Godknows Maseko fear spread of Covid-19 among Malawi children

Step Kids Awareness (Steka), a child care institution has expressed fear that children particularly street kids in the country are at a high risk of contracting the deadly respiratory coronavirus should cases escalate.

Executive director for Steka, Godknows Maseko expressed the concern  at a media briefing in  Blantyre where he called upon government and its partners to priorities children in the fight against the spread of the pandemic.

Maseko said of particular concern are street kids  who cannot adhere to social distancing and hand  washing preventive measures due the congested environment in which they put themselves.

He also appealed to parents and guardians in supervision of children in the country to prevent them from being exposed to the threat of contracting the corona virus, saying all children must be kept indoors.

Maseko applauded government for its decision to start  withdrawing all street kids from the country’s major townships, saying the move will go along way in preventing them from the threat of contracting the deadly virus.

Blantyre District social welfare officer Stephano Joseph  said his organisation  was also sensitising children with parents or dependents  in hotspot townships of Bangwe, Gangala, Chilobwe and other areas where many of the street children come from, to  withdraw themselves voluntarily from the streets.

The welfare officer said children without homes are being taken to various child care institutions for support and formal rehabilitation and reintegration upon being withdrawn from the streets.

There are over  2,000 street kids in Blantyre City alone.

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