The Swakopmund Municipality has appealed to the public to donate food and other items to local soup kitchens instead of people who beg on the streets.

This, it says, will get people off the streets and better cared for.

Speaking at a safety interaction meeting, the Chairperson of the Swakopmund Residents Association, John Hopkins, says giving money to the children who beg on the streets encourages them to continue the trend.

About 15 minor children are currently begging on several street corners in the coastal town.

Some are homeless, while others live with their parents in the DRC Informal Settlement.

There are also those who migrated from other areas, such as Windhoek and Otjiwarongo.

Hopkins says they receive continuous complaints, but the association is struggling to get the children off the streets because of the handouts.

According to Hopkins, most of these children dropped out of school, and the money they get from the streets motivates them.

But there is also no clear-cut solution, as their circumstances differ.