The presence of Karimojong children on the streets of Kampala is giving a lot of stress to Napak District leadership, the north eastern district has disclosed.
For so many years, Karimajong children have been seen on various Kampala streets and other municipalities, begging for food and other handouts but some are accompanied by adults who stand some distance from them but collect the money from the children once good Samaritans give them.
Mr. Joseph Lomonyang, the Napak District chairperson has told TheUgandan that the region is now peaceful thus they have started a drive to rid Kampala of street children whose families were forced out of Karamoja due to insecurity and hunger.
Over 5000 Karimojong children live by begging on Kampala streets and a five-day campaign to take them back was started on Tuesday in the five sub counties of Ngoleriet, Lokopo, Matanya, Lorengechora and Lopei where majority originate from.
The lead organisation of the drive to is Uganda Change Agent Association and funded by Inter-church Cooperation Netherlands in collaboration with the district Local Government of Napak.
“Life in Kampala is not simple; everything needs money not like here at home where we are okay now,” said Ms Grace Nakiru, a former street child, now staying at her home in Lopei.
But the drive could face resistance from other regional leaders like Ms Christine Akot, the Moroto District vice chairperson who insist ‘some NGOs that brings them back to Karamoja but they just dump them here without any resettlement packages and in a short while, they find their way back to Kampala streets.’
According to a 2015 report by ANPPACAN [African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect], most of the children resort to street life because of factors such as poverty at home, child abuse, family break down and insecurity.
