REPORT ON STREET CHILDREN IN
By Kelvin & Joyce Samwata
We have had a burden for street children for a long time and we did not know how best to help these children. And so one day we decided to jump in at the deep end and this was two years ago. We started by going
into the streets in our community at night and talking to these street children. We were trying to find out why these children were on the streets and the best thing to do was to go on the streets and talk to them. We were also trying to create relationships with them. These
children are suspicious of people. After sometime we decided to offer them meals and agreed with them that we can meet at Bethel Chapel each Sunday at 13:00 hrs and as they say, the rest is now history. We started with 15 kids and right now we are feeding over 80 kids! Later on
we started to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with the kids and also helped to teach them to read and write.
The more we got in touch with the kids the more it became very clear to us that God wanted us to help these children to know that God loves them and that he was interested in their lives. God wants to break
through into these children’s hearts and he wants them to know that there is God who loves them and wants to change their circumstances. These children need to be supported to get back into schools. They need to get into normal life and this can only happen with our concerted
support and love.
The problem is that many people are dying of HIV/AIDS and the children are orphaned without anyone to care for them. And a lot more parents have no jobs and so have no means to care for their children.
These children are also unable to attend school because nobody is willing to meet their school expenses. These children are growing up on the streets and we don’t know what will become of them when they grow
up. What future have they got? It is a time bomb waiting to explode at any time and when it explodes we are all going to be affected whether we like or not. This problem is a reflection of the uncaring world we now live in. Please pray for these children and us as we share
God’s love with them.
What are some of the causes?
1.
Lost, abandoned or orphaned
2.
HIV/AIDS
3.
Sent by their own parents or guardians
4.
Running away because of poverty, violence or sexual abuse
5.
It’s a downward spiral. From the frying pan into the fire.
6.
Most are trapped and have nowhere to go. Girls are raped by their relatives and so go to the streets to escape but soon find that they are being raped by other men.
7.
Jenkem or Glue helps to escape the reality of their traumatic lifestyle. It also helps to take away the hunger pains on the streets. It also helps them to lose their inhibitions to enable them to in the sexual acts demanded by their clients.
8.
Sniffing glue destroys their health and theirs minds are very damaged and it is unlikely that they will ever be functional socially again—it is very sad to see. When they are high they amuse passers by as they dance or are hyperactive.
9.
We need to organise social parties for these street children where we can listen and dance to music together.
These children are going through a tremendous struggle in their short lives and somehow the Bible and Jesus Christ seem to offer them something new, a hope and peace.
These kids want to go to church but they say they have no clothes to put on.
Street children need allies, they need friends and guidance, they need to feel accepted and ultimately they need a way off the streets. Some are able to go back to their families but for some, due to home
situation, this is impossible. Part of my work on the street is to identify the children, reunite them with their families or come up with a new alternative. This is where the residential care facilities come in and play a vital role in the rehabilitation and rescuing of street
children. There is always the temptation to give up on the children or say that they are a lost cause. However, there is hope and it comes from the great giver of hope himself—Jesus Christ.
In Luke 6: 20-22, we read that “Looking at his disciples, he said: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the
We are currently trying to raise funds to buy a property where some of the street children can come for a decent meal, have a good bath and a warm bed surrounded by people who love them.