While Education is seen as an important tool to address the problem of child trafficking, many children in the district are facing challenges in accessing quality education.
As a result, children have dropped out of school and are now living in the streets of towns, mainly Kampala and Nairobi in Kenya, where parents often send them to beg for money to feed their families.
A report from Napak District Local Government estimates that about 4,000 children are now living on the streets in urban centers, particularly Kampala and Nairobi. On Sunday, police in Napak intercepted a taxi, registration number UBA 769P, carrying 11 children aged between 10 and 16, suspected of being trafficked.
The road is currently impassable after the torrential rains washed it away and creating water passageways. The road users accused the local leaders of neglecting the road despite several promises to upgrade the road. They said that the road does not have a single bridge, and whenever it rains, the roads submerge, rendering it impassable.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon at a grazing ground in Kautakou Village, where pastoralists from the Bokora community in Napak and the Matheniko of Moroto were grazing their livestock together.
Windle International Uganda in partnership with Convoy of Hope has launched a one-year project aims to address the underlying problems of hunger and malnutrition among children. On Thursday, the schools received the supplies of posho, beans, sugar, and fortified food supplements.
The 10-kilometer roads are part of the 2500 kilometers of community access roads to be constructed to ease the transportation of produce, improve access to markets, and boost oil seed production. The roads to be graded shall be Acoricol - Kalodung which covers 6 kilometers and the second road will be Acoricol to Lorengecora town council.
Deusdedit Kateregga, the Medical Superintendent said that they currently have a debt of 100 million shilling for the last financial year of 2023/24. Kateregga said that the accumulated arrears are from different suppliers and they do have not enough resources to clear the arrears yet more costs are adding up.
Many boreholes in the area have either malfunctioned or have seen a significant drop in water levels due to the ongoing dry spell, leaving the community struggling for clean water.
Michael Longole, the Mt Moroto Regional Police Spokesperson said that police were alerted to the situation by concerned members of the public, who reported their suspicions.
The project is supported by the Italian government through the Karamoja Infrastructure Development Project II (KIDP II). Works are expected to be completed in eighteen months.
Elephantiasis is among the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) reported in the subcounties of Nabwal, Apeitolim, Poron, Lorengecora, and Iriiri. The communities live in the district's wet belt, which attracts mosquitoes that spread the infections.
Michael Longole, the Mt. Moroto Regional Police Spokesperson, said traffickers have taken advantage of these panya routes to secretly transport children out of Karamoja. Longole added that while security checkpoints are in place along major highways, the children’s tactics allow them to circumvent these measures.
According to Police, Napak District has been at the forefront of trafficked children in Karamoja with an estimated of about five hundred children trafficked to various destinations in Soroti, Mbale, Busia, Iganga, Kampala, and Nairobi annually.
Joyce Nakoya, the Napak District Education Officer, said there is no clear, sustainable support for the children’s feeding program. She said that although the district wrote to the Office of the Prime Minister for food support, they are yet to receive feedback regarding their plea.
Robert Abia Owilli, the Napak Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, noted that in traditional African society, children were considered the responsibility of the entire community. However, this trend has changed, negatively impacting the children. He highlighted that high illiteracy levels and negative attitudes towards education have encouraged street life among children.
The materials include books, pens, chalk, uniforms, and other basic needs such as blankets, sanitary pads, and clothes among others.
These items were on Tuesday delivered to the primary schools of Lokodiokodio and Lotome Girls where the former street children enrolled.
The children aged 5-15 years arrived in Napak on Thursday and were taken to two primary schools that were selected by the district authorities. The children are expected to stay at school for one year without reporting back to their homes or coming in contact with their parents.
Kenya Longoli, one of the parents, talks of seven children from his village who were rounded up in the streets of Kampala but they do not know the organization that carried out the operations and where the children were taken.
But Mary Agan Apuun, the District Community Development Officer for Napak says it is hard to believe that the parents do not know where their children are because they are the ones who facilitate them to travel to Kampala.
The incident is said to have occurred on July 30, 2023, at around 4:00 pm, while the parents were away for prayers. It is alleged that the suspect lured the girl to a house within the same locality and sexually abused her.
According to Longole, the police officers responded immediately and the suspect was nabbed from his hideout within the same village.
