The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development today told Parliament that Government is still committed to addressing the growing problem of street kids.
Responding to a question from Mapatizya United Party for National Development (UPND)
MP Ackson Sejani who wanted to know the measures Government is taking to address the problem of street kids, Deputy Minister of Youth, Sport and Child Development
Mulasikwanda Patricia said her ministry had embarked on a skills training programme
for street children.
Ms. Mulasikwanda said three Zambia National Service (ZNS) camps namely; Kitwe,
Chiwoko and Chishimba were identified to serve as skills training centers for the
children.
She said 204 youths graduated from Chiwoko and Kitwe camps in August and September
2006 with skills in Capentry and joinery, bricklaying and plastering, poultry,
general agriculture, shoe making and automechanics.
She said after graduation the former street kids were sent to the 16 youth centers
run by the ministry across the country.
Ms. Mulasikwanda said the ministry is working with the Office of the Vice President
in looking at ways of allocating land to graduates in agriculture.
She added that the ministry gives grants to institutions and organisations that
address the welfare of street kids for capacity building.
There seems to be a big problem in Zambia about how to solve the street kids issue.An increase in a number of street kids is so worrying that one wonders what the Churches are doing to help manhandle the problem.
Do the offerings in Church go straight to heaven?
So many Churches are registered in Zambia and being a Christian nation we should not let our brothers and sisters suffer like this.We are too fond of asking the Government to do A,B,C why?No only the Government has this responsibility to improve economy.We all need to put our efforts in building a clean and proud Zambia.
So many organizations being formed and yet less orphanages are being built.So many churches which even give conditions on how much their Lord would accept as whole a heartedly given offering.Announcing that the Lord is rich,announcing that they have been blessed with Cars,houses etc.
What are we doing?
What is a Church?
How do we define offerings?Are they only meant to run the Church?
Some Church members even miss meals to save for offerings while a street kids mouth remains dry day and night.
We are doing nothing but training innocent souls to be good criminals in order that they feel their stomachs.
Fellow Zambians,lets be good not only at talking and analizing issues,but also making moves (actions)
The collapse of one of the key institution of society that of family has resulted in to such a sad development of street children as well adults. I know that HIV/AIDS is a catalyst to this but something should be done to support the existing family structures of extended family and not to move away completely. The move by govt to institutionlise this problem will not help matters. Please think again and address the root cause.
I think that the problem of street kids in our country is not being persued from its roots. This challenge must be addressed head on. The biggest problem we have in our country is that we have people who are too good at talking for the sake of keeping their jobs and not to offer practical solution for the challenges being faced.
Let us face facts. In a country were over 100 000 children sat for grade seven exam only 40% make it to grade 8. Someone looks at the results and thinks that things are not in order. He confronts the minister of education, who happen to be a professor, and ask him what they will do with the 60% who have been booted out of school.All he could say is that they will find them something to do. The scenario is the some at grade nine. Meawhile this minister goes out and climb on a tall ant hill to proudly anounce in a mega phone to the public that there is a marginal increase in the passing rate of this years results so all is well.
The Job is done and he pulls himself down to a comfortable couch, kick back to relax, waiting to come and boast over another artificial marginal increase in the next years examination results.
such are the current trends in our education system. An education which is pre maturely graduating our children who later find nothing to do and end up sniffing genkem on the streets.
Mr professor honourable Minister sir know that with this trend of education results, our eduction system is genarating street kids in thousands every year and this is time bomb. Let us not look at this problem from the top but from the buttom. Let us treat this problem with some sense of urgence and don’t forget that your ministry has embarked on a deliberate policy of zero illitracy level by 2015 of which I dont see you achieving because you have no plans for it and with the way things are going now ,concerning the plight of street kids, no is brilliant. I can guarantee you if your ministry shall not find a long lasting solution to this problem Zambia will not be a safe place to live in. Your job is not just to see that the teachers are paid but also to keep the Zambian children in school.
Perhaps you and your ministry have not thought about it Zambia needs twice more of its current number of primary schools, more the same number of secondary school as much as there are now and and at least not less than 9 universities. If you can’t even achieve 5% of these things during your term of office then you would have not as well been there.
For a long time I have watched with amazement how our memebers of parliament conduct thier business in the house.Is it some kind of traditional practice that all the MPs do in parliament is ask cabinet ministers questions on obvious issues year in year out? Do these MPs ever draft any legislation as solutions towards the questions they ask?
The issue concerning our kids on the street is not something new and these MPs know very well that government is not doing anything practicle to address the problem. Instead of asking unnecessary and obvious questions PLEASE come up with solutions and make a difference.
What else is the core business of MCDSS to reporting about 200 graduates, most of whom may eventually return to the street because of lack of tools and capital to implement their skills.