A street family begs for alms on Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi, on August 31, 2017. The Consortium of Street Children estimated in 2016 that there were over 60,000 street children in Nairobi. [PHOTO/nation.co.ke]
The County Government of Nairobi has set aside Sh1.5 billion to settle street families off the Nairobi streets.
The County Annual Development Plan (CADP) of 2018/2019 tabled at City Hall comes at a time there is an upsurge of street families back into the city centre.
The influx mostly happens whenever schools break, meaning that some of the children are school goers who break away from homes or rehabilitation centres.
“Inadequate security services within rehabilitation centres are making rescued children return to the streets, posing security threats,” the report says.
The Consortium of Street Children in 2016 approximated that there were close to 60,000 street children in Nairobi with the figure expected to go up.
In the allocation, about Sh100 million will be used to develop the Ruai Street Children Rehabilitation Centre whose construction stalled after former Nairobi governor Evans Kidero lost his seat.
The centre sits on a 40-acre piece of land and can host 3,000 children.