Street children in Rumbek lakes state are expecting bright dawn

Street children in Rumbek lakes state are expecting bright dawn

By: Abraham Daljang maker

KAMPALA:   a good number of street children in Rumbek town, the capital of lakes state, is looking at the bright side of their lives as they expect government support and the development of their talents.  

Rumbek town has an increasing number of street kids, especially boys 5-17 years of age bracket who leave their homes and come to live on the street of the small town where they live by scavenging for food in gutters and the leftovers in small restaurants.  Finally, they converge at freedom square, where they spend their nights on a dusty and cold football playground.  Due to hardship in getting food, some of these children have resorted to a dangerous game of pick-pocketing and snatching any valuable item they lay their hands on. As a result, they are beaten and seriously injured by the people to whom they take things. These children also drink cheap, locally brewed alcohol and become radical by fighting and hurting each other.

“My parents died, and I remain with my paternal uncle, Said Laat Akol, a 12-year-old street boy. “My paternal uncle mistreated me, and I had to run away from home; I have been on the street for five years now,” Laat explained his ordeal. He told the Niles that his survival is on food in gutters and leftovers in local restaurants. 

However, the hope of these street children is being kept alive by two sportspersons in Rumbek who train them in football skills and netball. Deng Marial Adut and Tuon Are coaches who work in the ministry of youth and sport in lakes state, and they distribute biscuits to the children before they start training them in the morning. Deng told the Nile that they aimed to see these kids with promising talents that could help them survive. "These children are as normal as any other human being; they can do something for the nation if their talent is developed; we aim to make their future brighter through sports," Deng said. Deng expresses concern about the mistreatment of these children by the public; he said many of them are beaten almost to death, and others are stabbed with knives. "We take them to the hospital for treatment when we find them," Deng said

 

Despite talent development given to them by Deng and Tuon, they expect good news from Tuta Dhel, a south Sudanese who migrated to Australia ten years ago. He returned to give these children hope by initiating a Homes for Street Kids project. Tuta brought a few bags of maize flour, beans, rice and a tin of cooking oil as an initiative to start the project. In addition, he shoots photos and videos, which he will present to his donors/sponsors back in Australia. Unfortunately, he was arrested by a security person when he started taking pictures of the kids without taking the legal procedures; he was later released when the minister of social development asked the police to leave him free. The driving force behind Tuta's proposal to help street children is his past life in kakuma refugee camps in Kenya; during the war, he later went to Rhino camps in Uganda, where he got a chance of resettlement in Perth, Western Australia, in 2004. "I went through a deep hell during my stay in refugees camps, and I know what it means for a child to stay alone; my vision is to help these kids if my sponsors agree to fund my project," Tuta said. Mr Dhel is also an orphan whose father died during the war, and he said he wants to improve the lives of the orphans.

 

The government of lakes state also has some plans underway to help these children. The minister of social development and care of the rural development ministry, Hon. Daniel Chol kolnyin, told the Niles that his ministry is doing all it can to see that these children are doing well. "We have laid a foundation called Child Foundation Home here in town where we can give them school and technical skills through vocational training," Mr Chol said.  Honourable minister Deng said that the ministry plans to build the site and equip it with health facilities and other facilities necessary for living. Nonetheless, he said the plan is delayed by the Austerity measures, which have crippled the country's economy.  "We shall partner with children's organizations like UNICEF and Save the Children to help us with technical knowledge and save these future leaders," said the minister. Hon. Minister said those mistreating these children should be brought to book and face justice. 

  

“We appeal to the general public to refrain from this odious act of mistreating these children; they are human beings who deserve all the rights like others. Whoever does it shall be punished accordingly,” the minister said. 

The prevalence of street children in South Sudan is a result of the war, which killed many parents, and these children remain with their grandparents or relatives. Issues of tribal clashes and poor health facilities in the country have also contributed to the orphanage of many children whose parents must have died due to tribal fights or diseases. Some children have also run away from their homes to lead independent lives even when their parents are still alive. The state government plans to build an isolated home away from the town centre where they can be given schools and vocational training for those not willing to follow academics.