Wau to implement plan to get children off streets

21 Jan 2013

Wau to implement plan to get children off streets

16 January 2013 – As the number of children living and working on the streets of the Western Bahr El-Ghazal capital Wau continues to cause grave concern, the state's Child Protection Working Group unveiled an action plan today aimed at addressing the problem.

"The different actors that are here ... share (in the) responsibility (to) eliminate the appearance of children on the street", said the state government's Minister of Youth and Sports Arkangelo Anyar.

The group, which comprises UNMISS Child Protection officers, UNICEF, the non-governmental organization Save the Children and the state government ministries of Youth and Sports, and Gender and Social Welfare, discussed an assessment report on 457 children who are known to be living on the streets. The assessment was conducted in May 2012.

"We are here to deliberate on how to take the report forward in terms of actions," said UNICEF Child Protection Specialist Joyce Mutiso.

She emphasised the need to implement the action plan that will help reduce the number of children working and living on the city's streets.

In recent years there have been increasing reports of children who, in the absence of appropriate care and attention at home, take to the streets of major cities and towns throughout South Sudan.

Wau County Executive Director Pasco Pasquale called on citizens to take seriously their child-rearing responsibilities.

"The number of the children on the street is increasing rapidly, which is a threat to security" he said.

According to the head of the UNMISS Child Protection Unit Hazel de Wet, many of these children come from families who returned to the country and have not been permanently resettled yet.

"It is an issue of concern because these children are in danger of coming into conflict with the law," Ms. de Wet said recently.