Current Attendance

The Street Children Outreach Program currently receives 90 - 120 children. We monitor attendance through daily outreach records, program registers, and night outreach check ups. The night outreach support follow up efforts by enabling staff to locate and engage with children who may not have attended the daytime program. The information collected is regularly reviewed to identify attendance patterns and emerging trends, allowing the program to respond promptly to the needs.

Attendance Trends

The program monitors and documents the status of children who are sick, those returning to the streets, those who are temporarily absent, those who have been successfully resettled, and newly identified children joining the outreach program. Through these records, the program is able to track attendance patterns, assess emerging trends, and strengthen strategies for reaching and supporting children throughout the reporting period.

Increased Numbers

The increase in the number of children living on the streets continues to be alarming this year. The program operates from morning until evening, and children continue to join the outreach activities throughout the day. Even as the program approaches closing time, new children continue to arrive and participate in the activities, demonstrating the ongoing and increasing demand for the services provided by the outreach program.

Factors Facilitating Street Life

Children on the streets face several challenges that contribute to their continued stay and exposure to risky situations. Gang groups within the communities where these children reside often exert pressure and influence over them, while street-based peer networks can mislead boys and encourage them to engage in unhealthy behaviours. Many boys also engage in informal income opportunities, where they may be taken in large numbers to unknown areas and sometimes return wounded or severely beaten. In addition, many young boys struggle with issues related to their age and development, which can make them more vulnerable to negative influences and unhealthy behaviours.

Weak family support systems also continue to affect efforts to support and resettle these children. Some families are unwilling to cooperate during pre-visits and family tracing, making it difficult to establish safe and supportive environments for the boys when they return home. These challenges, combined with peer pressure, violence, limited opportunities, and inadequate family support, continue to influence the decisions and experiences of many boys living on the streets.

Factors Pushing Children Toward Resettlement

Increased insecurity and unhealthy situations on the streets continue to expose many children to violence, exploitation, and other forms of danger. Police enforcement, including arrests and removal of children from the streets, together with the harsh conditions in which they live, has made street life increasingly difficult.

Many children also face illness and poor health due to inadequate access to healthcare, poor sanitation, limited food, and unsafe living conditions. These challenges create fear and uncertainty and make it difficult for children to survive safely on the streets.

The lack of reliable income is another major challenge, as many children struggle to meet their basic needs and may be forced to engage in risky or unsafe activities to earn money. As a result of these difficult experiences, many boys are developing a strong desire to return to their families and seek a safer, more stable, and supportive environment. The desire for family support and protection has therefore become an important factor encouraging children to consider returning home and being resettled with their families.

Our Emphasis and Interventions

A key focus of the program has been strengthening and enforcing clear rules and guidelines to protect the wellbeing of the children and create a safe environment for their rehabilitation and reintegration. Particular emphasis has been placed on the strict prohibition of drug use, including the use or inhalation of aviation fuel, during program activities. Drugs are not permitted at the centre under any circumstances because of their harmful effects on children’s physical, emotional, and social wellbeing, as well as the challenges they create in the rehabilitation process.

The program team continues to guide the children on the dangers and consequences of substance use while providing appropriate support to those affected by drug use.

The program has strengthened age-appropriate groups for younger boys and youth, providing a safe space for children to participate, express themselves, and receive support based on their individual needs. Personal hygiene is also emphasized, with all children encouraged to shower, wear clean clothes, and maintain good personal appearance, including regular haircuts and shaving.

Program Impact

The street children outreach program made a significant contribution to reaching and supporting vulnerable children living and working on the streets. Through regular outreach activities, children were identified and reached with immediate assistance, including meals and referrals to health services, ensuring that their basic needs and wellbeing were addressed.

The outreach also played an important role in reconnecting children with their families. Children who were successfully traced were linked back to their families, while those who could not safely return home were supported through appropriate resettlement arrangements. These efforts contributed to providing children with safer and more stable living environments.

For children who were resettled, continued support was provided to help them adjust and rebuild their lives. This included facilitating access to education and supporting their reintegration into school, giving them opportunities to develop skills, regain stability, and work towards a more positive future.

Children Attandance: 95 - 102

Feeding Program

The feeding intervention provides an important entry point for identifying children and connecting them with protection, health and family support tools. Our feeding program currently serves approximately 96 to 120 children during our weekly programs, with many additional children often joining us after the scheduled activities.

During the programs, we prepare nutritious meals such as rice, beans, and posho, accompanied by fresh fruits, to ensure that the children receive a balanced and satisfying meal. On the last Friday of every month, we also organize a special meal where the children come together to eat and share a meal as a community. We provide boiled water for drinking and make every effort to maintain proper hygiene and ensure that the food served is safe and suitable for the children.

We always strive to ensure that every child receives a proper and full meal, regardless of the number who attend. For many of these children, the meal they receive through our program may be their last meal of the day, making our feeding program an essential source of nourishment, care, and support.

Children Fed: 95 - 102

Health of Children

During our street children outreach programs, we have encountered various health challenges and medical emergencies among the children. Common illnesses have included malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis, flu, persistent coughs, and stomach complications, including ulcers, particularly among children who use drugs. We have also encountered individual cases of hernia and Hepatitis B. Some children required hospitalization so that they could receive close medical attention and complete their prescribed treatment before returning to the program.

Tuberculosis and other illnesses such as malaria, typhoid, flu, and stomach complications were common among the children. Those with serious conditions were referred for hospital treatment, while children with tuberculosis were supported with accommodation during their six-to-nine-month treatment period. We also managed a Hepatitis B case that required specialized care. Through our outreach program, we provided medication, follow-up, and health education to help the children complete their treatment and recover.

Sick children recorded: 37

No Permanent Drop-in Centre

The absence of a permanent drop-in centre significantly affects the effectiveness and consistency of our street children outreach programs. At present, we operate from rented rooms, open spaces, and fields, which are only available for limited and scheduled periods. This makes it difficult to provide a stable, safe, and child-friendly environment where children can regularly access support and services. The lack of a permanent space also limits our ability to conduct regular activities, provide structured learning and recreational programs, and offer adequate counselling services in a private and appropriate setting. As a result, some planned interventions have to be shortened, postponed, or adapted to the availability of the rented spaces, reducing the consistency and overall impact of our outreach work.

The lack of a permanent centre also creates practical challenges in delivering essential services to the children. We have limited storage facilities for program materials, clothing, food, and other supplies, while the absence of proper feeding facilities makes it difficult to provide meals in a consistent and dignified manner. Health screening and basic health-related interventions are also challenging because we do not have a suitable, private space where children can be assessed safely and confidentially.

These limitations affect our ability to respond comprehensively to the children's educational, psychosocial, health, and nutritional needs.

Working With Police

Collaboration with the police and other protection actors further strengthened our ability to protect, support, and guide children. Through the Police Family and Protection Office, we were able to obtain the necessary letters and documentation and facilitate procedures for family tracing and visits. This collaboration also enabled us to support the release and reintegration of boys who had been arrested and detained for involvement in harmful or unlawful activities, giving them an opportunity for a new beginning.

The police also assisted us in identifying children who were ready for resettlement and referral, particularly very young children who had left or run away from their communities and joined the streets. Police engagement with these children, including sensitization talks and counselling, contributed significantly to building trust and creating a pathway toward their safe resettlement and reintegration into families and communities.

Overall, the partnership with the police strengthened referral pathways, improved access to protection services, and enhanced our ability to respond effectively to children at risk. Through regular engagement with police officers and other stakeholders, children were able to access appropriate protection, counselling, legal support, and reintegration services more quickly. This coordinated approach helped reduce the risk of children remaining in unsafe environments or returning to the streets and strengthened the overall child protection response within the communities.

Police cases involving boys: 25

Resettlement

Resettlement and reintegration have been major outcomes of our street children outreach program, helping children move from streets toward family connection, safety, stability, and renewed hope. Through counselling, psychosocial support, education, healthcare, and family engagement, children are supported to rebuild positive behaviours and develop the skills needed for successful reintegration.

Resettlement also strengthens our outreach capacity by creating space to identify, rescue, and rehabilitate other children still living on the streets, thereby contributing to a gradual reduction in street children.

However, sustainable resettlement remains a significant operational challenge. Some children return to families affected by poverty, neglect, rejection, family breakdown, or unsafe living conditions, increasing the risk of returning to the streets. To address these challenges, the program requires thorough family assessments, counselling, preparation, follow-up, and ongoing support after reintegration.

Overall, resettlement has a positive impact on both individual children and the wider community, but its success depends on sustained family support, adequate follow up, and resources to ensure that children are safely and permanently reintegrated. This will help ensure that children remain safely within their families, receive the care and protection they need, and are supported to build stable and productive futures without returning to the streets.

Children resettled: 12