This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
Published on July 22, 2019, a spot check by Business Today revealed a growing number of street families in Kenya, particularly in Nairobi, East Africa's wealthiest city.
The city's inability to manage street families is a concerning indicator of the country's socio-economic progress.
According to statistics, most street families are young adults and children between the ages of 6 and 19, forced to move from street to street due to police patrols and rivalry between street gangs.
Street families face numerous hardships, including exposure to chronic diseases, and female street children are often sexually harassed and become teenage mothers.
One teenager shared her story, saying, 'I gave birth on the streets. It is not easy to raise a child in the cold, but I have little option because life has to move on, but I remain hopeful for a better tomorrow.'
Another street urchin revealed that he turned to drug usage as a means of coping with his difficult past, saying, 'I ended up on the streets after running away from home. At home, I had reached breaking point after my step dad developed an insatiable appetite for roughing my siblings and I.'
Associations formed to help street children often fail to deliver, with funds allocated to these projects being looted and misused.
Measures must be taken to provide shelter and rehabilitation services to street families, while also addressing the root causes of their situation.
