MIXED FORTUNES FOR STREET CONNECTED STUDENTS

By Kenson McCloud 

About 368  street connected secondary students face a big hurdle in the pursuit of their education as they are on the verge of dropping out of school due to fees challenges.

A non-governmental organization that champions the rights of street connected children, One Step Foundation, has sounded an SOS appealing to the public to bail the students out.

Executive Director for the organization, Moses Mwalabu, says they have tried in vain to reach out to different stakeholders to secure funds for the students who are mostly in public secondary schools.

Mwalabu bemoaned the prospects of the children returning to the streets if no urgent action is taken.

He said this will likely lead to an increase in cases of crime and prostitution in the streets.

According to Mwalabu, it is important for the country to invest in education for all in order to secure a better foundation for all.

Coincidentally, this is happening at a time when about 6 street connected students from the Foundation have been selected to study at some public universities in the country.

A student that has been selected to pursue a degree program at Malawi University of Business and Applied Science (MUBAS) Smoke Mtemang’ombe, who got twelve points, encouraged his fellow street connected children to strive to attain education to improve their lives and become responsible citizens.