Young people continue face a plethora of challenges some of which have seen them committing crimes and embarking on infamous drug and substance abuse.
Some have even gone to stay in the streets.
Speaking at the ongoing Youth Collective Action for Social Transformation (YCA4SoTra) Indaba in Harare, a youth from Bulawayo Province laid some of the challenges youth face in relation in the province.
“Limited youth participation in decision-making.
High youth unemployment and limited enterprise support.
“Climate change, water shortages and declining green spaces.
“Drug and substance abuse and limited rehabilitation services.
“High cost of internet and unequal digital access.
Weak child protection and rising teenage pregnancies.
“Escalating substance abuse and limited rehabilitation services
“Rising use of crystal meth (“mutoriro”/”guka”) and illicit drugs in high-density suburbs is compounded by a shortage of accessible, youth-friendly community rehabilitation and mental health services.”
She ie noted thr Urban Child Protection Gap.
“The province faces child-rights challenges with a distinctly urban character: the visibility of street-connected children in the Central Business District (CBD), child labour in informal transport and vending, and children working on the street concentrated in peri-urban and traditional-leadership areas, underreporting of Bushi child abuse due to poor service delivery and red tape.”
