KCCA starts process to re-unite over 40 street children with family

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has embarked on a process of reuniting street children with their families.

Harriet Mudondo, the Director Gender and Community Development at KCCA says they have been counseling the children and have now identified over 40 children who want to reunite with their families.

Earlier this month, KCCA collected 180 street children off the streets of Kampala and quarantined them at Nakivubo Blue Primary School to protect them from the coronavirus (COVID-19), rehabilitate them and ultimately take them off the streets.

KCCA provides accommodation, feeding and health care services to the children as provided for in the technical note of the Alliance for child protection in humanitarian action (Alliance).

The alliance co-led by UNICEF and Save the Children requires governments to protect children’s rights amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, protect them from violence and grant access to health care among others.

Mudondo says they have contacted families of some of the children and have started plans to reunite them. She said on Friday, KCCA took samples of all children to be tested for COVID-19 such that they can know their status before reuniting them with their families next week.

KCCA is working with Non-Government Organizations like Retract, Dwelling Places and Children at Risk Action Network (CRANE) to counsel the children and their families before they are reunited.

There are also another 80 children that KCCA plans to take for vocational training as soon as school resumes.

Mudondo says they are partnering with Islam Cares a Non-Government Organization that has offered to sponsor the children to acquire skills. Majority of the children who have opted to go and acquire skills are 15 years and above.

Solomon Serugga, from CRANE leads a team of 18 social workers who manage the children at the center. He says they engage the children in self development programs to boost their self-esteem and developed meaningful relationships with peers.

He says the children were introduced to a model of principles including effective communication, abstinence from substance abuse, anger management, listening and assertiveness among others.

Tonny Kato, aged 11-yrs says they have a good life living at Nakivubo Blue Primary. Kato who left home in Kakiri three years ago for the streets of Kisenyi says when the lockdown started, Local Defense Unit officers started hunting them off the streets beating them up. He is glad he was granted shelter at the school. He doesn’t want to go back home but wants to to opt for vocational training.

Robert Tamale, 15-yrs says he used to collect bottles and sell to earn a living. He made about Shillings 5000 a day. He says coming to the center was a blessing because he was not earning any money when the lockdown started because the people buying the bottles had locked their shops.

According to KCCA, there are over 300 street children still on the streets who they plan to get off the streets in a phased manner.

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