U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

RWANDA: UNICEF, government launch sensitisation drive on street children

NAIROBI , 5 November (IRIN) - UNICEF and the Rwandan ministries of Social
Welfare and Public Works have undertaken a nationwide drive to sensitise
decision makers and the public to the plight of the 7,000 children who are
enduring a precarious existence on the nation's street, the UN Children's
Fund in Kigali told IRIN on Monday.

The effort, which stared on 1 Oct., will end on 29 Dec. and cost about US
$37,000. The programme started with a campaign on radio, television and
the print media. The messages are being aired as radio and television
spots and debates, as well as stories about aspects of the problem such as
child labour, and the causes and consequences of such practices. The
target audiences are government officials, police, local administrators,
social welfare agencies, school authorities and parents.

UNICEF says 3,000 of the nation's street children live in Kigali, the
capital. Their condition is a result of extreme family poverty, the 1994
genocide, other killings and war, the AIDS pandemic, the inability of
local communities to care for the vulnerable and the inability of urban
governments to protect children and provide them areas of recreation.

The UN agency reported in a document on the sensitisation programme, that
authorities and the public consider street children as "delinquents,
thieves, deviants, and evil people who must be fought by all means and not
protected". Mindful of their social marginalisation, UNICEF added, the
children Are "distrustful of people and are not always easy to approach".

[ENDS]

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[This item is delivered in the "africa-english" service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001