The Sunday Mail
Tendai Chara
“DO not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”
This biblical verse, drawn from Luke 12:22-23, is somewhat not soothing the scores of street children and the homeless who were driven underground by the 21-day lockdown.
Following Government’s announcement of the mass quarantine programme, the hard-to-miss group(s) have literally vanished into thin air.
But where have the street kids, disabled and other disadvantaged members of society gone?
The Sunday Mail Society last week tracked them down to their new bases to see how they are surviving.
Not surprisingly, they have been forced to adopt “new ways of life”.
To them, every single day is a dog-eat-dog affair.
It is, however, no longer the same.
With fast food outlets and restaurants closed, the homeless now find themselves with no ready source of food.
Every day they try to find ways of dodging the ploice patrolling the deserted streets.
Health and Child Care Permanent Secretary Dr Agnes Mahomva recently told The Sunday Mail Society that street children and disadvantaged members of society — who are considered part of high-risk groups as they come into contact with a lot of people — have a role to play in fighting Covid-19.
“Street kids, disabled people and other disadvantaged members of society are a part of us and they deserve to be included in our strategies to find a solution,” Dr Mahomva said.
Authorities have managed to round up some of the street children who are now sheltered at Ruwa Rehabilitation Centre.
Others are reluctant and have created new stations outside the city centre.
“My friend has been missing for the past days. I think they (police) got him. We cannot be in town at the moment,” said a visibly worried streetkid who is often based at Seke Road flyover (just as you exit town along Julius Nyerere Way).
The young man has since moved to Arcadia Shops.
To escape quick detection, the streetkids no longer frequent the city centre or move in large groups.
Eddy, who washes cars along George Silundika Avenue, chronicled how he has been affected.
“I used to wash cars and then sleep under a tree in First Street. After the announcement by police that we were no longer welcome on the streets of Harare, we moved to the banks of Mukuvisi River, near Mbare,” he said.
Eddy spends most of his time sleeping and making occasional forays into the Central Business District (CBD) to scrounge for food.
“We have about three restaurants that are still operational but there is not much food for all of us in the bins. We are always hungry,” he added.
“One has to adapt or get arrested. I now move around with my friend and avoid being in groups.”
But there is a sizeable number that claim to be homeless but have since retraced their roots.
A disabled elderly woman, who usually begs along Sam Nujoma Street, abandoned her post last Wednesday but did not disclose her next station.
“There is no reason for me to be here since the town is deserted,” grumbled the lady.
Some have abandoned their unkempt look to avoid being detected.
Anna, who used to squat outside a nightclub in the Kopje area, said a clean look was a worthy disguise. “We are bathing and washing our clothes in the Mukuvisi River. Being clean at times is saving us from arrests by the police,” Anna said.
Those that have moved out of the city centre have camped in residential arears like Mbare and Epworth, where they are sleeping mainly at shopping centres.
But again, food is not readily available. For them, the struggle continues. On the other hand, the clean-up was necessary as part of Government’s ongoing efforts to contain the deadly virus.
