4:45pm
There has been a recent increase in the number of children living on the streets due to Conflict, drought and economic hardships. Many of the children are from Mogadishu and other parts of south-central Somalia. The chairman of a local human rights group, estimated that there were about 3,000-5,000 children on the streets of Hargeisa. Of the children on the streets they all seem to fall into three categories: those who work for their families on the street during the day and go home at night, those who sleep on the street and those who move from town to town. Most often the children beg, but some have jobs as shoe shiners or car washers. Girls usually clean businesses or homes. While on the streets many children suffer from abuse and violence. Sexual abuse is most common. During the night, the children who sleep on the streets are easy targets for sexual abuse because they have no one to protect them. This is a huge problem. The children living on the streets have been plagued with numerous diseases and don’t even know it.
The article talked about a little boy named Ahmed. He is only 12 years old and he is taking care of his mother and little sisters. After his father died in 2007, he took it upon himself to take the lead. He does all of this on 40,000 Somaliland shillings ($6.50 US) a day.
Although this horrible issue is going on, here are people trying to fix it. There are agencies committed to identifying the vulnerable communities and help them to create a better system of protection for the children. They do things like ensuring the poorest and most vulnerable children have access to schooling and health services. Somalia’s government enacted a Juvenile Justice Law in March, aimed at guaranteeing children's rights. They are also running a orphanage that houses about 400 children.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81052
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