NAPAK/KOTIDO – At least 66 Karamojong children who have been living on the streets of Kampala and other towns have been reunited with their families.
Some of the girls who have been on the streets since they were minors returned with children born on the streets.
“On the streets, anything can happen. We are happy that we are back home; alive and in good shape. Other things don’t matter. That’s life”, said one of the girls from Lokopo Sub County in Napak district who had a three months’ baby.
It was all tears of joy for Anna Napeyok, a mother to one of the returnees as she received her son, Moses Ejiot in Kotido district.
Ejiot has been living in the Kampala streets since 2013.
With the help of Cooperation and Development, a Non -Governmental Organization, Ejilot was traced and reunited him with his family.
His elder sister only identified as Nakure says that it was on 13 September 2013, when Ejiot disappeared from her on the streets of Kampala and her efforts to find him, were futile.
“Like any other person, I went to Kampala with Ejiot expecting to get a job and help my family out of hunger. But things got tougher than I thought and he disappeared as I tried to look for some food from the streets. Since then, I failed to get hold of him and I have suffered much especially from my family that never believed me”, Nakure said as she hugged her brother.
According to Janet Nakwang Cooperation and Development field Officer in- charge of Child Protection, there were 70 street children traced but four disappeared. She says that the organization will do its best to resettle the rest of children living on the streets of Kampala and other towns.
The Principal Community Development Officer Kotido, Lilly Lemukol thanked the NGO and other partners for protecting vulnerable children.
Since Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA resolved to criminalize hand-outs for street children, a number of street children are returning home. Some have joined street life again in Moroto town and Matany town in Napak district.
