The Vice Mayor of City of Kigali in charge of Socio-economic Affairs, Mutoni Gatsinzi Nadine told The New Times in an interview that since the initiative began on March 20, 744 children have been taken off streets.

During the last 7 days, the City of Kigali in partnership with the police, Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion and National Children commission, has been taking street children to designated places where they are screened for Covid-19 and other health problems before being reintegrated back to their families.

Mutoni said that the increase in street children is hypothetically among the effects of Covid-19 lockdown.

The initiative also aims at discouraging the begging culture among street children and beggars in Kigali.

According to the Vice Mayor, one of the main reasons that there has been an increase in children taking to the streets is not poverty but irresponsible parents.