Community Development and Social Services Permanent Secretary, Ms. Angela Chomba Kawandami says government is working with partners to improve the welfare of children in society. She said this when she toured the Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) Children’s Town in Chibombo district.

Ms. Kawandami said DAPP was one of the many partners that the Ministry is working with on issues of child welfare. They are helping to pick children from the street and empower them skills in order for them to live independently.

“Children living on the street have a dissatisfaction but we pick them and reintegrate them in families but giving them a skill will prepare them for independent living,” Ms. Kawandami said.

She said from the beginning of the year, over 2,000 living on the street were removed, however some more keep coming and this is a source of concern. In Lusaka, the children are being removed on a daily basis and the cycle needs to be broken. Programmes such as the ones DAPP is running are very key to help children have an independent life.

And speaking during the same tour, the Centre Manager, Ms. Elizabeth Kandunda, said DAPP has graduated over 3,000 learners from the time it was established in 1992. The Centre offers skills in agriculture, tailoring, metal fabrication and home economics among others. The facility receives children from Ndola, Kabwe, Lusaka and surrounding areas.

The DAPP Country Director, Ms. Elise Soerensen, said skills training for children is a game changer because it provides an opportunity for learners to become productive and relevant to the communities they are coming from.

“The school is offering a two-career pathway for learners to equip them with skills so that if they do not progress in school, they will have acquired skills to sustain them” , Ms. Soerensen said.