Enocki's Story

I am from here in Arusha—Unga Limited. I am 14 years old. I was living with my grandmother from when I was a young child. She was helping me with school related things until I finished class seven. From the onset of problems at home I left home and I went to the street – the bus stand. I began to stay at the bus stand and sleep there. I slept at the bus stand for 4 months. Then I meet with the youth named Loshei and then he brought me here to CCF. Since then I have been staying at CCF. Here at CCF there are problems too, because our care takers are not good people. If they see that you have been brought to ccf they hate it because they think you have come here because of mistakes or problems. If they see that we have been given permission to stay here, they start arguing with us. They said I came to CCF because of problems or mistakes.

“Nilikuepo sitahili kukaa hapa”. I am a child of the street and I have not stayed back home. Right now, I was staying in the room of the older boys and Teacher Dativa told me that I was pretending to be an older boy because I am staying with the older boys. She said they are teaching me bad behaviour. They told me that if I stay in that room [of the older boys] they will refuse me here at CCF. Indeed, it is like that. They told me that if I don’t move, I will leave CCF.

I like taking photographs because if you take pictures you learn a lot of things. Example if you take pictures of street children. You will be taught about life in the streets. – there you will see them maybe picking up metal , begging money from people, also it is not good for children in the streets, because there are centers for street youth for them to stay in.

Also street children have the rights to stay like other children and to live a life like other children. They shouldn’t live the life they are living – the life in the streets.