Tapuwa Mutseyekwa, of UNICEF, told a recent media training workshop that swelling numbers of street children faced an impossible future without any form of identification particulars.
Steven (not his real name), aged 17, stays near Railway Avenue.
“I do not have any particulars that can identify me. I suspect I was born in the streets as both my parents passed on and there is no one who can assist me in telling me were I was born,” he said.
“We can not find jobs in factories or in peoples homes as we do not have ID’s, we can not be employed because of this. We would be happy if someone assisted us in getting these papers.”
According to the Children’s Act, it is every child’s right to identification such as a birth certificate and national ID.
Local authorities and other persons or organizations are encouraged to establish and maintain places of safety for the reception of children and young persons in terms of this Act.
Most of Bulawayo's homeless live in plastic shacks along urban streams and around public recreational parks were they are causing havoc to passerby’s in the night. They are also prone to abuse by older street dwellers.
Post published in: News