Aweil Street Children To Receive Support From A Local Organization

This article was last updated on May 25, 2022

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The Iris Ministries South Sudan (IMS) has started providing support for basic and temporary camp where the street children are fed; receive education, treatment and counselling.

“I came to be a street child because I found out that there was no food for me at home, because my mother is dead and father is not working at moment. He was working but got dismissed in 2010. He cannot sustain our feeding, clothing, education and every necessary basic need we want,” said Dut Bol a 13-year-old street boy in Aweil.

“We come to look for jobs here, and when we miss it then we get into criminality because there is no other work we left homes because of unemployment. We have parents but we also come to town to get clothes by working with big rich people. Here in Aweil, there are problems like sicknesses,” says Ajang Aher a 16-year-old boy.

According to Carolyn Figlioli, who is the director at the IMS, the organization plans to deliver free services to the needy people and that is why they are helping street children.

The ministry is launching quick reformatory services to the children but have started with food supply and counselling every morning.

“Our focus is on the street children we are learning that not all of the street children are orphans most of them have parents, but we are seeing the problems of why they are on the street is either the parents are abusing the children in some way or the parents are drinking too much alcohol and then not properly feeding the children so they are on the street trying to find food and then the last problem which is really hard for the parents is that they are just poor they just don’t have the money,” she said.

Figlioli says the project covers some states within the country and has a branch in Yei, Central Equatoria State where there is an orphanage.

“Right now I have enough budget for one year and so am going to do what I can for one year, I would like to send the children to school, my budget is small am not like these big NGOs that have big money, just may be to government schools where its only 5 [South Sudanese] pounds a term. May be later if the budget allows we can send some just here to the local primary schools,” she adds.

She said that a proper reform in form of advice and guidance is needed for the children be well nurtured.

“When you see these children on the street don’t just beat them, because they get beaten all the time and is not going to change them; what we need to do is show them that they still matter to us and they are not just rubbish thrown on the ground. Even though they are on the street they are just children it’s not their fault. So we need to greet, smile at them, let them know that we care about them,” she advises.

IRIS plans to cater for at least 200 children in Aweil and might target other states in the region.