Eastleigh, Nairobi/GO

NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 18 (Garowe Online) - The numbers of children from war-ravaged Somalia who are walking and sleeping on city streets in Kenya's capital are on the increase.

Somali journalist Abdikarim Muhsin, the Garowe Online correspondent in Nairobi, says that the children often live under terrible conditions, especially during the colder months.

He spoke with 14-year old Mohamed Ahmed, who has been living in Nairobi's Somali-dominated Eastleigh quarter for the past two years.

"I survive on leftover food given to us by Somalis after we do small jobs for them," the teenager said.

Unfortunately, Mohamed is among hundreds of Somali street children who are often seen walking or sleeping on the streets, with no family or home to go to.

He ran away from armed conflict in parts of southern Somalia, where rebels are fighting to overthrow the country's interim government and its Ethiopian military backers.

No group, including the Kenyan government, has addressed the matter of the street children. But local mosques collect money to help the children get off the streets.

Source: Garowe Online