Zimbabwe’s government undertook a survey in 2023 to ascertain how many children were living on the streets of the country’s second biggest city, Bulawayo. The most recent numbers were from a similar 2015 survey, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Welfare told reporters – and, in the intervening eight years, it was clear that many more children had ended up on Bulawayo’s streets. The situation is similar in the capital city, Harare; in July 2024 it was reported that some “rowdy street kids” were robbing people in the city centre.
The phenomenon of children living and working on the streets is not a uniquely Zimbabwean problem.
