every day. They get warm food, soap and clean water for drinking on a daily basis except during the weekends. They come here to wash their clothes and for bathing. We also provide counselling, relating to their health, life skills, psychology and our main rehabilitation facility is at Trenance, where we keep some of these kids out of the streets,” said Ms Ncube.
Thuthuka Street Children Contact Centre records a lot of troubled kids with various situations on a daily basis.
“Some come here pregnant and others with STIs because they sleep with each other. The disease rotates around them and also passes to other ones who don’t come here. The major concern is sexually transmitted diseases and drug abuse (glue sniffing), which have became rampant among them. We are trying by all means to educate them on the dangers of unprotected sex in our counselling sessions and we give them condoms,” said Ncube.
One street child (name withheld) interviewed by Chronicle at the centre, was open about drug abuse and sexually transmitted diseases in the street community.
“I can go and show you where we buy glue. An old man by 13th Avenue is our major supplier for glue. Other young guys buy it for 2 rands and those are the ones you will see sniffing it in streets. Even girls can sniff it at times because it relieves us from our problems.
“I used to have two girlfriends, the little one I called (Mancane). I dated her for a long time. That one drinks heavily. I ended up separating with her. Now I have only one girlfriend and I know my status because I tested once a long time ago,” said the boy.
It happens that the little girl referred to as Mancane is now HIV positive and authorities at the centre have sent word to other street kids not to have sexual intercourse with her anymore because of her status.
So far the Scripture Union Thuthuka Street Children project has successfully managed to reunite 23 children with their families even though 3 children relapsed and ran away from their homes.
“We have a problem with kids who ran away from their homes after we reunite them with their families. The major reason that drives the kids back to the street is two-fold. Parents are either harsh with them or some re-marry wives which drives these kids back on streets,” said Ncube.
Working with various interest groups, the Scripture Union recently held a successful World Cup tournament which was held in Brazil.
Street children from various countries around the world participated in the tournament and the Zimbabwean street kid team came eighth.
The kids who played in the World Cup are now patrons of sport in the school they now learn in, here in the city.
Online Reporter