Guyana warns parents amid children roaming streets unattended

Guyana's Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, said that her ministry is intensifying its enforcement against parents who let their children roam the streets unattended.

In a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI) Persaud advised parents to take their responsibility seriously.

“On the streets, we’ve been working with children, picking them up. We’ve managed to remove over 40 of those children… This year we are going to have zero tolerance for children on the streets,” she shared.

She further said the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) found that most children taken off the streets are not orphans, noting that 99 per cent of the children have homes and parents.

“We want the parents to understand that this is not to punish you, but this is to make you recognize you have a duty to your children and you should be cognizant of that,” she said.

Persaud stated that her ministry is working with parents to address the issue and will use the 'Street Light' project to solve the problem.

As part of the initiative, Guyana Police Force officials and CCPA representatives will monitor areas to make sure children are kept off the streets.