Nairobi street kids resort to cleaning cars stuck on Uhuru Highway

The trend is quickly becoming a near permanent fixture along Nairobi's Uhuru Highway; a 710 metres stretch of tarmac famous for its stubborn traffic snarl up.

Indeed, as traffic builds up along the highway, a handful of street children dressed in shabby clothes can be seen running towards the sea of vehicles, each carrying a hand towel.

One of the boys can be seen chatting up a driver of a salon car, before throwing his small frame on the edge of the bonnet; and wiping away dust using a piece of cloth.

He has to do it fast – before traffic opens up – otherwise he won’t get paid for his job.

It’s an amazing display of creativity from these young men.

The driver of the salon car reaches to his shirt pocket to produce Sh20, which the young lad takes graciously before moving to the next assignment.

This is the latest survival strategy these young men are applying, away from outright begging or selling small items in an attempt to earn something approaching a living.

“People only know us for begging, but we can do actually work if given a chance,” Kariuki, a street child told Wananchi Reporting.

“I don’t make much money, but at least I can buy food for myself,” he adds, before running off towards a small van. The driver turns him away.

“Some drivers are a bit difficult, I guess it is because of the bad name that has been associated with street children, but we are human, and we need to eat,” says Kariuki.

Kariuki is not alone in this new venture that has attracted many street boys, most of whom had spent their previous life begging.

“People no longer give money freely to beggars. I think that’s because we have very many beggars on the streets, and life is not easy for most Kenyans today, even those with jobs,” noted Kariuki who says most of them are leaving begging to the old and disabled.

Thousands of children are living on the streets of Nairobi, most of them forced out of their homes by poverty and family breakups.

In 2021, Nairobi County government set aside Sh40 million to help in rehabilitation and reintegration of street children in Nairobi. The exercise was supposed to reduce the number of street children in the capital, and targeted 300 street children.