A critical review of the approaches used by Non-Governmental Organizations in safeguarding the security of street children in Kampala Central Division

Abstract

Street children are uniquely vulnerable to abuse and violence, particularly by authorities charged with public order who often see them as a public nuisance. Street children constitute a marginalized population in most urban centers of the world. Despite Government and NGO interventions towards alleviation of the problem of street children, addressing specific challenges of street children is still a long way in this country.

The objectives of the study were to establish the approaches used by NGOs in safeguarding the security of street children in KCD, examine the interventions used by the NGOs, find out ways in which the human rights of street children are safeguarded by the authorities, identify the factors that led to the prevalence of street children in KCD and appraise the significance of the NGOs interventions in safeguarding the security of street children in KCD. Data was collected using questionnaires and structured interviews for NGO officials and the street kids respectively. Qualitative data with descriptive statistics was used in the presentation and analysis of data.

The results showed that children were forced into the streets by push and pull factors that included breakdown of the family structure, poverty and unemployment among others. The study recommends that NGOs must get to the root cause of street children in collaboration with Government instead of just treating the symptoms of the problem given what is currently happening. It also recommends that there is need for the organizations to involve the street children and other authorities such as KCCA and Uganda Police in finding lasting solutions to the problems of children living on the streets.