The Akwa Ibom State Government has launched an operation to evacuate children from the streets of Uyo and provide them with care and rehabilitation ahead of the resumption of schools later this month.
The exercise, according to the government, is aimed at protecting vulnerable children, reducing street begging and other social vices, as well as improving enrolment in basic schools across the state.
The evacuation and rehabilitation programme was flagged off at the Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat Roundabout, Uyo, by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Inibehe Etukudo.
Etukudo said the exercise was part of her ministry’s mandate to protect children, stressing that the 10 children rescued so far were not being punished for their circumstances.
She said all the rescued children, who are below 18 years, had been taken to a government-managed care home where they would receive food, medical attention, protection and other necessary support.
According to the commissioner, the intervention followed earlier engagements with the children, during which they expressed willingness to be taken into government care.
“We plan to reintegrate them into their families; we will go with them to their individual families and find out from their parents why they threw these children out,” she said.
Etukudo said the government would not stop at removing the children from the streets but would investigate the circumstances that forced them there and address the root causes before attempting to reunite them with their families.
She stressed that the children should not be blamed for their situation, noting that they were too young to fend for themselves.
Checks revealed that some of the children had allegedly been abandoned by their parents after being accused of witchcraft, while others were reportedly subjected to maltreatment by stepmothers and caregivers.
Some were said to have been forced out of their homes because of hunger and malnutrition.
On the streets, however, the vulnerable children reportedly face even greater dangers, with some as young as 10 years allegedly being drawn into cult groups, drug use and other illicit activities.
During interactions with government officials, some of the rescued children said they were forced out of their homes by stepmothers, while others claimed their fathers had rejected them.
Some also attributed their presence on the streets to difficult circumstances involving their grandmothers.
The commissioner appealed to parents and guardians not to abandon their children or allow them to roam the streets.
She urged parents who could no longer cater for their children to approach the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare for assistance rather than leaving them to fend for themselves.
“My advice to parents out there is, please don’t allow your child to roam the streets. The government has done enough. We have enough food in Akwa Ibom State and the price of food has come down.
“If you know you cannot cater for your children, come to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare and officially hand over the child to us. We have done that several times. Don’t allow them to roam around by themselves, just bring them to us,” she said.
Etukudo thanked members of the public and other stakeholders for supporting the ministry’s efforts to protect vulnerable children.
She reaffirmed Governor Umo Eno’s administration’s commitment to the welfare, protection and empowerment of vulnerable persons, particularly children, and to ensuring that Akwa Ibom remains a safe and child-friendly state.
