RIYADH, 16 January 2006 — The local chapter of UNICEF will provide technical support to the Kingdom to address the problem of child homelessness and poverty following an agreement signed by Riyadh recently.
The Kingdom estimates that there are 100,000 child beggars, mostly from Yemen and a few Asian countries, roaming the country’s streets at any given time.
“The child beggars in the Kingdom come from 18 countries and the highest number of them are from Yemen,” said a UNICEF official.
Approximately 3,500 Yemeni children are caught in the Kingdom each month, according to government statistics.
“The technical support extended by the UNICEF to the Saudi officials will help to solve the problem of child beggars,” said June Kunugi, UNICEF representative in the Gulf region.
The UNICEF is also working to put an end to homeless and impoverished children in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, where the problem of begging gets compounded during and right after Haj.
Part of the problem is that adults are exploiting both children, by forcing them into beggary, and people’s generosity, by appealing to their sense of pity. Hence, the Saudi-UNICEF agreement will ensure the maximum utilization of government agencies with technical support from the UNICEF to crack down on begging rackets.
The Saudi government is represented in the agreement by Ministries of Islamic Affairs and Education, Al-Birr Charitable Society, the Department for Combating Beggary, and the National Commission for the Care of Children and Family.
The UNICEF official who did not want to be named also revealed plans to conduct a survey of expatriate street children in various parts of the country. The survey will focus on specific issues like nutrition, child labor, and girls’ education.
“The survey will help the Saudi officials and planners to devise new strategies and plans to fight this growing social evil,” said the official, adding that a large number of girls under 14 years of age are seen on the streets of the country asking for alms.
