Cholera Outbreak Worsens Plight of Street Children in Lilongwe: Forced to Use Contaminated River as Public Toilet

Malawi: Some street-connected kids in Lilongwe have turned the Lilongwe River into an open defecation arena, essentially using it as a public restroom, as Malawi continues to struggle with the protracted cholera outbreak, writes Meclina Chirwa.

This is taking place while there are only two restrooms available at the Lilongwe Flea Market, which is home to 10,000 vendors.

The Lilongwe Flea Market, which is close to the Lilongwe River and where the majority of the street-connected kids roam, is bustling on Thursday as usual.

Children who live on the streets experience extreme poverty and miserable living conditions.

A 16-year-old girl by the name of Lucy (not her real name) was discovered cleaning her reusable pads in the nearby river, which supplies water to the market and nearby restaurants.

"As you can see, we don't have a place where we can clean ourselves, so this is where we spend the majority of our time. Although we are aware that the water we are using is unsafe for our health, where can we get it?” she said.

They lack everything they need to survive, including food, clothing, toiletries, and a roof over their heads.

However, more importantly, they lack the affection and safety that a child deserves.

Some of them, like Lucy, have never had the chance to experience parental love or care, so they have no idea what it is like.

"At the age of only eight, I left home. My mother passed away when I was very young, and my father later wed another woman who mistreated us; as a result, I left the house and joined my friends on the streets,” she claimed.

The streets are unsafe. The primary risk is abuse. These kids work odd jobs, beg for money on the streets, and constantly engage in a cat-and-mouse game with the police out of fear of being arrested for vagrancy.

The risk of sexual abuse is higher for girls in particular. Another street-connected child, Stella (not her real name), who is 15 years old, claimed to have endured numerous abuses.

"Living on the streets is extremely risky, particularly for us girls. At the age of 13, I became defiled and gave birth. The only support I have is from begging as I struggle to raise my child,” Stella said.

They did not choose to live on the streets, despite the fact that they are frequently called names and labelled delinquents by society.

They assert that the majority of children reside on the streets as a result of poverty, gender-based violence, child neglect, and parent deaths.

How do these kids live when the cholera outbreak is so severe right now? Where do they get their water from? What sort of food do they consume?

“We were dumped in the river and lost three of our friends to cholera. When we go to the Bwaila hospital for medical care, we are rebuffed on the grounds that we want to cause trouble, so we typically avoid going to the hospital whenever we are ill,” lamented Lucy

.One of the organisations devoted to enhancing the welfare of people living on the streets is One Step Foundation.

According to Moses Mwalabu, the organization's executive director, street-connected children encounter numerous obstacles when trying to access medical care, particularly at Lilongwe's Bwaila hospital.

"I can attest that nobody cares about providing these children with street connections with medical services. I can vouch for the fact that Bwaila Hospital treats street-connected children as if they are not even members of society, despite the fact that we are all citizens of this nation,” said Mwalabu.

According to Mwalabu, his organisation intends to build a health facility specifically for kids who live on the streets.

Our organisation plans to build a hospital in Lilongwe where the street-connected children can easily receive medical care in light of what these kids are going through.

The Lilongwe district health office, however, has refuted the allegations, stating that everyone has access to medical care at Bwaila Hospital, including children who are connected to the street.

"I am hearing this for the first time, and I can tell you that there is no way someone can be sent back without receiving medication," said Richard Mvula, the Lilongwe District Health Office's public relations officer.

“Aside from that, what is known about these street-connected kids is that they typically visit the facility in the evenings not for care but to cause destruction.

If you go, you will find such cases because we have been reporting them to the police. They have been coming to the facility at night and posing a threat to our clinicians.”

But do those involved in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene—or WASH—sector ever consider giving children who live on the streets access to WASH services?

Head of policy and advocacy for Water Aid Malawi, Chandiwira Chisi, stated that street-connected children must be given top priority when administering the cholera vaccine and in all other situations.

He said: “As the government responds to the immediate measures in public spaces like bus terminals and markets, the same should apply to street-connected children. Perhaps provision of temporarily movable toilets, followed by access to portable water fountains as a temporary measure, but in terms of long-term measures we should look at moving them from the streets.”

What part do civil society organisations play in this situation? One of the health rights activists, George Jobe, suggests strategies for interacting with children who live near the streets.

"There are several NGOs in our country that work with street children, and we think that when they speak with them, they also spread cholera-related messages. But after hearing about their experiences, CSOs and the government should realise that there are other populations that demand our attention,” said Jobe.

At the Lilongwe Flea Market, sanitation is still a significant problem.

Building adequate restrooms at the market, according to Werani Chilenga, chair of the parliamentary committee on natural resources, can help lessen water pollution in the Lilongwe River.

Thousands of visitors to the Lilongwe Flea Market use the river as a free public restroom every day.

"It is very unfortunate that there are only two restrooms in the entire market. The city council appears to be dozing off, and there is dumping everywhere. The market is very disappointing once you enter. Imagine 10,000 people using two restrooms, particularly during this cholera outbreak. When cholera strikes us in such a severe way, we shouldn't be shocked. We have advocated for the construction of 20 more restrooms,” said Chilenga.

What steps is the Lilongwe City Council taking in this regard? The mayor of Lilongwe City Council is Richard Banda, who We are aware of the issue and we'll take action.

In an effort to remove kids from the streets, Malawi created a street charter in 2017, but the government has made few efforts to put it into practise. Why is the government ineffective?

The ministry's spokesperson, Fred Simwaka, stated, "Right now, rather than removing them from the streets, we are engaging them through councils. We only offer direction; the councils, who are our friends, are in charge of actual operations.”

In every region of Malawi, there are kids who have connections to the streets. In Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu, and Zomba as of 2022, there were about 6,000 children living on the streets of Malawi.

While the Malawian government signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and promised to protect these children, these children continue to suffer from a variety of human rights violations.