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It is unclear how many street children are living rough in places
like Luanda. Some estimate their numbers in thousands, others in
tens of thousands, however one survey conducted over a four month period in 2018 suggested the numbers, in Luanda at least, were much lower at just 465 although this figure is disputed by the street children themselves. Whatever the number, they face a future
bleaker than most in a country that was ravaged by civil war for
decades, is littered with landmines, and in regular conflict with
its neighbours such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many of these street
kids lost their parents during the war, others fled homes where
there was simply not enough to go round, some fled to escape
domestic violence whilst others ran away after being accused of
witchcraft in fear for their lives with the Salesian Network stating that accusations of witchcraft are the main reason for kids fleeing home to live on the streets with poverty running a close second.
As night falls many of these children head for the old
crumbling sewers built a century ago by the Portuguese that form
a complex maze under Luanda, where the kids compete with rats
for scraps of food. As daybreak dawns it's back onto the streets
and a life of hawking merchandise, washing cars or simply
begging or stealing to survive and buy drugs or gasoline to sniff, an habitual way to escape reality and pain, putting themselves at even further risk of abuse
including sexual exploitation. In Angola police round-ups of street children are not legal unless they can demonstrate any such round-up is in order to execute a judicial order or warrant, where there are unauthorised gatherings, in case of public danger or emergency or where there is disturbance of the public order. Police in the country are genrally wary of the street children as officers who make arrests without demonstrable due cause can be held criminally responsible for abuse of authority.
As in many countries, these street children
in Angola have few opportunities to escape this cycle of
deprivation and live without access to education or medical care. Nearly 70% of births are not registered in Angola
effectively meaning these children do not exist in the eyes of
the authorities so when many 'disappear' no-one notices save for
the others in the gangs they belong to. There are a number of agencies attempting to provide support
for these children, but their main potential support, their
families, are often not there having been killed, displaced, or
are too poor to take back yet another mouth to feed in a country
where around 68% live on less that $2.00 a day.
Street children
in Luanda face the sternest difficulties where many existing
families live in slum housing with little to discard to feed the
hungry mouths of street children who live on the streets of one
of the most expensive and dangerous cities on earth. In fact, according to Mercer's Annual Cost of Living Index, Luanda is the world's most expensive city. Renting a two-bedroom apartment there costs $6,800 a month on average, precluding the possibility of homeless children ever finding proper accommodation outside projects and programs established to help them survive. The video (below) gives some insight into the lives of street children in Angola together with projects and programs working with street children in the country.
Angola Street Children: The Better Way Project
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Angola Street Children: SOS Children's Villages
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Angola Street Children: Salesian Missions
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Angola Street Children: Angola Children
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Angola Street Children: Sponsor Children in Angola
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Angola Street Children: Volunteer in Angola
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Angola Street Children: Angola Profile
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