A home for the street child

Uganda has been described as the Pearl of Africa. However, in this beautiful land, there are a number of harmful cultural practices that makes it a place no child would want to live. As the third series of the Tumaini Awards is launched, Shamilla Kara explores Dwelling Places, a non-governmental organisation trying to advance for better the lives of street children.

You do not have to go out on a limb looking for street children. Stop at the traffic lights in Kampala and they will descend on you in a flash.

An unsightly lot with their scruffy looks and nagging nature, they are a mix of irritation and pity. It is not unusual to see a child carrying another child as they scurry from one vehicle to another, palms stretched out, begging for money they might not even keep. Social misfits they may be, but they are still children and the street is no place for them.

Enter Dwelling places, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that salvages these neglected children from the streets and rehabilitates them.

Since its inception in 2002, this Ugandan-founded Christian NGO aids street children, abandoned babies and families, giving them a place to call home, albeit temporarily, seeing as it is a transitional home. Currently, it supports 387 children and cares for 64 families.

Located in Mutundwe 1 Zone, Rubaga South division, in Kampala district, the NGO was founded by Rita and William Nkemba and operates on 5 Rs: rescue, rehabilitate, reconcile, resettle and rebuild.

While they get children from network referrals, the NGO also works with authorities such as rehabilitation centres to stretch help to street children.

The street child

Street children are deprived children. They are also vulnerable. This group of children has to contend with homelessness and constant danger on the city streets they reside, on a daily basis and their fundamental rights such as access to food, education, safety or shelter are not guaranteed.

The children are often exposed to sexual abuse, child labour, drug abuse, elements of weather, imprisonment, poor health conditions, trafficking, crime and whatever forms of prejudice meted towards them.

It has been estimated that Uganda has about 10,000 street children and Kampala traffic lights are testament to the population of street children eking out a livelihood in begging.

The work they do

Rita Nkemba, a co-founder and the executive director, is proud of the NGO’s education programme, a catch-up education with accelerated and creative learning for the street children.

“Through education, the children never go back to the streets again. It works 98% of the time. They stay in the community,” she says contentedly.

Nkemba adds that theirs is a unique educational programme which looks at re-integrating children who have been on the street and getting them back to mainstream education.

When a child struggles in the mainstream programme, the NGO puts them on an individual programme that is tailored to the demands of the child until when they are ready to go back to mainstream schooling.

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CLOCKWISE: Street children arrested by Police in 2009, heading to Kampiringisa dentention centre. Then, Nkemba sings at one of the NGO's fundraising functions. And finally, rehabilitated children at Dwelling Places' transitional home.

The NGO also has a rehabilitation home which takes in street children upto 14 years of age for a duration of six months to one year.

The programme is a transitional space to rebuild children, through empowerment, spiritual and counselling programmes, until when they can be resettled to a permanent home which in most cases would be with their families or in foster care.

Dwelling Places also has a programme that supports the families of the rehabilitated children through a ‘street migration prevention strategy’. The programme focuses on training and development in lifeskills, parenting and livelihood projects.

Then there is the Youth Rebuilders Programme, aimed at children who are above 15 years and are on their way out of the transition home.

The NGO accepts children upto the age of 14 years. The programme offers a 9-month apprenticeship to the youth to empower them sustain a livelihood once out of the home.

There is also a family empowerment programme which the NGO runs, alongside reconciling the rehabilitated children with their families.

“Once we have traced the children’s families, we work with them in psychosocial activities. Particularly on issues that cause the child to run away,” says Nkemba.

She adds that they engage parents and show them how to go through the system of caring and staying committed to raising their charges. To ensure sustainability, the NGO gives the families an economic push and regularly follows up on the families to assess their economic situations.

Furthermore, the children who leave the transition home are given a ‘send-off package’ that includes beddings, clothing and food. They are still eligible for medical support and school fees.

Sources of funding

The donors aiding the Ngo include the International Organisation for Migration, the ICCO and Comic Relief which sponsors them through a partner organisation called Retrak, which is based in Uganda.

“We also run a child-sponsorship programme,” says Nkemba, which invites individuals to support a child, mostly in sponsoring their education. Nkemba says most of the individuals are from the UK and the US.

Another avenue that brings in money is through singing.

“I sing and through travel, speak to people about what we do and motivate them to get involved,” says Nkemba.

Challenges

The executive director says one bottleneck they face is getting the local population to understand why the children are on the streets. “The population is biased about street children,” she adds.

It is also hard to get the children to reveal alot about their predicament, while finding their families is an uphill task, especially the children who hail from Karamoja. “You cannot get word out,” says Nkemba, adding that it is too costly, and their avenues are too expensive.

She also complains about the OVC policies that exist but are not publicised.

“We have well turned systems but that is what they are. They should be rolled out to NGOs and stakeholders. We never know about them.”

In the interim, Nkemba and her team march on, challenges aside. Their aim: to continue relentlessly “Until every child has a chest to rest his or her head on and a place to call home.”