Those Street Kids - Mayibobo
Have You Played with A Mayibobo Lately?
Last year, I was blessed with an opportunity to visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend the ICFP 2013. Though I was struck by the obvious ressemblance between kigali and Addis Ababa (weather, vegetation, people); on a closer inspection, the two cities are more different than similar. First there is the difference in size, the amount of building infrastructure, city planning, taxes, traffic, etc.But more striking than the above, is the amount of people who live on the roads.
In daylight, children run after tourists and older, wealthier individuals, their hands outstretched, asking for change. Some of those children carry babies on their backs. While taking a walk at night with other young people, I observed the situation once again, only to discover several human forms laying by gates and in front of closed businesses, sleeping on cardboard, asleep under the shelter of stars. Several females, clothing cropped and faces painted to attract, standing on sidewalks waiting to sell their bodies. and o! how young some of them were, not even the make-up could hide their innocent faces. We passed a group, most probably a family, sitting around a small brazier, getting a little bit of heat in the cold night. I realized the little kids, did not have a place to go home. The road had adopted them, as some used to say back home some years ago.
They are called Mayibobo in Kigali, and thankfully they are a disappearing social phenomena. The Genocide left many in the roads, without shelter or food. With no one to care for them. Basic needs like water, food and shelter were a rare occurrence. Even when orphanages took them in, the lack of nurturing and sense of belonging pushed many to go back to the streets, where they felt more comfortable. Kids run away from homes for many reasons. In Rwanda though, no one is allowed to live on the streets. This can be easily interpreted as a bad thing, until you look into how that policy is enforced.
Iwawa island is now famous as being the place where many of these Mayibobos are taken for education and re-introduction into the society. They are taught a trade skills and to read and write. It is a noble and good initiative. I hope that the people in charge do not brutalize the kids and or the older individuals who go through the island.
