Human Trafficking in [Malawi] [other countries]Street Children in [Malawi Child Prostitution in [Malawi] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the
first ten years of the 21st Century -
2000 to 2009
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CAUTION: The following links and accompanying text have been culled
from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** More street children as Malawi food crisis deepens www.afrol.com/News2003/maw003_street_children.htm Grinding poverty, family breakdown and HIV/AIDS are among the main reasons why children come onto the street in Malawi. It is estimated that 80 percent of the street children in Malawi are orphaned by HIV/AIDS. But as the food crisis has deepened, it is currently the main reason that children are coming onto the street in Blantyre. Life on the streets www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=11504 Mavuto, not his real name, is
fourteen-years-old. Born in Neno, his parents died two years ago. Consequently his
frail grandmother assumed the responsibility of taking care of Mavuto and his two young siblings. Mavuto says that
lack of food and other basic amenities forced him to leave the village and
start a new life as a street beggar in the city of Blantyre. As a result he has been a consistent
beggar for close to two years, moving through the streets, begging for
change. “I do not have any place I
call home. Most of the times, I sleep without any covers together with my
friend in that restaurant,” says Mavuto, pointing
in the direction of an old tin-made structure. “Older boys and minibus touts often beat
us up and rob us of our meager resources,” he admits. Last week Mavuto
was raped and sodomized by two men.
“It was on Wednesday around midnight when two men entered our shelter
and asked for a space to sleep,” he explains. “Almost immediately they produced knives
and ordered me to undress. When I tried to protest they threatened to kill me
if I refused or shouted out,” says Mavuto. As he talks Mavuto
bows his head, his eyes cast down, sweater shielding his young face. “Then they introduced their members into
my anus. One after another. I was sodomized right in my room,” he says. But it wasn’t the first time. And
according to Mavuto, he isn’t the only young boy on
the streets in Blantyre to experience this. “When I was just a novice beggar I was
also sexually assaulted, that was before I knew that these things happen,”
says Mavuto, who never reported the rapes to the
police. “I live in a very dangerous
environment,” he admits. ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF - The Big Picture U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - A 1999 study estimated the number of children on the streets of
three major cities to be roughly 2,000.
Approximately 22 percent of primary school age girls were not in
school, and another 60 percent of those enrolled were found not to attend
school regularly. Indirect costs of
education, family illnesses, and lack of interest in education are lowering
school attendance CURRENT
GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - The Ministry also collaborates with stakeholders to form
the National Task Force on Children and Violence, which deals with child labor
as well as other threats to children’s health and well being. Street children receive assistance through
the Department of Social Welfare and the Ministry of gender, Child Welfare,
and Community Services. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 CHILDREN - More than half of the country's
children lived in poverty, mostly in rural areas. Children in rural households
headed by women were among the poorest. Only one‑third of children had
ready access to safe drinking water, infant mortality was high, and child
malnutrition was a serious problem. On June 21, the government launched a
National Plan of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children to mitigate the
impact of poverty and HIV/AIDS on the country's estimated one million
orphans. A few charitable organizations
attempted to reduce the number of child beggars in urban areas; however, the
problem of street children worsened as the number of orphans whose parents
died from HIV/AIDS increased. Extended family members normally cared for such
children and other orphans. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2002 [53] While noting the challenging
socio‑economic situation, the Committee remains concerned at the
increasingly high number of children who do not enjoy their right to an
adequate standard of living, including children belonging to poor families,
AIDS orphans, street children and children living in remote rural areas. In addition, the Committee is concerned at
the lack of a social security system that would ensure access to health
services for children. [65] The Committee expresses its
concern at the increasing number of street children and at the lack of
specific policies and programs to address this situation and to provide those
children with adequate assistance. Life on the streets www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=11504 Mavuto, not his real name, is
fourteen-years-old. Born in Neno, his parents died two years ago. Consequently his
frail grandmother assumed the responsibility of taking care of Mavuto and his two young siblings. Mavuto says that
lack of food and other basic amenities forced him to leave the village and
start a new life as a street beggar in the city of Blantyre. As a result he has been a consistent
beggar for close to two years, moving through the streets, begging for
change. “I do not have any place I
call home. Most of the times, I sleep without any covers together with my
friend in that restaurant,” says Mavuto, pointing
in the direction of an old tin-made structure. “Older boys and minibus touts often beat
us up and rob us of our meager resources,” he admits. Last week Mavuto
was raped and sodomized by two men.
“It was on Wednesday around midnight when two men entered our shelter
and asked for a space to sleep,” he explains. “Almost immediately they produced knives
and ordered me to undress. When I tried to protest they threatened to kill me
if I refused or shouted out,” says Mavuto. As he talks Mavuto
bows his head, his eyes cast down, sweater shielding his young face. “Then they introduced their members into
my anus. One after another. I was sodomized right in my room,” he says. But it wasn’t the first time. And
according to Mavuto, he isn’t the only young boy on
the streets in Blantyre to experience this. “When I was just a novice beggar I was
also sexually assaulted, that was before I knew that these things happen,”
says Mavuto, who never reported the rapes to the
police. “I live in a very dangerous
environment,” he admits. Vasco's
Story: Running to Stand Still They said to be careful, to not
get too close, to not let "it" get to me,
to not become overwhelmed or "too emotional." After about three weeks of behaving myself
and keeping my head and heart in check while traveling through east Africa, I
did exactly what they said not to do.
I fell in love. Hopelessly, helplessly, achingly in love. His name is Vasco. He's 10. It was love at
first sight on my part, though I can't speak for the Malawian child who has
broken my heart with his. Street kids miss family values streetkidnews.blogsome.com/2007/07/16/street-kids-miss-family-values/ www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=5726 “From what we have discovered, most of these
children are not orphans, they have parents whose
marriages broke up. “Most of them are
from single parent homes and are encouraged to go into the streets to beg
because they are not well provided for at their homes,” he said. He said it was wrong to give the children
money because such handouts encouraged them to stick to the streets. Miss
Malawi 1st Princess to educate street kids Almost clocking six months basking
in the glory of being Malawi’s 1st Princess, Tusekile
Wilkinson has dedicated all her energy during her reign to change the lives
of street children in Lilongwe by sending them to school. “I have learnt that not all
children that we see loitering in the streets of our cities and towns are
orphans. They have parents and guardians and these people simply don’t have
the capacity to support the children’s education and provide them with the
necessities,” she said. Lilongwe
street children get new home The population of street children
in Lilongwe is expected to go down following the construction of a K11
million Chisomo Children’s Club, which officially
opened its doors on Saturday amid concerns of rampant abuse of children in
the country. Kaluluma said she was concerned with
reports that some watchmen in Lilongwe were cashing in on street children by
charging a fee when the street kids sleep on the verandas of shops. “The government would take drastic action
against such watchmen. There is no need to charge these poor children, the
government would not sit back and watch,” warned Kaluluma. Lack of love in
homes increasing street children One of the facilitators Phoebe Kufeyani said unfair and biased treatment of orphans by
guardians in homes force them join the streets. She added in the face of HIV
and AIDS, orphan hood was on the increase. She decried the tendency of
property grabbing by relations, which makes the deceased children poor. Street
children to benefit from Scout Extension Project Hundreds of street children in
Lilongwe would from this month benefit from a Scout Extension Project under
Gift of Peace where the children, most of them orphans, will receive
voluntary education. Chiefs Commissioner for Scouts
Association of Malawi Evans Mphalasa said this on
Saturday during launch of the project. He said his association has targeted a
number of street kids who will go under formal training aimed at
incorporating them back into society. Mphalasa said during the initial pilot
phase for the project, the Scout Association of Malawi intends to identify
over 40 children who will be taught life skills under a number of scouts
clubs currently operating in the city. CHILD
DAY concentrates on street children This year’s International Day of the Child, which falls on June 16, would concentrate on the street kid, Minister of Gender, Child Welfare and Community Services Joyce Banda has said. Banda made the revelation last week when she lunched with street kids supported by a Farmer’s World feeding programme under the Support the Child initiative. The Gender Minister said street kids face a lot of hardships but get very little help because they are only deemed as street criminals. Handouts
encouraging street kids The tendency by rich people to
give out money and gifts to youngsters is one of the factors encouraging kids
to be on the street. More street
children as Malawi food crisis deepens www.afrol.com/News2003/maw003_street_children.htm Grinding poverty, family breakdown
and HIV/AIDS are among the main reasons why children come onto the street in
Malawi. It is estimated that 80
percent of the street children in Information About Street Children - www.streetchildren.org.uk/reports/Malawi%20Child.doc The contents of this article had
appeared under a different title and may possibly still be accessible [here]
The rise in street children
numbers is the result of worsening economic conditions aggravated by the
breakdown of extended family structures and the impact of the HIV/AIDS
pandemic. An estimated 25% of the urban population is infected with HIV;
there are an estimated 1.2 million children orphaned Our work with victims of abuse www.smnda.org/msola_eng/work/victims_abuse/victims_abuse.htm#streetchiMalawi At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
STREET CHILDREN IN True Stories - Street children in Malawi www.smnda.org/msola_eng/meet_sisters/true_stories/streetchildren_malawi/streetchildren_malawi.htm At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Emmanuel problems with stealing /
Maloyano stole food / Doreen, an orphan accused of witchcraft./ Nakiline, an
adolescent mother, raped / Child
Labour Rages On In Malawi Poverty and cheap labor are
factors that have fueled child labor in the country. Child labor has deprived
the Malawian society of a skilled and educated workforce for the future and
so perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Street Children – The Situation by Martyna Bec Martyna Bec’s
report highlights the situation facing many children in Street
Children's Ministry — Blantyre, Malawi Every Wednesday lunchtime eight
dedicated young people from Malawi:
The Word on the Streets The number of children varies.
Often there are up to 60 or so children, and other weeks there are fewer. On
arrival, two helpers walk around the railway the market finding the
children and telling them we are by station. There are also around 20 adults
who know they will be offered food if there is any left after the children
have been served. Many of the adults are blind and several have other
physical disabilities. I never saw them go without any food. Man
Utd Help Malawi Street Kids Since 1998, the club has worked to
enable hundreds of children to return to school or start apprenticeships in
skills such as carpentry and metal work.
Many of these children have also been reunited with families. Hundreds of children are orphaned
or abandoned in At the beginning of 2002, SOS
Malawi reacted to the growing AIDS epidemic with a community outreach
program, which is coordinated by the All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Malawi] [other countries]Street Children in [Malawi Child Prostitution in [Malawi] [other countries]