From nights on the streets to a warm bed

21/03/2019

A total of 54 street connected children have been rescued off the streets of Uganda’s capital Kampala. All children were made to beg on the streets. Among them were eight babies, who were exploited by their ‘mothers’ to collect more money. The children, 36 girls and 18 boys, have been hosted in specialised shelters and spent the night in a warm bed.

Child trafficking

Rescue mission

In a joint operation of Terre des Hommes Netherlands’ partner Dwelling Places together with Ugandan authorities, the children have been taken off the streets during an outreach on Tuesday 19 March. In the shelters they were received by social workers for psycho-social support. All were given food, medical assessment and treatment were necessary. They were bathed, provided with clothes and other basic needs.

Rehabilitation

Their rescue is a first step in a longer process of rehabilitation, focused on their permanent withdrawal from the capital’s streets. Ultimate goal is to reunify them within the communities they hail from, and enroll them in education.

The rescue mission was a joint operation of Terre des Hommes Netherlands’ partner Dwelling Places, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD), the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), and the Uganda Police Force.

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