The death of the Gweru teenager in freezing temperatures has renewed debate on the need for society to remember the less privileged in times of unfriendly weather conditions.
The 16-year-old was found dead in the city’s Central Business District last Wednesday morning after sleeping in the open, amid freezing temperatures.
The phenomenon of children living in the streets is not new, nor is it restricted to certain geographical areas. The United Nations reports that, globally, an estimated 150 million children live on the streets today.
These children end up living and working on the streets for a number of reasons, including death of parents, breakdown of families, family violence, natural disasters, economic hardships, and drug and alcohol abuse.
The number children living on the streets in Zimbabwe is hard to determine with accuracy but according to reports, in the late 1980s, these children became a more and more common facet of the urban landscape of Zimbabwe, especially in the capital city of Harare.
The United Nations gave a report emphasizing that children would not end up on the streets if strong policies are in place that hold agencies responsible for supporting young children whose families (for whatever reasons) cannot take care of them.
The unfortunate incident in Gweru brought to light the need to help poor and needy people as this is vital to strengthen the whole society and avoid unnecessary deaths. We raise the entire community as we provide support and a helping hand to those less fortunate than us.
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