By Kuda Pembere
City life knows no sleep particularly for children living and working on the streets of the Harare Central Business District (CBD). Access to sexual reproductive health services is usually a hurdle for children due to a number of reasons.
Around 11 pm, only a handful of people can be seen milling around town. However, it is easy to spot children who live and work on the streets owing to their rugged and torn apparel. To prepare and recoup for the long nights which in most cases are eventful for the kids , they sleep during the day aided by drugs and substances.
In the midst of the melee, this duo of adolescents living on the streets approach this writer. One is a medium built female probably in her late teens. She is limping barefoot, donning whitish brown dirty t-shirt and a skin tight. The other is a slightly younger pint-sized male pimp walking with spring in his step.
Hie mdhara do you want to have sex with her,” the young pimp just 14 years old wearing a commuter omnibus organization bib asks this reporter though he turned the offer down.
The adolescent girl is visibly intoxicated and is reluctant to have a conversation with this Journalist until her male accomplice, or pimp as it were, convinces her. She wants to buy some corn snacks popularly known as Zapnax or MaZepe first from the street vendors.
After negotiating for an interview with the young girl, she notes that they barely get education on sexual reproductive health rights. She said she was recently tricked into having unprotected sex with some man.
“All I know is that there are some organizations that come in the CBD but we barely go there for fear of stigma as well as being chased away,” she said.
Another female adolescent living on the street had a rough idea of sexual reproductive health issues.
“I do not know about SRHR but isn’t it that condoms are worn by sex workers. I do not need to use condoms for I have a husband with me here,” she said.
As she speaks, droves of children emerge from their hideouts going to their spots where they go for begging alms.
On way to her spot, Respina* (16) is delayed by a male street dweller who plays with her two-year-old son.
“I did not know about the use of contraception then. I don’t have the knowledge about condoms and other family planning methods,” she said.
The issue of unintended pregnancies among children who live and stay in the streets has been growing over the years. However, due to their circumstances, at times programmers find it difficult to trace and offer services to them.
Responding to questions sent, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Simon Masanga said a survey done 2014 estimated that over 4 500 children were living on the streets with Harare holding the largest number at 2000 children.
“The push factors include but not limited to the following, poverty, disintegrated families leading to child headed families who opt to go and live on the streets, some children run away from home due to abuse at home be it physical,emotional,sexual or neglect, drug and substance abuse, domestic violence, orphanhood, juvenile delinquency,” said Mr Masanga.
He added that the pull factors include, the desire for independent life without adult supervision, enjoying begging and vending, peer pressure, drug and substance abuse.
Mr Masanga said the Ministry has programmes in place aimed at ensuring that children are provided with care and support and preventive and responsive mechanisms to streetism.
“The programmes are funded under the “Children on the Streets Fund” which was established for the purposes of identifying children on the streets, rehabilitating them, reunifying them with their families, placing those without families, placing those without families in alternative care arrangements and also providing reintegration support for those reunified.
“The alternative care placements include kinship care,foster care,adoption and institutional care. Government is also working with registered private voluntary organisations in the identification, documentation,tracing and reunification of children living and working on the streets. The Department of Social Development is responsible for case management and coordination of direct and indirect services,” he said.
He added they have registered positive outcomes in terms of drug and substance abuse rehabilitation and skills development.
“We are working closely with local government structures established Provincial taskforce to tackle the problem of CLWS,” Masanga said.
A social worker who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity said the children living or working on the streets are not getting much of the programs related to SRHR.
“I remember recently we held a campaign on CLWS but it dealt with drug and substance abuse. I think we should have more programs targeting street children looking into sexual and reproductive health issues because their knowledge is quite limited at the moment,” he said.
Sexual Reproductive Health Rights Africa Trust (SAT) youth officer, Raymond Mazhambe agreed that these CLWS were a neglected group. He said they are difficult to reach out given their mobile status. Mazhambe said deliberate and intentional interventions and programmes targeting them were necessary.
“A lot of the new HIV and STI infections that we are getting are also among this group hence we need to be intentional in targeting this group,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) assists children living on the streets with services such as information and contractpt8ves to try and curb the growing burden of unintended pregnancies in the group.
ZNFPC Chief Executive Officer Mr Farai Machinga said even though products and services were available, information gaps were driving pregnancies on the streets.
“Due to their settings and the nature of the environment they live in, it is not ideal for them to consistently take oral contraceptives,” he said.
He noted that because of their age, some may not be able to access contraceptives without a parent or guardian, regardless of the need increasing the unmet need for the services.
He said it was important to ensure all systems were operating at the same level to ensure those whose pregnancies are to be terminated are attended to within the set timelines.
“It requires all relevant offices and authorities to come together, put hands on the deck and ensure timely, effective, and efficient provision of quality integrated services to the groups,” he said.
