Viewers feel solution is needed for kids hustling on the streets
There is a growing number of children on the streets that are hustling for spare change to survive. On Tuesday we asked: Are you concerned about the number of kids begging on the streets? Ninety-five percent of our viewers said yes. One viewer from our e-poll suggested “the police need to start picking up these children from off the streets and arresting their parents for negligence.” Only a small five percent of viewers believe that the situation is not out of hand. If you wish to take part in the conversation all you have to do is to send comments to questions@channel5belize.com or texting to SMART at 8686, or log on to our e-poll at www.channel5belize.com.
The parents of these kids on the streets should be given the “THREE STRIKES RULE”.
children should be picked up and documentedalong with thier parents, and if after the third time their kids are caught on the streets parents should be punished at any cost.This might help to boost their parental inspiration to care for their children like normal people.
according to the report the number of kids begging on the streets have doubled since the summer vacation. These students have no business begging for money on the streets for their parents, they need free summer programs set up by concerned parents or the GOB.
We can stop giving them money on the streets, and risk feeling the guilt of possibly sending hungry kids to bed at night, or we can pull them off the streets now and stop them from becoming delinguents later, by helping them, you help your society.
Why don’t concerned parents set up summer programs for kids in their area if none are avaliable from the GOB at the moment?
I think this is a serious problem.
In Belmopan, the City Council employs these kids for a few weeks which provides some money for school and teaches them that they must work for their money. Some other kids go to the market and sell fruits and snacks on the buses and from office to office. Other kids go with their dads to work on their plantations (milpa) and learn that work is good and it pays.
Why is it different in Belize City? What is the Belize City Council doing to alleviate the problem? Where are the parents? With these kids being present on the streets everyday, they are becoming dependants and idle. Their parents should be charged for neglect. These kids are potential victims of henious crimes. Then we ask ourselves how could that happen to our child.
This situation nurtures a lazy culture. It is primarily the responsibility of parents to teach kids to work for what they want. Then its the responsibility of the City Council and government to provide programs that involve these kids. This is a part of restoring Belize.
WE NEED ACTIVE SOCIAL SERVICES. The NGOs need to take the lead and drag the Government into it. The CHURCHES also have a big role to play and they seem to be sleeping….. like the Government. We need to help those who can’t help themselves….. not point fingers. Punishing parents is counter -productive.
I never did like kids begging me for a “shilling”, at one time there used to be about 20 outside Sav-U and i quit going there do to the kids.
Their parents are responsible for their begging, i use to teach school, and no kids begged for nothing. It was shameful to beg. Tourist get real real tired to people begging for a cigarette, a dolla, a shilling, sometimes they even gang up on tourists, like 5 of them at a time. Some of the children, do not know what “NO”, means.
Some of their parents push their children to beg, they should be charged. Some of these same parents will not work for 6.00 a hour, why, they too lazy, its easier to sit on the steps and send their children out to hustle for money. WHEN YOU CHOICE THE RIGHT TO BEAR CHILDREN THEN YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM, THEY ARE NOT DOGS AND CATS TO BE PUT OUT INTO THE STREETS, TO BEG..There are jobs out there, if you want to work., but, you need a work ethic and show up on time, and they need to quit thinking the government owes them something…
I’m sure some of these kids are threatened if they go home with empty pockets. I would imagine that if a non-profit org would provide some activity for the kids at Save-U’s parking lot and they go home and tell daddy/mommy/whoever that they spent the day drawing/reading/writing/playing etc with some people, they’d get a good whooping.
So whatever the solution is, we need to take the sensitive nature of the situation and the child’s well being and safety at home into consideration.
to me it’s a big concern, i witness an act like this right here in santa elena by the chen’s supermarket, this two kids are asking people for a shilling and i gave them the first time after two weeks later as i buy every two weeks. they came and i told them i don’t have small change, what they did is insult me infront of the other bystanders. i felt vexed no shame because from this point it’s where deliquency starts. if they can’t get what they want by will they try to get things by force. i went home thinking and discussing this with my wife. where are the parents? aren’t they concerned these kids are out there almost 9pm? have they eaten? now i see them by three flags. it’s concerning about this kids. some people look at them and God knows what they think. some chines people chases them from being meddling with the customers. Hope parents can be more aducated to bring up their kids as they should. it’s pitiful to see this kids wondering like orphans or beggars.
In answer to the question: Are you concerned about the number of kids begging on the streets? Yes, I am 100%. Reading some of the blogs from yesterday it appears that some of you have this idea that these children would simply beg for some money then go home to their families.
I say this because I recall that someone was castigated for suggesting that these children would join the gangs. Firstly the question was “Are you concerned” therefore there is no wrong or right answers. This person was simply expressing that his concern would be that in his/her opinion the children begging on the streets would go down that road.
I am no social scientist, but I would like to state that all the studies and reports on children engaged in begging on the streets around the world are at high risk of becoming victims and or perpetrators of crime:
When you give money to children begging, you keep them on the streets and so they missed out on their childhood. Similarly by giving money to begging children you prevent them from seeking a better and safer life.
Furthermore they become trapped in dependency. This actually hurts them by keeping them in dangerous situations on the streets (for example at risk sexual abuse and rape and the money you give them they may use it to buy drugs).
There are possible solutions to begging children on our streets?
We start donating to the children homes already in operation in Belize, so they are able to support more children, or we collectively come together and open “Soup Kitchens” where these children can come and get something to eat each day, once a month we have a few nurses on the sites to assess them and if needs be, refer them to a doctor.
Child Protection policies in place – Therefore rather than simply returning these children to their homes; we should have social workers that go to the homes of these children to assess their home environments. We should also promote foster-caring in the communities where these children come from. After all this would still cheaper than if the government have to tackle the problem by opening more children homes.
Those children, who are not fortunate to have extended families to step in, make the adoption process less daunting. Remember sometimes biological parents exploit their own children.
Educational and vocational training programs – There is an unacceptable high number of children not in full time education. I am sure Belize has ratified UN documents which discusses the rights of the child including access to education. We should be thinking about wavering the school fees of children from the poorest of families. How about making school up to high school free, after all that is the minimum that everyman should have these days.
The ultimate aim of these actions is to reintegrate begging children back into society (school, employment, community) to be productive citizens in our developing nation.
I am not speaking from a theoretical approach, but rather work experience.
I knew families in Belize that raise up to fifteen kids in one little house, and never saw any of their kids on the streets begging. Many of these kids grew up to be professional in one proffession or the other and are contributors to society. It start with personal pride at the parental level.