TAXILA, May 26: The future of street children is nowhere to be found safe and secure as most of this lot are left to fend for themselves because of abject poverty.
This was stated by speakers at a training workshop organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) ‘Children First’ under the auspices of World Vision in collaboration with European Union (EU). The event was arranged as a core group for tehsil Taxila is formed by the NGO.
The speakers said that the core groups at towns and cities level were being established to ensure meaningful participation of children at grassroots level to form a mechanism so that the street children could be protected and safeguarded from all forms of abuses and exploitation.
The speakers said that thousands of street children were living and working on the streets and due to their vulnerability; they needed to be given protection and an environment that might fulfill their basic needs.
Speaking on the occasion, social activist Saadia Shaheen said that though transforming a street child’s life was a longer process and ‘Children First’ believed that little initiatives could create a significant impact on the much larger canvas.
Project coordinator Munnaza Batool said that street children did not have proper adult guidance and they usually ended up in trouble.
“Their families are unable to pay attention to them due to financial constraints and they urge these children to earn their livelihood to help their family meet both ends,” she said.
Malik Aftab Hussain, chairman local council association of UC Sarai Kala speaking on this occasion said that it was a matter of great concern that presently at the institutional level, there was no statutory body to protect and promote child rights inPakistan.
The National Commission for Child Welfare and Development was not a statutory body and had no effective authority to ensure child protection, he said and added street children were a complex problem.
He urged that civil society must come forward and assist the police in implementing preventive strategies.