By Our Reporter

The number of children flocking the streets of Soroti city is increasing daily due to various reasons like group influence, drug abuse, family neglect, and others.

Our reporter got in touch with a 10 years old boy who left his village to come and hustle life in the streets of Soroti and has since spent more than a year, his story has since raised a number of questions about the life they go through while in the streets.

''Life here is so tough that most times I eat once and that's only when I have moved around town to collect boxes to go and sell and buy food, it's' not easy'' 10 years old Solomon OKwaput says as he explains his exodus into the streets of Soroti where he joins the rest of the street children.

Okwaput Solomon 10 years hails from Ciele village, Abila parish from Katakwi district where he was happy staying with his parents but all that ended just like a movie after his loving mother who would protect him from his father who behaves like a rebel when dunk died when he was at the age of 7 (seven) years old.

His life started changing, full of frustration, thoughts, and agony without his mother around him, Solomon was forced to end school too as he was schooling at Apeleun primary school in primary 3 (three) due to different outcomes like lack of support for scholastic materials, and inadequate feeding as he was forced to move around the village looking for where to get a meal from a move that saw his dream of becoming a lawyer coming into an end.

'' Most times I would move to neighbors’ homes to eat, my relatives also didn't have much to offer but after my father brought in another woman, I felt life-changing and got to feel motherly love again as she would provide food early and the number of meals i could eat also summed up but that didn't change my dad's ways as being a drunkard, it was hell each time he came back home'' Solomon narrates.

Solomon’s hope of continuing life without stress was to leave home and come to Soroti city where he believed he could live happily.

'' No one knew my plan of coming to Soroti as it was my own thought, I decided to hit the road one early morning where moved bearer footed for many kilometers until at some point, i stopped one of the passenger vehicles, told the driver I was from the village and needed a lift to town, he okayed but never asked me anything'' he added.

Solomon finally entered the city but was shocked to have a new experience in life, the hooting sound of the vehicles, congestion, and new features, he had to immediately look for where to go and what he had to start doing.

''Most of the kids on the street are new to me like the use of drugs that I have seen many using though i don't use though some tell me to try others say that it's bad and I am still young to do such'', he explains.

As soon as night falls, another series of trouble breaks out as he together with other street kids has to go to town talk one of the busiest business spots’ in Soroti city where most street kids are located, they sleep in corridors are at times disturbed when the police storm during the night patrols.

'' Life is hot over here, I wouldn't advise anyone else to come here, it’s' trouble, we have to move out to look for boxes that we sell, a kg is 200, most times I get between 1k and 2k daily that I use to buy food,  eat beans and posho, kikomando and omena whose price is much friendly to us, my friends gave me shoes that you are seeing and about the clothes, we come to the youth Centre where there is a borehole, where I wash my shirt, dry it before putting it back on'' he narrated in agonizing voice with teary eyes.

Its' now 1 year and two months as Solomon battles with life in the streets of Soroti city, his dad came to get him out but two thoughts of whether to go back to the frying pan or hustle with his new family, Solomon decided to stay back as his angry dad who wanted to beat him trying to force him back home was warned by Solomon’s friends to let Solomon make his own choice.

Solomon's dream of going back to school to achieve his dream of becoming a lawyer is still active and calls upon well-wishers to come to his rescue.

'' I need to go back home but am scared of what will happen to me, life here is not as easy as some may think'', he added as he moved to check on his shirt that he had put under the sun to dry.

Solomon’s story explains the different thoughts of some people who judge the kids in the streets as those who intend to leave their homes.