Census on street families to be conducted in rehabilitation drive

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection will in the next two weeks carry out a national census to determine the number of street families in the country.

The three-day exercise will be carried out by the Street Families Rehabilitation Trust in all the 47 counties with the number of the families expected to rise.

The exercise that kicks off from June 29th will cost the exchequer Ksh. 50m and comes after five years with the last exercise putting the numbers at 46,000.

According to Mary Wambui, the chair of Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund, the upcoming census will ascertain the current status and population of street families.

Wambui said the census will also provide the government with a proper plan to address the rehabilitation and financial needs of the key populations noting that the current funds are inadequate.

She said though the funds are not adequate,  are grateful for the work that the government is doing in rehabilitating street families and reintegrating them back to the society.

The chair committed to the government's plan to ensure the country was free from street families, adding that the agency had secured 20 acres for a rehabilitation center.

On his part, board member Ahmed Hussein said that the census would show the progress made in the rehabilitation of street families in order to reduce their numbers.

Hussein added that the government has already released Ksh. 50m to 24 institutions involved in the rehabilitation of street families to facilitate their initiatives.

 

He said currently we are working in 24 counties and have plans to cover the whole country so that we can address the challenges facing street families in the country.

Another member, Nancy Orango, said the agency has secured Ksh. 50m to undertake the crucial census across all 47 counties starting in a fortnight.

She thanked the Ministry of Interior which has been critical in assisting the street families to get birth certificates and even identity cards.

A board member, John Kiriria, decried inadequate funding to facilitate the rehabilitation programme despite the huge financial needs for institutions involved in the initiative.

He urged the government to increase funding to the programme to meet the increasing number of street families caused by harsh economic conditions facing families.

He said the number of street families has shot up since the COVID-19 pandemic as more families became poorer coupled with an influx of street families from neighboring countries.