Street children seen as an issue needing govt attention

By JOY OLALI
DESPITE the Government’s efforts to address the issue of street children, there are more minors on the streets of Port Moresby.
An 11-year-old boy told The National that he had been surviving on the streets of Port Moresby since 2017.
This boy with several others in the same age range sit near the Waigani bus stop in Port Moresby every day begging for coins from the public in order to have a meal for the day.
The 2023 Budget allocated K3 million for a nationwide survey of children living on the streets to be led by the Child and Family Services (CFS).
In 2020, The National reported K1 million government fund allocated to the CFS purposely to address the issue of street children.
Attempts to get an update from the CFS on the progress of the nation-wide survey as well as the use of K1 million allocated to address the street children issue were unsuccessful.
An orphanage in Port Moresby that started caring for street children in 2013 says it has never received any state support.
Founding director of Life PNG Care Collin Yakio said whenever they sought support from the CFS, the usual response was there are no funds available.
“We are actually implementing the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015, but we receive no support from the CFS office,” Yakio said.