MY HEARTBREAK WHILE IN ADDIS: HOMELESS STREET LITTLE KIDS WHO ARE INHALING GLUE, A TOXIC CHEMICAL ADHESIVE, TO GET HIGH & BECOME AN ADDICT AS A RESULT

You drive through the busy streets of Addis Ababa, or stop at a traffic light, the scene you witness is heart breaking! You see so many little kids holding a half-cut used plastic water bottle. If you pay attention to what is in it, you will quickly notice a yellowish substance in the bottle’s bottom section. The kids frequently put the bottle in their mouth and inhale the glue in it, a very toxic chemical substance, also known as “????”, used to repair shoe as an adhesive. These kids are aged anywhere between 7-18.

When I stopped at the traffic light, few kids walked over to my car window. They all look sadly pale, dizzy, and about to pass out as a result of getting high from the inhaling of the toxic substance. They use different ways to ask for money, they even use humor like “??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ???????”. When I offered buying food for them in lieu of cash, they hesitate and get persistent with their begging to get the cash instead.

The toxic chemical they are inhaling is not a controlled substance; hence, these street kids can easily have access to it from hardware stores and dealers who are older in age by paying small fee. Inhaling glue is a very damaging practice and can cause a permanent damage to the kids including brain damage, paralysis, kidney and liver failure and even a sudden death.

It is very alarming that thousands of kids who are living in the streets of Addis are inhaling glue in mass, and one would ask if this matter reached an epidemic level. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that inhaling a substance like glue can have an immediate and long-term effect: Immediate effects include “feelings of happiness, relaxation, sleepiness, poor muscle coordination, slurred speech, irritability and anxiety. Hallucinations and fits can occur with heavy use. The most immediate danger to the user is of ‘sudden sniffing death’. Death could also occur as a result of suffocation.” Long-term effects as a result of a regular long-term use include “nose bleeds, rashes around the mouth and nose, loss of appetite and lack of motivation. Some of the solvents are toxic to the liver, kidney, heart and brain.”

The locals told me that most of the street kids explain their addiction to this substance as a means to forget their hunger and resist the brutal cold at night. This is something that requires a serious attention and must be treated as an epidemic. Everyone – average citizens, government officials, NGOs…need to take this very seriously if we are to save this lost generation of children in the country. Yes, it will require a heavy lift to do it but what else is more important that saving a generation of massive amount of children? A big rehabilitation effort needs to be established to detox the addicts and integrate them back to the community. That means providing school, training, job, housing, and facilities like sport venues and recreation centers.

A mere ‘big’ vertical economic growth without addressing several horizontal issues like this one will not be a true sustainable growth. Let’s set our priorities straight!