April 09, 2007	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1428

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PESHAWAR, April 8: Street children are increasingly becoming drug addicts in Mardan, the second biggest district of the province after Peshawar, child right activists say.

Most of the out-of-school children work in automobile workshops, hotels and restaurants, collect garbage and sell second-hand stuff. Tough working conditions at their work places force them to seek a few moments of leisure and entertainment, so they indulge in drug use.

“About 49 drug addicts are being helped to get rid of the habit,” said Najamul Hadi, who is associated with a Unicef-assisted project. The problem of drugs was prevalent among most street children, he said, adding that they used hashish, heroine and other drugs.

Their number is on the rise. They are registered at two dropping centres in Mardan and Takht Bai.

The population of Mardan district is around 500,000, of which 45 per cent are stated to be between the age group of 12 and 18 years.

Most of the children head for Mardan from nearby villages in search of petty jobs. Besides, thousands of such children work with their elders in farms, shops, automobile workshops, etc.

Step Towards Empowerment of Pupils, a local NGO, has registered 210 children only in the Par Hoti area of Mardan since the launching of its Stoori Dropping Centre in September 2006.

Of the registered children, 160 have been given first aid, 63 medical treatment for injuries and diseases and nine have been given legal aid. The NGO also helped 25 children unite with their families.

Another 48 children along with their parents have undergone counselling sessions. Others, including 43 beggars, 38 garbage collectors, 48 street children and 44 daily wagers, have been convinced to go to the centre regularly.

“The centre with the financial assistance of Unicef is imparting life skills to these children,” says Najamul Hadi of the NGO.

“We have launched the Child Protection and Empowerment of Adolescent (CPEA) in the Takht Bai tehsil in January under which 150 students have been enrolled,” he said, adding that a similar centre would be opened in Rustam village which is hub of child labour.

A paediatrician said that most of the children involve in labour which plunge them into an unending vicious cycle of poverty that haunts them for their entire lives.