Every child should have the opportunity to enjoy their childhood, and the best environment for every child is to be raised in a family where they have access to basic needs and full rights. When it comes to the plight of Karamojong children, particularly those from the Napak district, this is not the case.
Thousands of children are “given away” to traffickers by their parents as a result of poverty and a lack of food. The vast majority of them are transported to Kampala and sexually and economically exploited, primarily from the sub counties of Lokopo, Lopei, and Iriiri.
Traffickers place these helpless children on the streets to beg at strategic points where there is traffic congestion and to beg from bypasses and vehicles. They are denied basic necessities such as food and medical care, and they are housed in shelters where boys and girls are mixed, with an average of 30 children in one room. This is a blatant violation of children’s rights.
Despite the fact that they are supposed to be in school, these children are engaged in the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL). Although some organisations continue to refer to this as internal migration, it is actually domestic trafficking.
Child trafficking is a crime under the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act of 2009. The Act states unequivocally that parents who give their children away, traffickers, landlords who house trafficked children at their destination, and exploiters should all face criminal charges. Regrettably, the PTIP Act has not yet been fully implemented.
To address this issue, In Need Home is currently collaborating with the Diocese of Moroto to rehabilitate and reintegrate Karamojong trafficked children from street begging and sexual exploitation back into Karamoja. With the Diocese of Moroto, we run a children’s transit centre in the Katwe slum, where we do rehabilitative activities. The centre is run by the Moroto Diocese, and as In Need Home, we collaborate with them on all centre activities.
We will continue to lobby the government and other international organisations to recognise that Karamojong children begging on Kampala streets are victims of child trafficking and exploitation.
This is in response to the motion on the plight of Karamojong children introduced in Parliament by Hon. Faith Nakut Woman MP of Napak district, which was facilitated and influenced by the advocacy and lobbying efforts of Moroto Diocese’s Women and Equal Opportunities Desk in collaboration with In Need Home.
In Need Home is grateful to the Diocese of Moroto, specifically the Women and Equal Opportunities Desk, which is led by Sr. Fernanda (a Comboni Missionary Sister).