Country Context

Tanzania is a peaceful and stable democracy but economic structural changes have negatively impacted on the provision of basic services. 36% of Tanzanians are living below poverty level, which has instigated a visible increase in the number of children living and working on the streets. Once there they are vulnerable, socially excluded, have no access to basic services and face the risk of being verbally, physically, and sexually abused. Abandoned by social services and the justice system, they often come into conflict with the law and run increasing risks of being affected by HIV and AIDS. Although the Tanzanian government is committed to implementing poverty reduction strategies little is being done to acknowledge the link between poverty, abuse in the home, school and community and the eventual forced migration of children to the streets.

The Project

ChildHope and its partner Mkombozi are in the first year of a 5 year project providing direct support to children, young people, communities and child welfare practitioners in order to prevent and respond to the problems of street children in the areas in and around Moshi and Arusha:

• Children living on the streets are provided with their basic needs (food, health care, etc), are assisted in independent living and access to education, employment, and legal, health and life skills information.
• Community volunteers and ex-street children are working as peer educators to help, guide and provide support for children at risk or already on the street.
• Children are given opportunities to speak out through membership of Tanzania’s Junior Council which is an opportunity for them to lobby the government on issues that affect them.
• Recreational activities are organized by children to raise awareness in their community.
• A fostering in the community care scheme has been successfully piloted and is being scaled-up in conjunction with local authorities.
• The project works with local communities, leaders, schools and development committees, to address the causes behind children running away from home.
• Handbooks on subjects such as STIs, school enrolment and local services are being produced and shared with parents, children and child welfare workers.

Challenges and Lessons Learnt:

Thanks to Mkombozi’s extensive research and the previous work we have done on community strengthening we have learnt that:

• In order to avoid children coming onto the streets community leaders, teachers and parents need to participate in prevention activities.
• Placing children at the heart of this process empowers them to make decisions about issues that affect them.
• Child mentoring has been extremely successful in acting as a positive force of change. Mentors can act as intermediaries between children, and adults and offer support to vulnerable boys and girls.
• Research has shown that the areas the project has previously operated in have seen a marked decrease in children coming to the streets.