WE WELCOME the announcement by Prime Minister Patterson about the plan to tackle the problem of street children and young adults hustling to eke out a living. Particularly in Kingston, the hordes of young windscreen wipers at street intersections have ranged from being an irritating nuisance to instances where they are a menace to motorists.
Estimated at some 10,000 islandwide, the sight of children who should be in school represents failure at two levels. In the first instance they are either truants from the school system or products of dysfunctional families. In some cases there is strong suspicion that they are sent by parent or guardian to scuffle for a living.
At another level the phenomenon may be a reflection of the harsh economic climate and the Government's tardiness in coming to grips with what is an endemic social problem. Indeed it is not too far removed from the street people crisis which reached such a painful climax in Montego Bay last year.
This latest initiative recalls that of the Newport West Police Station in recent weeks organising classes for young windscreen wipers on a regular basis.
According to the Prime Minister what is now being undertaken is an amalgamation of the agencies assisting street children and the creation of an executive board to co-ordinate the efforts.
This is being done with input from the private sector; hence the donation of US$50,000 from the Texaco Global Fund to establish a skills development centre. We applaud this first such step by Texaco which we hope will be emulated by other private sector entities.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
