BY PHUMELELE GAMEDZE
MBABANE— Key stakeholders gathered yesterday at Hilton Garden Inn to find lasting solutions for children living and working on the streets, with plans focusing on immediate support and long term family care.
The meeting was convened by the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office through the National Children Services Department, bringing together municipalities, the Royal Eswatini Police Service and the Social Welfare Department.
In Eswatini’s major towns and cities, children can increasingly be seen on the streets, some selling goods or asking members of the public for money. Behind every child on the street, however, is a story that may involve family circumstances, poverty, lack of support or other challenges.
The meeting therefore sought to look beyond the presence of children on the streets and understand what can be done to change their circumstances.
The stakeholders are working towards a short-, medium and long term plan that will guide how children and their families can be supported. The intention is to create a coordinated response where children are identified, their individual situations understood and appropriate assistance provided.
This is important because prolonged exposure to street life can put children at risk of losing opportunities to attend school and may expose them to situations that threaten their safety, health and development.
Eswatini’s National Plan of Action for Children 2023–2027 places child survival, development, protection and participation at the centre of national efforts. It also promotes stronger coordination among institutions responsible for protecting children.
The National Children Services Department plays an important role in coordinating services for vulnerable children and strengthening child protection systems.
For stakeholders involved, the challenge is not simply to remove children from streets, but to ensure that they have somewhere safe to go afterwards.
Where family reunification is safe and appropriate, families can be supported to provide a more stable environment. Where additional intervention is needed, social services and other relevant structures can help identify suitable solutions.
The engagement also highlights the importance of municipalities, law enforcement and social services working together rather than addressing the issue separately.
Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that a child’s place is not on the streets, but in a safe environment where they can learn, play, receive care and look forward to a better future.
The planned approach offers hope that the country can move from responding to individual cases to addressing the wider challenges that push children onto the streets in the first place.
(Courtesy Pic)
