Street children attend police training camp in Rumbek

November 17, 2011 (JUBA) – The commissioner of police in Lakes state, Saed Chawuol Lom, has directed his security personnel to collect all street children in Rumbek and send them to a reformatory school.

By Wednesday over 85 street children had been taken to a closed training camp at Lakes state’s police headquarters under the direct supervision of the police commissioner.

In a meeting held on Wednesday evening, Chawuol affirmed that the police would provide the street children with food, blankets and education material. As part of the project the children will receive vocational training skill as well be taught to play instruments in the police brass band.

Rumbek Central county commissioner, Matur Majok Magol, said his office will provide some funding for the project.

He said that increased numbers of street children in Rumbek’s market was causing an increase in crime. He appealed to the parents of the street children to visit their children at the training center inside Lakes state police headquarters.

Police commissioner Saed said that he got the idea to provide the children with training, food and shelter when thinking of ways to solve the problem of the number of street kids in the market.

Street children representative, Isaac Makol Thuonglual, told Sudan Tribune he welcomed the decision suggesting that they now be called ‘Baby Police’ rather the street children.

Makol has lived as a homeless man in Rumbek since he lost his job as a driver for an Ethiopian. After his father died he said he has had no one to support him. He was elected by the street children to represent them as their chairman.

He thanks the commissioner for his help and also acknowledged the kindness shown to him by his former employer before he returned to Ethiopia.

“I learn[t] to speak English while I had never stud[ied],” he said.

“This Ethiopian man left to his country. I have never met him again and this is whereby I become street boy. I missed this Ethiopian man who was so kind, more than South Sudanese.”

Lakes state government has made other attempts to control street children. In 2010, Lakes state government announced it was going to build a street children’s foundation home but no building was constructed, apparently due to funding issues.

Street children in South Sudan are not all orphans – from the civil war (1983-2005), the countries rebellions, or death form health issues – many leave their homes as their parents are too poor to support them.

(ST)