Abstract

The central theme of this paper was to assess the life of street children and the role of government intervention to meet the basic need of street children in Southern Nation, Nationality and People Region (SNNPR), Hadiya zone, Hossana town. To this end, the study used both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were gathered from interview, FGD, and personal observations from 26 respondents of whom 14 street children and 12 government officials whereas secondary data were obtained from the existing literatures. The study employed purposive sampling mechanism due to the nature of the study. The organized data analyzed through both qualitative and quantitative methods. The major finding of the study indicated that, governmental offices in the study area have no capable role in helping destitute children. Street children in Hossana town have forced to live with denied access to basic need. They were vulnerable to wide and extreme violations of their rights and verbally, physically and sexually abused. Based on the findings of the study, governmental bodies’ in the study area should recommended to intervening on schemes; strategies and policy issues.

1. Introduction

Over the last three decades, the phenomenon of street children has become prominent globally with serious implications for the survival of the children. The presence of street children in major towns and cities of the world has transcended the level where it was viewed as strictly uncommon occurrence to a worrisome global problem. This is also possible in Ethiopia, Southern Nation, Nationality and People Regional Sate (SNNPRS) Hadiya zone, Hossana town. Worldwide, the problem of children roaming the streets endlessly is escalating and alarming ¹. Global estimates of street children stood between 10-100 millions and the number was increasing rapidly since 2002 ¹⁷. The phenomenon has not only attracted public concern but has become a matter of priority to governments as well as national and international organizations ². A research carried out in Karnataka village in India by Moriojose (1999) revealed that majority of children in polygamous families are not educated and work in the farm which makes children to take to the streets to look for freedom. According to Casa Alianza ¹⁸, an estimated 100 million children live and work on the streets of the developing world. Most street children (75%) have some family links but spend most of their lives on streets begging, selling trinkets, shining shoes or washing cars to supplement their families’ income. The rest (25%) live on the streets, often in groups of other children. They sleep in abandoned buildings, in ditches, in doorways or in public parks. Particularly in Africa where the problem of street children is new unlike the situation in Asia, the presence of large number of children has now become a major issue ³. Sub Saharan Africa with less than 30% of its population residing in cities is the least urbanized region of the developing world. Never the less, the region in the recent times is experiencing the highest urban growth rate in the world ⁴. Decades ago Africa witnessed rapid and wide ranging socio-economic and political changes. There is rapid urbanization, run away population growth, wars, displacement, internal crisis and increasing disparities in wealth. The introduction of structural adjustment programs in a country like Nigeria and globalization affected the structure of African society. Children aged below 15 accounted for 48.6% of the total population in 1994 ⁵. It was then estimated that about 27 million children between the ages of 5 and 15 lived on the streets in Ethiopia in 1994.

Under this backdrop, this paper uses to explore the basic need of the street children and the role of government intervention in protecting their life opportunities in Ethiopia, across Southern Nation, Nationality and People Region (SNNPR), Hadiya zone, Hossana town.

2. Review of the Literature

The most obvious way to define a child would seem to be in terms of age. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN in 1989, defines a child as “every human being below the age group of 18 unless, under the law of his/her state he/she has reached his/her age of majority earlier” ( ⁶: 270).

Millions of children make their way through life impoverished, abandoned, uneducated, malnourished, discriminated against, neglected and vulnerable. For them life is a daily struggle to survival. Whether they live in urban centres or rural out posts, they risk missing out on their childhood. They are excluded from essential services such as hospitals and schools, lack the protection of family and community, and are often at risk of exploitation and abuse. For these children, childhood as a time to grow, play, learn and play safe is in effect meaningless ( ⁷: 1). The experiences of these children contrast with the ideal of childhood as a time when children are allowed to grow and develop to their full potential ( ⁸: 1). From the above premises: if childhood is defined in a western sense, for many children in the world this is a broken promise, as they will never experience such a long period of care and protection.

Currently it is common incidence to hear frightful stories of abuse of children by family members. Nowadays it is not surprising to see parents using force or threats to send their children out to beg, steal and work to earn income for the family. Adults are using children as sources of income and thus violating and denying children their basic rights as human beings. Children become vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and abuse, and their daily lives are likely to be far removed from the ideal childhood envisioned in the CRC ( ⁷: 41).

Economic factors have been cited most frequently as the reason the majority of children are engaged in street life. According to Lusk et al ( ⁹: 293) “unlike street children in United States and other industrial countries, Latin American Street children are gravitating to the street out of economic necessity. US street kids come from all social classes and are overwhelmingly from neglectful or abusive homes, where as their Latin American counterparts should be seen primarily as workers”. In Kenya, economic factors were also cited as the primary factor pushing children to the streets ¹⁰. In many causal accounts of street children, street children are viewed as an inevitable outcome of urban poverty ( ¹¹: 58).

All human rights conventions apply to children, but children need a separate convention, since they need additional attention and protection ( ¹²: 61). The very first effort at the international level to adopt legal standards relating to the rights of the child can be traced back to the League of Nations. A special committee was established to deal with questions relating to the protection of children, and various relevant conventions were adopted, including the 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children and the 1926 Slavery convention ( ¹³: 13).

Experts from various angles proposed different socio-economic factors which they had found out in their studies and other worst adversary of Ethiopian children ( ¹⁴: 3). The infanticide of both legitimate and illegitimate children was documented in studies dealt with child related malpractices in Ethiopia. Child sacrifice also constituted another traditional practice among a few ethnic groups ( ¹⁵: 77). Children in Ethiopia, like the Southern Nations, Nationality and People Regional State (SNNPRS) of Hadiya zone, Hossana town is also in especially difficult circumstances when their basic needs for food, shelter, education, medical care, or protection and security are not met. Such children are at great risk of suffering malnutrition, disease and possibly death. Unless their own situation changes, their condition of gross disadvantage will extend to their own children who may suffer even greater misery and suffering ( ¹⁶: 7).

3. Methods and Materials

This study has employed both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The qualitative approach is credited for being highly exhaustive and reliable in making deep exploration of information from respondents. The Quantitative approach facilitates the collection and quantification of data in terms of frequencies, sums, and percentages so as to supplement the qualitative data. In this study the researchers used both primary and secondary sources of data. Hence; primary data encompasses; interviews, FGDs and observations from the street children and governmental officials with the study by focusing on 26 number of sample size has taken via purposive sampling technique from whom 14 street children and 12 government officials. On the other hand, secondary data includes written materials such as office charts, graphs, books, journals and different documents.

4. Findings

As to the age equilibrium of street children in Hossana (65.5%) of the population are male while females share (35.5%). Children aged between six to ten years constitute only about twenty one percent (21.42%) of the population shown in Table 1. Slightly about fifty percent (49.99%) make up the age ranges of eleven to fifteen. About one fourth (28.56%) of the street children represent the age range of 16 to 18 years. As to the situation in Hossana, from labour and social affairs official Mr. Bereket, said that fewer girls may be neglected by their families for the following reason: Girls are socialized by their families according to their culture and are often taught to be subservient and caring, therefore they tend to have fewer behavioural problems as judged against boys. Since girls have fewer behavioural problems, they usually have less conflict with their families and do not need to leave their abode. Families might drive girls away from home by other means, if necessary, such as marrying them off at their early age.

The street children were asked as to which ethnic group they belong, in order to find out about their origin. Because of Hossana town lies in Southern Nation, Nationality, and People Region (SNNPR), Hadiya zone. The majority of the interviewed street children claimed to be of Hadiya origin and (potteries those live around Hossana). The statistical figures reveal the following ethnic composition of street children in Hossana town. The majority of the populations of street children, nearly twenty one percent (21%), are ethnically from Hadiya and Fuga/ pottery background. The next large majority approximately fourteen percent (14.28%) of the street children are Amhara and Wolyta. Slightly about seven percent (7.14%) of the street children are Silte, Gurage, Kembata shown in Table 2. And either didn’t know or they were not willing to notify their ethnic group.

The birth place profile of street children tabulated above makes obvious that nearly fifty one percent (51.14%) of them were born in Hossana town reported in Table 3. Slightly more than twenty eight percent (28.57%) of the street children were migrants and born out of the city, whereas about fourteen percent (14%) either did not know their birth place or were not ready to provide information about their place of birth.

The street children were asked about their families’ current place of residence to find out the migration status of street children in Hossana town. From the children’s responded half (50%) of the families of street children currently resided in Hossana town. On the other hand slightly above twenty four percent (24.3%) of the street children reported that their families’ presently dwell outside Hossana town shown in Table 4. While about (14.28%) of the total street children replied that they don’t know their parents alive or died because of that they do not have any information about their families currently place of residence.

The result of the study in general indicated that (14.28%) of the street children came from both parents alive family setting. The remaining (35.71%) had lost both parents. About (21.42%) has lost their fathers and about (14.28%) has lost their mothers respectively shown in Table 5. The remaining (14.28%) did not know whether their parents were alive or dead. Whether the living parent institutes another marriage or both parents deceased in both cases children become sufferers of these situations. This being so, children tend to break away from the inhospitable home atmosphere by picking any promising alternatives for survival.

The educational status of the street children parents was very low. Slightly above eighteen percent (42.85%) of fathers and (57.14%) mothers were reported to be illiterate shown in Table 6. From their children’s response nearly twenty percent (21.42%) of the family of street children had attended only primary school of which the majorities (28.57%) are fathers. Slightly over fourteen percent (14.28%) of street children reported that their families had attended secondary level education. It is visible from the above table that fathers take the lead by (21.42%) and (7.1%) for secondary and college education against the mothers’ share of (14.28%) and (7.1%) respectively. Slightly over fifty seven percent (57.14%) of street children responded that either their mothers or their father had never been to school. Surprisingly about seven percent (7.1%) of the families of street children had the chance of joining colleges. In this case, loneliness or lack of adequate supervision was hypothesized to push a child to the street in search of friendship and support. While on the whole, the majority of the families were poorly educated, this cautions against asserting that the families of street children constitute a homogenous group; they appear to exhibit greater diversity than is commonly delivered.

Slightly over twenty-one percent (21.42%) had spent one to two years. Similarly twenty one percent (21.42%) of the children reported that they had lived three to five years as street children.(14.28%) of the street children spent six to ten years, and similarly about fourteen percent (14.28%) spent above ten years on the streets of Hossana reported in Table 7. The result showed that the majority (28.57%) of the interviewed street children lived less than one year on the streets of Hossana. According to key informants and interviewed street adults, were distinguished by the steady growth in the price of food items and other basic necessities. This led the researcher to speculate that, the rapidly increasing cost of living might send children off to the street to meet their own needs and support the family.

The majority of (64.28%) of the interviewed street children were beggars, (14.28%) of them lead their livelihood by shoe shining and similarly (14.28%) were no need of responding shown in Table 8. About (7.14%) were street vendors who sell tissue papers, lottery, and ‘kollo’. The researcher found it clear from the focus group discussants that there was a strong correlation between hours worked and income earned. Moreover, interviewed children on the street reported that their working status affected their schooling. Sugebo; a shoeshine boy said, “because I work on the street the whole day, my body and clothes were dusty and mud, this makes me easily identified among other school students and uncomfortable’’. Very young children between the ages of two and five years were sent out onto the streets by their mothers, who in turn watch over them from a distance and these children later give their mothers the money offered by the public.

Nearly forty-three percent (42.85%) ate leftovers from restaurants and hotels, but they have to pay for it. While (14.28%) ate from a drop-in centre, slightly over fourteen percent (14.28%) ate at home either with parents or relatives respectively reported in Table 9. About (7.14%) of the street children reported that they obtain food by other ways including begging and collecting leftover from bin. The interviews with some of the children in this regard substantiated the information gained through the questionnaire. The majority of children of the street those who slept both at home and on the streets also bought their own food. Accordingly, street children are mainly meeting their own food requirements through purchase from their own earnings or through scavenging.

Furthermore, street children were asked as how often they eat per day shown in Table 10. The result showed that the majority of street children, above fifty seven percent (57.14%), reported that the frequency of their meal depended on the availability of food on each day. Above twenty one percent (21.42%) of the children responded that they eat two times per day. (14.28%) of the children confirmed that they eat three times per day. (7.14%) of the street children eat their food only once per day. This in fact means street children may go hungry to sleep. Many among the interviewed street children reported that they were stayed hungry repeatedly. This fact shows that street children lack access to their one of the basic need.

Among the interviewed street children, (42.85%) were primary school students while (14.28%) were at secondary level. Nearly thirty-six percent (35.71%) of the children responded that they had never attended neither formal nor informal education shown in Table 11. The rest (7.14%) interviewed street children were the chance to attended high school education. The fact that currently showed that, the majority were denied of their right to education. They got dropped out of school or never seen the gate of school for the most part because their parents were not able to provide them educational materials.

The majority of street children (35.71%) reported that they chewing chat while (7.14%) did not use any substances at all shown in Table 12. Nearly twenty percent (21.42%) of the street children are smokers. Above seven percent (7.14%) of the street children is sniffing benzene shown in Table 13. Slightly above fourteen percent (14.28%) of the street children used to drink alcoholic beverages so called (Tella and Katikala) local drinks. They reported that they started taking drugs being persuaded by their peers. A fifteen years old street child called by his false name Gecho said, “I consumed drug when I got depressed and wanted to fantasize about my life”. In depth interview and focus group discussion results show further that alcohol use remains very common among the street children. Almost one forth of children ‘on’ the street reported that they took intoxicants while nearly three quarters of children ‘of’ the street took intoxicants. The use of intoxicants by street children can be viewed as a risk factor in a number of areas including sexual abuse and infection with STDs.

As shown in Table 13. About one seventh (14.28%) of the street children were concerned with child physical abuse. Slightly above seven percent (7.14%) of the street children mentioned insult as an exceedingly familiar form of abuse. Sexual abuse was a concern of about thirty percent (28.57%) of the street children population. Also (14.28%) mentioned being robbed as a frequently happening form of abuse. A similar pattern was seen in the children’s identification of those who abused them. Just above seven percent (7.14%) of the children identified their family members and nearest relatives as those who most habitually abused them. Above forty percent (14.28%) of street children reported that the police was the major source of abuse, mainly physical abuse and (7.14%) insult. Only (7.14%) reported that they were abused by kebele workers. Other members of the society like; street adults, passengers and drunks, were reported to constitute about (42.84%) of the abusers. The children responded that they face the majority of sexual abuse from this group. Focus group discussions with street children and street adults and findings from interviews with social workers confirmed that street children were engaged in risky sexual behaviour.

The interviewed street children in Hossana responded a number of reasons for their initiation to the streets, included being abused by parents, absence of food at home, parental problems and runaway after committing an offence. It was revealed that the majority (71.41%) of the interviewed street children initiated to join the street because of various problems at home. About (7.14%) of the interviewed street children forwarded that the need to look for job as the main reason for their being on the streets. Above twenty one percent (21.42%) reported that they were abused by parent(s). Street children appear to experience abuse and witness fighting or violence between parents frequently. Stress theory advocates that by associate such behaviours usually with the parenting style of parents under stress. A further about thirteen percent (21.42%) of children were on the street because they were orphaned or for other reasons had no one to support them. Close to fifteen percent (7.14%) of the street children reported that marital troubles initiated them to move to the streets. Slightly above seven percent (28.57%) of the street children reported that they often experienced hunger at home. Over half of all street children regularly did not get enough food at home. This suggested that street children mainly come from economically deprived families. Another (21.42 %) of the street children reported that the reason for their initiation to the street was committing a wrong and run away from home.

5. Discussion

In tracing the process by which children move to the street from children’s own accounts, it was established that many children were able to identify the factors which precipitated their involvement in street life. However, once the initial movement to the street was made, a number of factors then served to maintain the child’s involvement in the street. These factors may or may not have been the same as those responsible for initial involvement. From conceptual perspective, an important distinction can be made between initiating and maintenance factors. This section explores the initiation and maintenance factors and attempts to isolate the factors associated with why and how children become involved in street life.

Street children were asked as to what they felt the general public’s opinion about them as “street children” because their attitude could shape their relationship with the wider society. The majority of street children in the study area of Southern Nation, Nationality and People Region (SNNPR), of Hadiya zone, Hossana town felt that the general public disliked them, distinguished them as ‘trouble makers’ and that they should be forcefully removed from streets. In focused group discussions, street children said they were treated violently. In addition to this they felt disrespected and were subjected to hostility by police and security guards over and over again.

Asked about how they perceived their lives on the street, the greater part of the interviewed street children felt hopeless and unaided; they mentioned that they had no other option concerning what to do about their lives except live on the street. They considered that their lives were miserable and without a future. Asked what they felt when they looked at children in nice dress, going to school or playing, the street children responded desperately. Therefore, the present study attempted to address this need by investigating the relationship between the support from the government and street children’s access to basic need. For this reason, this study is highly significant in terms of its potential to contribute to the gap in the literature.

6. Conclusion

The majority of street children in the study area; Southern Nation, Nationality and People Region (SNNPR), Hadiya zone, Hossana town were boys, and found to be neither homeless nor delinquent. Some have a home where they lived with their parents or relatives, while the majority others live and work on the streets. Living alone or with numerous numbers of friends in rented houses is also common mainly among migrated children ‘on’ the streets of Hossana. The majority of street children were engaged in menial jobs like begging, shoeshine, carrying goods, selling tissues and ‘kollo’. Poverty, attracted by town life, searching for jobs and death of parent(s) appeared to be the key factors that make the children to go to the street. Therefore, they are denied of their basic need and the most difficult to protect. Street children who work and live on the streets of Hossana town are found to be vulnerable to wide and extreme violations of their rights. They are verbally, physically and sexually abused by their family members, relatives, and by strangers. Faced with these situations, very few are forced into crime and confrontation with the general public. Significant numbers of these boys and girls seek temporary relief from their situation through substance abuse. The study revealed that the intervention of governmental bodies for the street children to meet their basic need in the study area is not undervalued.

References