The Return Of Street Families

The Return Of Street Families
On the morning of the NARC government days, Kenyans came to forget street children (chokoras) and families. They were gathered in social halls, taken care of, fed and others forced to go back to their homes. Roads and lanes that had been rendered impassible were once again open and passable with the exit of these families. One could walk freely around the towns and cities without the fearful presence of the threatening glue sniffing gangs.
Walk around today and like any other time in the past this picture looks more threatening and cruel. Every corner and lane boasts of a handful of them in oily and dirty clothing and more likely than not, sniffing on a can of glue. Tagging on their back is a sack only God knows what it carries. On city roundabouts like the Globe Cinema and down Racecourse Road that boasted of a changed face, what remains of the then picture of a clean and green city are only memories. In fact, the Globe Cinema roundabout has tunnels that are slowly being reclaimed as new homes for the street families. Getting in to the tunnel is another hair raising experience.
What one would ask is what become of the then beautiful project by the able Karisa Maitha? Is it that those who came after him did not share the vision he had. Another theory might be the African Slum Curse. Since so many NGOs and individuals gain from the mare existence of the slums, is this being replicated by the street families’ phenomenon?
As we work to plant trees, to clear drainage, to expand the roads, let not our efforts be diluted by the easy to solve and prevent occurrence of street families.

Julius Wango
Kiambu.