Windhoek street kids return homeFamilies not overjoyed to see them Klein Windhoek’s young street beggars have once again been returned to their homes in Gobabis after previous attempts by the authorities failed. JANA-MARI SMITHFifteen street kids who have been begging at several Windhoek intersections were taken back to Gobabis on Wednesday following the intervention of a private anti-crime organiser.
Sean Naude, the founder of a group calling itself Namibian Marshall Rangers and member of another group called Public Against Crime (PAC), said he decided to help the street kids to return to their homes in Gobabis following numerous complaints against them.
Naude emphasised that the decision to take them home was not based on an anti-crime initiative, but a humanitarian effort to help the children, whom many in the country criticise but refuse to help.
He told Namibian Sun the street children “are here, because they have nothing there”.
He said he was determined to assist the children in the long term to improve their lives in Gobabis and to get them off the streets, even if he had to rely on his own funds.
Naude said before dropping them off at home on Wednesday he bought them new clothes and shoes at a Gobabis shop because “I just couldn’t let them go home like that”.
Dropping them off at their homes was troubling however, and brought new insight into their plight.
“It was sad to see. Many of the parents or caretakers were not very excited to see their kids back. It looked as if they were annoyed, and didn’t care that they were back. The root of the problem of street kids is their parents,” he said.
Naude said he is determined to find a solution, one of which is to build a hostel for the children where they can find a safe haven and receive training and education.
One of the most hard-hitting issues he encountered in his efforts to return the kids home, has been the indifference of the public in response to his calls for help.
In the end, he received an N$2 000 donation, consisting of a van and fuel money, from the Rocky Crest Supermarket to enable him to transport them. Darine’s Pizzeria donated pizzas and Emmanuel Church donated bread.
The street kids, varying in age from eight to 18, had become a familiar sight on the streets of Klein Windhoek in the past few months, begging at intersections and shopping centres.
Many of the children have sustained injuries of various degrees during their months on the streets.
One boy, approximately eight years old, was treated for a head wound last week following a hit-and-run by a taxi driver. Another girl’s lower leg showed deep abrasions and bruises, also sustained during a hit-and-run.
Efforts by social workers and police to place them in care or send them back to Gobabis have failed.
And despite numerous complaints by the public, Naude yesterday said requests for funds and assistance have mostly been ignored.
“I will say this. I am sad and disappointed at the response from the public,” Naude said on the PAC Nam WhatsApp group yesterday.
According to Naude, the girls have reported cases of rape to him, allegedly perpetrated by truck drivers who stop at filling stations.