Comm Med: Street Children

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Street children

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Street children in the strict sense of the term are children who live and sleep on the streets. This definition has been criticized because it is not an all encompassing term. Firstly the majority of these children are adolescents and they live their lives mostly on sidewalks rather than streets. The relationship is one of subsistence and can involve generating income, leisure and an alternative to home.

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Categories of street Children

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1. Children on the street- I.e. they work on the street.

2. Children of the street (Living all the time on the street)

3. Abandoned children - Without any family so that material survival and emotional needs are entirely their own concerns

4. Children living in the street with their families.

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Children on the street

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Children on the street who form the majority of most street children maintain strong ties with their families and have a sense of belonging to a household. They are on the street to earn money to contribute to the household income and may contribute up to 30% of the total household income

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Children of the street

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Children ‘of’ the street have no functional family ties, or very weak ties. In most cases these children have decided to severe all their family ties. For all practical purposes these children are essentially on their own, and although they may have some peer support they face harsh realities day after day and can be exploited by older children and adults.

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Abandoned children

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Are in the same category as children of the street , but the main difference being they may have spent a large proportion of their lives in institutions. Parents who have children with mental or physical disabilities may abandon them. Some may be abandoned because of extreme poverty.

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Magnitude of problem of street children worldwide

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The problem of street children has been on the increase in most urban areas. In the early 1990s UNICEF estimated that there 80 million children worldwide living or working on the streets. Latin America had half of the world’s total number of street children. Their numbers have increased in places which experienced armed conflict, like Sudan, Syria and North East Nigeria. As caretakers were killed , the economy disrupted and family and community ties were severed and this left the children homeless and on the streets. In the countries of Southern and East Africa where the prevalence of HIV is high , the number of street children has been on the increase.

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Magnitude of problem of street children in Nigeria

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In Lagos by the early 1990s it was estimated that there 8,000 of them. In 1999, there were over a 100 locations in Lagos where children were found living on the street Street families have also become a prominent phenomenon in certain urban slum areas. These destitute families can be found living under bridges, in public toilets and in the markets.

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Causal factors for street children

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1. Increasing rise in global poverty , which is particularly acute in the urban areas and has given rise to new forms of deprivations These deprivations include lack of basic needs , poor quality of housing , unhygienic environment and lack of services for the urban poor

2. Diminishing support of children within their own families and communities.

3. Marginalization on schools and jobs on the basis of sex, religion, race or residence.

4. Diminishing opportunities to earn a living. 5. Armed conflicts particularly in Africa and Asia. Currently 80-90% of the causalities are civilian. In times of war and other disasters, children from the uprooted families get recruited into augmenting the family income by helping in housework, child-minding, handicraft. The next stage is working outside home by working as domestics, recycling waste, begging, and so on. Then comes the final stage of working outside the family by themselves and being self employed.

6. Dysfunctional families.

7. Violence and physical or sexual abuse in home

8. Feeling of being unloved

9. Desire for independence 10. Desire for companionship

11. Death of parent or caretaker

12. The AIDS epidemic.

13. Disasters

14. Communal clashes

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Types of street work

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•Porters in markets •Washing and watching over cars

•Hawking of vegetables, trinkets, food stuffs etc.

•Scavenging through dustbins

•Shoe shining

•Pick pocketing

•Drug trafficking

•Burglary

•Prostitution.

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Problems of street children

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Street children have a greater burden than other poor children who are supervised by adults. Their problems could be grouped into three classes:

1. Social

2. Physical

3. Psychological

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Social problems of street children

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1.Poverty and illiteracy.

They lack basic resources to sustain a healthy living. They usually have no financial means to buy decent clothing They have no money to buy food, which is crucial for their development 2. Lack of access to education:Because of the costs of services most street children cannot afford to go to school. Even where schools are free, many children cannot afford to buy uniforms, shoes and books They are usually school dropouts or have never attended school. Those who attend are a class or two below their age mates. 3. Street children live in places where they are not adequately protected from the environment.

4. They rarely have access to facilities that they need for hygiene and sanitation, such as toilets and clean and safe water supply. They are therefore more vulnerable to health problems resulting from poor sanitation.5.Exploitation at work is common, they are usually paid below the minimum wage and work very long hours.

6. Exposed to maltreatment and violence from their peers, adults and the police.

7. Stigmatization: In some areas they are looked upon as a nuisance

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Physical health problems of street children

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•Scavengers -Skin diseases like ulcers, scabies ,cuts from broken glass and tins

•Diseases from exposure to the weather e.g. sunstroke pneumonia, influenza and malaria.

•Carrying heavy burdens on their backs affects height, weight, strength and stamina.

•Gastrointestinal diseases from eating food. scavenged from dustbins.

•Sexual transmitted diseases.

•Malnutrition.

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Psychological problems of street children

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•Stressful Past: Many situations and events that pushed these children onto the street in the first place (like natural disasters, man-made disasters, exploitation and conflicts) may have a lasting impact on their well being. •Transitory Lifestyle – lack of social ties

•Mental Heath problems – depression, anxiety, etc

•Substance abuse

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Programs and services for street children

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1. Outreach projects; Social workers identify vulnerable families and help to cope

2. Drop in centres ; here children have a meal, washing and laundry facilities and counseling form professionals is provided. They also receive educational and vocational training

3. Transitional homes provide temporary shelter and care where the children can stay.

4. Shelter houses. Residential homes with sleeping accommodation, food and educational as well as recreational facilities.

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Child life line

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Child Life Line (CLL) is one of the NGOs most actively involved in the rehabilitation of street children in Nigeria. It runs a programme that helps street children to develop their potential and become useful citizens and wherever possible, reunites with their families.

Has a residential rehabilitation centre in Oregun, Ikeja and a larger centre under construction in Ikorodu The centre provides food shelter, medical care and education for the children.