x xf xf xf xfxf x - St Clements University

streets, this incidents is considered a fact reflective of South Africa's past of racial
segregation and apartheid (Le Roux, 1996).
Another example is street children phenomenon in Kenya. While in 1969 Kenya had only
a few hundred parking boys or male street children, today, there are an estimated 10,000
to 30,000 both male and female street children in Nairobi. Throughout Africa, street boys
greatly outnumber street girls. The reason is that girls are supposed to stay home to care
for children in South Africa (Le Roux, 1996). In Khartoum and Maputo, Mozambique,
girls reside in homes as servants subject for punishment if they move to the streets
(Dodge & Rundle, 1991).
Similarly, the same situation is been experienced in Sierra Leone. The number of street
children has increased geometrically, from 10,000 in 1990 to about 200,000 in 1998
(Social Welfare Ministry). Estimates indicate that by the year 2008 the number of street
children in the country will double if adequate measures are not put in place to address
the problem. It should be borne in mind that the eight years of civil war has caused untold
suffering to many children in Sierra Leone, dragging them to the streets of Freetown and
elsewhere in the country. The consequences of this war have been devastating.
Women and children who constituted the vulnerable group bore the brunt of the atrocities
committed by the rebels. There were gross violations of children’s rights, ranging from
abductions, multiple rape, amputation, slavery, exploitation, forced recruitments and drug
addiction and the destruction of a significant portion of natural infrastructure. Despite the
fact that the United Nations convention on the right of the child, stresses the need for
every child to have access to shelter, food, clothing and education, this has not been the
case for many children inclusive street children in Sierra Leone.
There are specific macro causes that are associated with a dramatic rise in Africa's street
children, along with the poverty of global economic and structural adjustment forces
mentioned above. These factors include civil war and famine such as in Mozambique and
Sudan, (Dodge & Raundalen, 1991), children soldiers and acute immunity deficiency
5