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"Last year, my friend told me about South Africa. I had no money so last August I walked from Masvingo to Beitbridge for two weeks and four days.
"I begged for food on the way. Some gave money; others food."
This is the story of 16-year-old Stephen (not his real name) from Zimbabwe.
He shared his story with Save the Children in South Africa.
Stephen’s story is similar to other children crossing borders and getting shunned by the system.
Gugu Xaba, CEO of Save the Children, tackles the issue of Children on the Move like Stephen.
In Beitbridge a woman took Stephen in for two days. She introduced him to two older boys who help people cross into South Africa.
“That night we crossed the river. The water came up to my chest, but we made it to the other side. They left me in Messina. I met a guy who told me about
this shelter. I’ve been here for seven months.”
Xaba says South African children cross provinces and end up in Gauteng where they often live on the streets, do odd jobs on farms or work as domestic workers. They are often subjected to violence, abuse and exploitation.
"Some meet friends who do commercial sex work, working as car guards or scavenging. The older ones expose the new ones to their 'streetwise' lifestyle.
"Some are picked up by men for sexual work; they beg on the streets for food or money and drug dealers use some as mules. Pimps take some to brothels where they also end up doing sexual work.
"To survive the harsh conditions some start sniffing glue or using drugs."
Most of the children often run away from their homes because of abuse and some because they are orphaned.
Xaba says the unaccompanied migrant foreign children often end up at Community Youth Centres in Messina, Limpopo or Louis Trichardt.
Most jump the border-fence between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
At Messina, there are about 30 children who either followed their parents to South Africa and got lost, or came to find work. When found some are kept in holding cells for days or even weeks.
“We at Save the Children intervene, take the child to a clinic and provide food.
" Save the Children supports homes that help the children and facilitates communication with the children.
"We take translators to the centres to help the children communicate and encourage them to return to school. The success story of foreign children is that most of them stay in school.
"We negotiate with schools to enrol them while social workers get them permits."
Xaba said they had reunited some children with their relatives in Zimbabwe. Like the 15-year-old boy, who came to the Youth Centre in Messina aged 12.
“Another success story was of a girl who finished matric. Her parents were not traceable. When she turned 18 she had to leave. Luckily we found her a job."