WHO/MSD/MDP/00.

14
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
DISTR: GENERAL

Working With Street Children

MODULE 1
A Profile of Street Children

A Training Package on Substance Use, Sexual and

Reproductive Health including HIV/AIDS and STDs

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Mental Health Determinants and Populations
Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence
Geneva, Switzerland
 Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

Contents
Page
Introduction. 1

Lesson 1: Who are Street Children? 2

1.1 Street children 2
1.2 The typical age and gender of a street child. 3
1.3 The importance of identifying street girls. 4
Learning activity. 5

Lesson 2: Why do children take to the street? 6

2.1 Why children are on the street. 6
Learning activity. 9

Lesson 3: The problems of street children. 11

3.1 Social problems. 11
3.2 Physical problems. 13
3.3 Psychological problems . 14
Learning activity. 16

Lesson 4: How do street children survive? 17

Bibliography and further reading. 21

 Working With Street Children

Introduction

Street children are the casualties of economic growth, war, poverty, loss of traditional values,
domestic violence, physical and mental abuse. Every street child has a reason for being on the
streets. While some children are lured by the promise of excitement and freedom, the majority are
pushed onto the street by desperation and a realisation that they have nowhere else to go. In many
countries, street children are named after their main survival activities. For example, vendors (Dakar,
Lusaka and Manila), street gangs (Stuttgart), juvenile prostitutes (Stuttgart, Manila). What is
obvious is that street children are poverty-stricken and their needs and problems are a result of
wanting to meet basic needs for survival. Street children go through the struggle of providing
themselves with basic things such as food, shelter, health and clothing. Providing targeted
interventions that meet the needs of street children requires an understanding of who they are, what
they need, what they do and how they can be identified. This module presents features of street
children.

Learning objectives

After reading the information and participating in learning activities in this module, you should
be able to:

Define street children in the context of your own culture.

Describe the typical age and gender of a street child and the importance of identifying
street girls.

Explain why there are fewer street girls than street boys in your area.

Describe reasons why street children live or spend time on the street.

Describe the problems, basic needs and daily activities of street children in your
community.

Explain how street children survive on the street.

Describe the strengths that street children have.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

Lesson 1 - Who are street children?

1.1 Street children

A street child may be:

 a ‘child of the streets’, having no home but the streets. The family may have abandoned him
or her or may have no family members left alive. Such a child has to struggle for survival and
might move from friend to friend, or live in shelters such as abandoned buildings.

 a child ‘on the street’, visiting his or her family regularly. The child might even return every
night to sleep at home, but spends most days and some nights on the street because of poverty,
overcrowding, sexual or physical abuse at home.

 a part of a street family. Some children live on the sidewalks or city squares with the rest of
their families. Families displaced due to poverty, natural disasters, or wars may be forced to
live on the streets. They move their possessions from place to place when necessary. Often the
children in these ‘street families’ work on the streets with other members of their families.

 in institutionalized care, having come from a situation of homelessness and at risk of

returning to a homeless existence.

Some children live on the side

walks or city squares with the rest
of the family.

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1.2 The typical age and gender of a street child.

The typical age of a street child varies from place to place. In developing countries children as young
as eight live completely on their own. In developed countries, street children are usually over the age
of twelve. The proportion of girls among street children is reported to be less than 30% in developing
countries and about 50% in many developed countries. There are a number
of reasons why there are fewer street girls:

 Fewer girls may be abandoned by their families. Girls

are often socialized (taught by their families and
culture) to be submissive and caring and therefore they
tend to have fewer behavioural problems as compared to
boys. Since girls have fewer behavioural problems, they have
less conflict with their families and do not need to leave their
home. Families might get rid of girls by other means, e.g.
‘marrying them off’ when they are as young as 13. The girl
would then have another family.

 The authorities or individual members of the community

may pick up girls on the street more quickly. For example,
girls may be recruited to do domestic work in private
households or to work in the commercial sex industry.

 Street girls may be less ‘visible’ to researchers or

educators. Some street girls disguise themselves as
boys to protect themselves from harassment by the
police, welfare workers, employers and other street
children and others may only appear on the streets at
night.

The typical age of a street child

varies from place to place.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

1.3 The importance of identifying street girls.

Girls on the street have more difficulties and are often overlooked by street educators. Street girls are
looked down upon in many societies and are easily exploited. They usually have less economic
opportunities than boys and are given less money than boys for similar activities. Educational
opportunities are denied to them and street educators usually engage street boys in various activities
while paying little attention to girls. It is important to seek and work to improve the situation of street
girls because by doing so, you would be:

 Ensuring that young girls and boys have equal opportunities.

 Boosting their low self-esteem. They may then participate in income generating activities and
thus break the pattern of vulnerability.

 Ensuring that street girls have improved nutritional status.

 Helping minimize the possibility of early unwanted and high-risk pregnancies by providing
them with information about sexual and reproductive health.

 Ensuring the return in investment into future generations, as young women with some
education tend to ensure that their own children are educated.

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Learning Activity
1. Definition of street children.

What is your definition of a street child?

A street child is:

2. Profile of street children.

It may be difficult to cope with the requested information on the spot, but going through the
activity initiates the process of wanting to understand the local situation better.

a. How many street children in your locality are:

 Living on the street?
 Returning to their families?
 Living with the family which is on the street?

b. What is the percentage of the following groups of street children in your locality:
 Children below the age of 12 years? %
 Children at or above the age of 12 years? %
 Boys? %
 Girls? %

3. Reasons why there may be fewer street girls in your community.

In small groups, discuss the reasons as to why there are fewer street girls in your community.
Note the information and present it in a bigger group. Collate the reasons given by each group.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

Lesson 2 - Why do children take to the

street?

2.1 Why children are on the street.

The reasons why street children live on the street vary. However, there is one explanation that holds
true for both developed and developing countries - poverty. Most street children go onto the street
to look for a better way of life. The following are some of the common reasons:

 To earn money for themselves and support their families.

Street children work on the streets to earn

money for themselves. Some
children need to work to support
their families. Some children
may have been denied a chance
to go to school or have dropped
out of school and have nothing
to do. They can earn money
by begging, carrying or
bearing, car washing, drug
trafficking, juggling,
performing music, running
errands, scavenging, sex
work, shoe shining or
To earn money.
vending.

 To find shelter.

In overcrowded households, children may decide to leave

home to make room for younger siblings and
elderly family members. Others are on
the streets because they do not have an
alternative. They may have become
separated from their families
during civil unrest or their
parents/ caretakers may have
died from illnesses such as
AIDS or killed during armed
conflict. Other children may
have nowhere else to go when
they are released from
institutions such as a jail or a
detention centre.
To have more space to live.

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 To escape from family problems including rejection.

Many children feel that living on the streets is better

than coping with problems in their homes. These
problems can include conflicts with parents, physical
or sexual abuse or neglect (e.g. an abandoned disabled
child). Some children are forced to leave home by their
families because the family does not approve of a child’s
behaviour or its consequences, e.g. pregnancy, homosexuality
or substance use.

Family does not approve of behaviour.

Conflict with parents including physical abuse.

 To escape from work demands in the home.

In many cultures,
children are expected
to participate in
routine family tasks.
At times the demands
on children may be
more than they can
take. This leads to the
child feeling that he or
she is a slave or a
servant. Such children
leave home in
search of freedom
from adult
demands.
The work demands may be more than they can take.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

 To escape from a children’s institution.

Street children may feel that children’s homes

are ‘like prisons’. They cannot adjust
to rules after experiencing the
freedom of the streets. At times the
personnel in these institutions may
abuse children.

Children may have to do many unhealthy or dangerous things to survive.

Example

The Philippines.

Studies in the Philippines have found that various characteristics of the child, the child’s
family, the local community and the society explain why some children are on the streets.

Causes related to the child or the family.

 Poor, uneducated and large families.
 Lack of knowledge and skills needed for parenting.
 Lack of responsibility on the part of parents, family conflicts and parental behavioural
problems e.g. giving priority to material gains, substance use, gambling.
 Physical abuse of the child.
 Rebellious behaviour and attitudes of the child.

Causes in the local community

 Inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities in the community, e.g. lack of
adequate employment opportunities, problems in working conditions, lack of
recreational activities.
 Congestion in slum areas, and inadequate/poor housing facilities.
 Restrictive and inflexible educational system.
 Poor law enforcement and exploitation by law enforcers.

Causes in the general society

 Political and economic conditions, e.g. poverty and underdevelopment of resources.

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Learning Activity
1. Why are there street children in your area?

Describe the reasons why children have taken to the streets in your area. The reasons that you
have identified may be based on the characteristics of the child, such as age, sex, personality,
general health, the child’s family and the community. If you are new to street work, ask
neighbours, friends and street children or read about it from local documents. Give the reasons
in the spaces provided below:

2. The needs of street children in your community.

Review this list of needs of street children

Acceptance Medical care
Affection Shelter
Clothing Money
Companionship Protection
Food Recreation
Sleep Relaxation

 Circle the needs that you think are most important.

 Mark the needs that are probably most important in the eyes of the street child. These are
called ‘felt needs.’
 Are their needs and your priorities the same?
 Give reasons as to why their priorities and yours may be similar or different.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

3. Meeting the needs.

How can you fulfil the needs that you perceive as important for street children and their ‘felt’
needs?

4. Positive and negative attributes of activities undertaken by street children.

From your experience, discuss the positive and negative attributes of the activities that street
children undertake in your local context.
Begging Playing Shoe shinning
Car washing and watching Running errands Stealing
Drug trafficking and dealing Scavenging Using alcohol and other drugs
Fighting Selling blood Vending (selling items often in
Juggling Sex the market)
Performing music Sex work

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Lesson 3 - The problems of street children

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

3.1 Social problems.

 Poverty and illiteracy.

They lack basic resources to

sustain a healthy living. They
usually have no financial means to
buy decent clothing (which may be
necessary in cold places), and no
money to buy food, which is crucial
for their development. 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. Street
children live in places where they are not
adequately protected from the environment. They lack basic resources to sustain a healthy living.
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.

 Discrimination and lack of accessible resources.

When the community makes plans, it does not take

into consideration the street childrens’ plight.
Street children tend to be excluded from
participating in most of the
activities and facilities of
other children. This is one
reason why street children
often do not have access to
medical, educational,
recreational and
vocational resources. They
face problems such as lack of
Street children tend to be excluded from participating
vaccinations; poor health, in most of the activities and facilities of other children.
illiteracy and they cannot
acquire skills needed for finding
jobs.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

 Violent Environment.

The street is an unprotected environment and street children are exploited frequently. In some
places, street children may even face the possibility of physical injuries or death from violence.
Common sources of violence are: the police, gangs, drug syndicates, those who operate
commercial sex businesses, death squads, other street children, families and sexual partners.

Example

Young Pablo is startled awake by the sound of rattling next to his makeshift bed, the back
seat of an abandoned car. He quickly grabs a knife that he keeps by his side for protection,
and turns to make sure that the older boys hadn’t returned to bother him. He sighs as he
realizes that he is safe, it’s only a dog rummaging through some old debris. Pablo thinks
about the events of the previous day and wonders whether he has enough strength to face yet
another day at the shopping centre where he and some of the other street children mind cars.
The previous day he had been spat on by some of the car owners, insulted by a group of
vendors, and chased by the police. And to top things off, he had been harassed and beaten
by some of the older boys, who stole the little money he had managed to earn. He isn’t sure
he has enough courage to carry on, but he doesn’t really have a choice. He has not had a
decent meal, only scraps, in days and the pain in his stomach is growing stronger by the
minute. Pablo picks up the small jar containing the glue. He takes a very long sniff.
Somehow, the sensation helps to clear his head and alleviates some of the pain he feels in
his stomach. Hopefully, he will be more successful in finding something to eat after the
market closes. Although he does not have a clock or a watch, he knows that it’s about mid-
day. He gets up and wanders over to the shopping centre, wondering what surprises this day
would bring.

(WHO/PSA/Mentor Foundation)

 Stigmatization.

Society usually perceives street children as difficult children who are out there to cause
trouble. In general, the public thinks that street children are uncontrollable and violent, have
substance use problems, have no morals, have lost all the ability to feel emotions such as love
and that they turn into terrorists and revolutionaries. They tend to be unsympathetic to the
street childrens’ plight. This negative attitude may be a result of the society’s inability to care
for its people.

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3.2 Physical problems.

 Lack of adequate nutrition.

Even though some street children can usually get

enough to eat, they do not have nutritious diets.
This leads to malnutrition, anaemia and vitamin
deficiencies.
They do not usually have nutritious diets.
 Injuries.

Injuries may be caused

intentionally (including injuring
self while intoxicated or when
depressed) and
unintentionally, e.g.
due to use of tools
which have been
designed for
adults. The rate of
injuries is usually
Injuries are usually higher for male than for female street children.
higher for male than for female street
children.

 Sexual and reproductive health problems.

Sexual and reproductive health problems affect both girls and boys. However,
street girls are more vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse and exploitation.
Common sexual and reproductive health problems include sexually transmitted
diseases, HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions (details are
provided in Module 4). Pregnant street girls do not receive adequate
antenatal care.
Sexual and reproductive health problems
 Common diseases. such as unwanted pregnancies.

Street children experience many common diseases such as tuberculosis, skin diseases, dental
problems and parasitic diseases which can be prevented easily if these children have enough
resources and their basic needs are met.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

3.3 Psychological/mental problems.

 A 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. For example, the family conflict that pushed the child onto
the streets continues to deprive the child of emotional and
material support for years afterwards. When the child has
his or her own baby, neither the new parent nor the baby
will have the benefit of the previous
Many situations and events deprive
generation’s support. the child of emotional and material
support for years afterwards.
 A Transitory Lifestyle.

Street children in some large cities move Street children move frequently from
frequently from district to district or between district to district or between cities.
cities. Sometimes they do this by choice, but
at other times they are forced to move to hide
from the police, welfare authorities, gangs,
and drug syndicates. This type of lifestyle
leads to problems of social isolation and
loneliness and difficulties in developing
emotional attachments to special individuals.

 Mental Health.

The stresses that street children experience make them vulnerable to emotional problems,
psychiatric disorders and learning difficulties. They do not receive adequate care for these
conditions.

 Substance use.
Many street children are involved in harmful use
of psychoactive substances. This can lead to
overdose, increase the chance of accidents, violence,
unwanted pregnancy and unprotected sex. Over time,
the continued use of substances can lead to
complications such as brain and liver damage (details
are provided in Module 3). Substance use can lead to many complications such
as overdose and violence.

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Social Problems Psychological/mental problems Physical Problems

Problems street children experience.

Example

To exemplify the life of street children, an extract from a report on street children in Zambia,
by the Zambia Red Cross (Echos of their hearts: The Street Youth Panel, 1995) is given
below:

“When my father was alive, I went to school with well-to-do children. I used to go to school
in our private car. I never thought of walking in my life and I never even thought of being a
street child. I thought the life I was leading was going to last forever. When my father died
in 1988, his relatives shared all his belongings and left us with nothing and no one was
prepared to look after us. When the situation worsened, I thought of coming to Lusaka
(Capital City) to look for work.
In Lusaka, I lived at the Inter-city bus terminal with some friends. We used to do ‘piece-
work’ (temporary job) to earn our living. We never used to steal, but what surprised us was
that the police would pounce on us for no reason at all. The only crime we committed was
that of looking scruffy and dirty. We would ask ourselves, why are policemen treating us like
this? We are all Zambians, and we are not thieves, we are people like them. Now if the police
who are supposed to help and protect us chase us, what will happen if I come to you Mr.
Vice-president, how are you going to treat me? My appeal to the government is that ‘we
street kids’ need help, we need protection, we need work for us to live like other Zambian
children. Please do not ignore us, as we are still suffering. We are not thieves, and we are not
vagabonds. The problems we are facing are too numerous but these are the main ones. We
need a shelter to lay our heads, food, and clinics that we can attend when we are ill”.

(Maron Chisha, 20 year old street boy)

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

Learning Activity

1. Problems street girls and boys might face in your area.

Discuss and write down the problems street children face in your area.

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Lesson 4 - How do street children survive?

Survival for street children means obtaining food, clothing and shelter, and protecting themselves
against violence and other forms of abuse. It depends on:

Personal strengths: The child's resourcefulness (the ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently
with available resources), and resilience (the ability to recover from shock, depression, and other
difficult circumstances) determine his/ her survival. Resourcefulness and resilience would depend
upon the child's creativity, hard work, intelligence and concern for one another.

Example
Brazil.

In Brazil, many street children travelled regularly to the beach in Buenaventura at

weekends, some three to four hours away by automobile. To be able to do this, the child
would have to negotiate a ride on a freight truck, raise money by shining shoes and
begging to feed himself, and successfully negotiate transportation back within a set time
frame. This is no small accomplishment for an unsupervised 10-year-old.

The peer group: Peers are individuals who share common interests and needs. Peer groups tend to
be homogeneous in age and gender. The peer group has a strong influence on street children because
of the child's need for acceptance, belonging and protection. The group often determines the process
of change, socialization and development among street children by providing emotional and material
support.

Street children often help in one another's survival. They often join together to form emotional and
material support networks. The networks can range from a simple circle of friends to an organized,
business network. Experienced street children teach new comers how to survive. Members of the
group share food, clothing, shelter, information and psychoactive substances.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

Example

Nong, a street child, works in the marketplace as a porter. The rest of his siblings earn money
by taking care of children in the neighbourhood and by running errands for their neighbours.
Their mother takes care of the youngest child and manages the household. Their father
works as a contractual labourer, moving from one construction site to another. Sometimes
these sites are so far from the slum community where they live that he has to be away from
home for a long time.

Nong's older brother used to work with him in the marketplace, but one day he was run over
by a car. The family grieved for him but had to carry on with their lives. The sight of his
brother lying dead in the streets has never left Nong's mind. The older children in the
marketplace have become a replacement for his brother. However, all of these children sniff
solvents and drink alcohol.

Chance factors: An important thing that determines the mode of survival is the people whom the
child meets on the first day away from home, whether it is a group of car washers or drug traffickers.
Being new to the situation he or she does not know that there are other ways of surviving on the
street.

Exploiters: Street children may have to do many unhealthy or dangerous things to survive. Other
street children, the police, and the adults who run the sex and drug trades may easily victimize them.

Other support mechanisms among street children: These mechanisms could be related to trade or
activities in the streets and tend to be hierarchical. For example, there may be a leader and a
spokesperson. The roles of group members can vary depending on their strengths and weaknesses.
The members tend to protect each other in the face of gang wars, police arrests or other risky
situations.

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Learning Activity

1. How do street children survive?

 Why do you think some street children in your area seem to survive better than others in
the same circumstances?
 What specific things do local street children do that shows their resourcefulness?
 Street children say their greatest resource is other street children. How specifically do
street children in your community support each other?
 Resilience is a person's ability to recover from shock, depression, and other difficult
circumstances. Some street children are able to get along better than others in the same
circumstances. You are a new street child on the street. The pressure for you to make
friends is high at this particular time. You spot a group of children inhaling a substance.
What would be your response? Role play the situation.

Roleplayers:  new street children

 group of old street children

The learning point is that the pressure to conform and need for acceptance are
dilemmas of street life and that street children have also the strength to
overcome some of their problems.

2. To conclude this module, on the next page, you will find a sample profile form to help
you collect quantitative (numerical) data about the street children.

Try filling it based on what you already know. Use one sheet for each location where street
children are found.

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children

The Street Children Profile Form

Date:

Name of Area (specify precise location):

Type of Area:

Urban Poor Community Centre or Institution Park or Public Place

Street Compound Other

Age

less than 7 8 -12 13-15 16-18 18 and above Total

Number of youths who are parents

Number of youths in category - Boys Girls

Reasons for being on the streets

Family problems Need for income Civil disturbances

How long have children been on the streets ?

A week or less A month or less Several months

Six months to a year More than a year

Have they been home and returned to the streets ?

Usual activities

Economic:

Number of children in category

Boys Girls

Carrying Scavenging Vending (selling items in markets)

Licit services (e.g. car washing) Illicit services (e.g. sex work)

Non-economic: Informal education Using substances Unmet needs

Adequate shelter Food Health care Education

Social Connection Counselling Legal services Recreation

Assistance with care of their own children

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Bibliography and further reading

Ball A & Howard J (1995). Psychoactive Substance Use Among Street Children. In Harpham T ed.
Mental and Urbanization in Developing Countries. Aldeshot, Averbury.

Caluyo J Jr & Ruiz H (1992). A guide for community volunteers working with street children.
National Project on Street Children, Department of Social Welfare & Development. Quezon.

Schurink E and Tiba M (1993). Street Children as a world phenomenon. In Schurink, W. Street
Children. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.

Swart J Malunde (1990). The Street Children of Hillbrow. Johannesburg, Witwatersrand University
Press (ISBN 1-86814-1225).

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Module 1 - A Profile of Street Children
Working With Street Children
 Key Messages
 Being on the street makes street children more vulnerable.
Street education can alleviate some of their problems.

 Any one trait or background cannot define street children.

There are a variety of conditions and circumstances that
define them.

 In most developing countries there are fewer street girls in

comparison to street boys. Street girls are especially more
vulnerable and must not be overlooked.

 The reasons why street children are on the street are many.
Poverty is a common factor.

 Street children engage in a wide range of activities to meet

their daily needs, some of which are risky.

 Identifying their positive characteristics can contribute

towards the development of relevant, appropriate
interventions in which they can play a key role.

 Recognising resilience, strengths and the resourcefulness

of street children can help street educators to effectively
meet some of the needs of street children.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION