STREET CHILDREN IN MWANZA CITY.

By, K, Aloyce.

Street children are increasing day after a day, the causes for them to be high in Mwanza city are due to social and economic aspects such as poverty, urbanization, sickness, divorce, peer pressures, family conflicts, and lack of governmental care for the non- able people in the society. As it is examined briefly bellow here as follows.

Poverty, however the buffaloes of poverty knock the children away from their families due to the fact that, according to United Nations Development program (UNDP) report, Tanzania is the 4^th poorest Country from the bottom in the world. So, children tend to escape the life in their families moving into streets expecting to get relief from their families’ hard life. Hence this habit has produced a lot of street children in Mwanza city.

Divorce, this is a second factor where by it has been proved that in every  ten (10) street children, six (6) of them came to live in streets because they found it to be more peaceful than living with their step parents,  in their blended families where they lack a genuine parental care. That is why the number of children continues increasing almost every day.

Death & diseases, High mortality rate caused by incurable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, has been another caused of the influx of Street children in Mwanza City.

A quite large number of children who are currently moving into street run away from their guardian’s families to escape harsh treatment from the members of their guardian’s families after they have lost their parents.

Peer pressures, in some cases, children find it difficult to resist the influence from other children of their age who are in streets. Already so some of the street children originate from good and rich ferrules regardless their difficult life in streets. Most of these children are disobedient to their strict parents so they run away from their families to seek freedom of life styles for instance taking alcohol and smoking. 

Family conflicts, un maintained large families lead to the destruction  of the pillars of  a family hence alcohol distraction and lack of peace in the family accelerate children to find a helping hand, love and peace in street. Parents of children have to be careful in their families so as to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Urbanization, Since Mwanza is the backbone of the Tanzania’s economy because of its rich in natural resources and it’s high population, there is a rapid movement of children from rural areas to Mwanza Urban centers to search for wages and other related tasks so that they can get anything to feed their stomatches.

However, street children face a lot of problems in the city, the following are some of the problems facing the street children personally in their daily life in Mwanza city.

Lack of basic needs, the homeless street children sleep along the corridors in Mwanza town. They are not sure of their food and clothes; many die of malaria and others transmitted diseases because no one cares for their health.

Drug abuse, Street children find themselves involved in the non- medical use of drugs that has always been interfering with their healthy and productive life. Some of the drugs used by these children include cocaine, marijuana, heroin and petrol, as illegal drugs and alcohol, tobacco, inhalants and prescription drugs as legal drugs. Children often have a sense of invulnerability on drugs regardless their age or sex claiming to get energy or help them relax. Children use drugs to seek relief of the stress of life in streets because they have no hope for their future and sometimes they fail to get food and tend to eat in damps, Regardless of why children abuse drugs, many continue the practice because they become dependants (addicted) on drugs.

Homo sexuality, in street it is common for an elder street boy to play fornication with another young boy whom they call “Their wives” Other children (boys) under this immoral practice have decided to make it a business with adults of the same sex whom in return they give them a little amount of money or  food. Similarly young girls are being raped and some bear children unexpectedly. So some tend to throw their born children away, some abort and others get into prostitution in return for payment to save themselves and their children.

The society is affected by presence of large number of street children who cause the insecurity of people in public transport vehicles, in the streets to mention the most common.

REFERENCE

http://www.undp.org/

Street children around

Rufiji street

in Mwanza city.

Body sellers (sexual intercourse oriented) at Vitunguu near with

Pamba Road

, Mwanza city available on the place every day at 8:00 pm.

Miss Bora (Shangazi) near Aspen Hotel in Mwanza city.