PROGRAMME TITLE:
VOICES FROM THE STREETS
SUB TITLE:
CHAT WITH ONE OF THE MOTHERS
LANGUAGE:
YORUBA
DURATION:
13.04 MINUTES
Sig tune:
composed and sung by the street kids.
Narrators:
Welcome to ‘Voices from the Streets’, a programme for street
kids. I am Olalekan Abiola and I am kehinde Tijani.
Music:
…………..
Olalekan:
Last week on the programme, we heard the experiences of some
streets kids and how the positive side of these would impact
positively on kids generally. But this week a mother of one of
the street kids is here to advice parents and also the kids. You
are welcome to the programme.
Mother:
Thank you and I welcome parents to this programme.
Olalekan:
We would like you to advice parents on how to nurture their
children and also the children on obeying their parents, so that
we would not have children leaving the comfort of their homes
to walk the streets.
Mother:
Firstly, my advice to parents is that they should teach their
children, the way of the Lord. Then, parents should not quarrel
in the presence of their children.
Olalekan:
Your child is in this home run by the Child to Child Network.
How do you feel seeing your child again?
Mother:
Well, we give thanks to God for our children when I was called
on phone that my son had been found I had mixed feelings. I
was happy and sad at the same time. I was happy because he
was found alive; some kids are killed and used for rituals in the
course of walking the streets.
Olalekan:
Your son Segun had spoken in one of our programmes and told
us his experience as a street kid. Now we shall ask him how he
feels after seeing his mother.
Segun:
I was very happy when I saw my mum.
Olalekan:
When you know that you would want to see your mum again,
why did you not go back home on your own.
Segun:
Well, I just did not feel like going back home.
Olalekan:
They say if Mohammed does not go to the mountain, the
mountain will go to Mohammed. You did not want to go back
home, but your mum is now here to take you home.
Kehinde:
How will you advice the children you are leaving behind on the
street?
Segun:
I will advice them to listen to their parents and be tolerant.
They should not use the excuse of being scolded to abscond
from home. They should learn from my experience.
Kehinde:
Now that you have experienced the hardship one faces, on the
street, will you go back there?
Segun:
No way.
Kehinde:
When Segun left home, what efforts did you make to look for
him?
Mother:
No mother will be happy that her child ran away from home.
You would always remember the 9 month period of pregnancy.
I was helpless, but I kept praying that God should bring him
back hale and hearty.
All the time he was away I was never happy, I could not eat
well and people knew something was wrong with me. I thought
about him all the time. But I kept praying for his safety.
Olalekan:
I am sure Segun has a father, what effort did he make to look
for him? What was the reaction of your neighbours?
Mother:
The mother is the owner of the child, but when the child is
doing well, he becomes the fathers. I could not tell anybody that
I was looking for my son; I was too ashamed of myself. When
people asked after him, I usually told then that he had done
visiting with his friends. At a point, his father became very
concerned even more than me and he already made up his mind
that whenever we found him, we would do everything so that
he does not run away from home again.
Music:
……………………………………………………………
Olalekan:
Now that Segun is reconciled with his family, our prayer is that
God should do same for the other rescued children in the home.
This where we end the programme today until next week, we
enjoin you to be well behaved.
Olalekan:
I am Olalekan Abiola and...
Kehinde:
I am Kehinde Tijani, bye.
Music:
……………………………………………………………