The government of Burundi is proceeding with the activity of removing all children and beggars from the streets.The latter say the government should help them financially.
Street children assembled in a transit center waiting to be transferred back to their families.
“I am no longer able to cultivate. How will I live without any help?” says an old woman met in a transit center at Jabe quarter where they are gathered in a transit center.
Lionel, a street child from Kayanza Province aged 14, says that even though he is sent back home, he might come back to Bujumbura because of poverty. “The poverty that I escaped is still there. If I feel hungry, I will definitely come back”.
He says he came to Bujumbura because of hunger. “If they want me to stay there, they should give me food and school materials so that I go to study like other children”.
Chadrack, aged 9, says he has fled persecution of his stepmother. “If the administration wants me to stay home, it should first convince my stepmother to not mistreat me again,” he says.
Anna, a mother of two, appreciates the government’s initiative. She came in Bujumbura after her husband’s death, following her friend who had promised to find her a job. “My friend betrayed me and I could not find any shelter”. She says, adding that the government should help them financially so that they integrate again into their communities.
Removing children and beggars from the streets is due to take place in the whole country following a decision made by the government of Burundi via an initiative by the Ministry of Solidarity, that of the Interior as well as that of Public Security.
The declaration that was released by the Ministry of the Interior compelled street children and beggars to leave the streets by April 19.
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