The Unheard Voices

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... .........................2 WHO ARE CONSIDERED AS HOMELESS AND STREET CHILDREN?...........................2 UNDERSTANDING THE TERMS...................................................................... .......................3 BACKGROUND TO INTERNATIONAL HOMELESSNESS................................................ ..5 EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM......................................................................... ..........................6 BACKGROUND TO KENYA................................................................................................ ......7 STREET CHILDREN SITUATION IN KENYA................................................................................................8 PUSH FACTORS ( LOCAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE)....................... .......................10 STREET CHILDREN ACCESS TO SERVICES................................................. ....................11 HEALTH.............................................................................................................................................11 EDUCATION........................................................................................................................................14 SOCIAL CONNECTION..........................................................................................................................15 EXPLOITATION....................................................................................................................................16 EMPLOYABILITY.................................................................................................................................17 GAPS/NEEDS......................................................................................................... ....................17 GOVERNMENT LEVEL:........................................................................................................................18 ORGANIZATION LEVEL........................................................................................................................20 COMMUNITY LEVEL:..........................................................................................................................20 CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... .....................21 REFERENCE LIST.............................................................................................................. ......23

2 Introduction “Street and working children are a common sight these days in cities around the world especially in the poorer regions of the south. Deprived of the joys of a normal childhood and adolescence, many of them die early in a state of extreme poverty, or from bullets full of hatred. Those who escape, struggle to survive, roam the streets or waste away in despair, relieving their suffering by escaping into the imaginary in an often self-destructive way” (UNESCO, 1995).

Although conditions obviously vary, homeless youth are a growing presence and represent a sizeable proportion of the adolescents living in high risk settings of both developed and developing nations of the world (National Research Council as cited in Hagan & McCarthy, 1997). They represent one of the most exploited and rapidly growing minorities and one of the most poignant social challenges.

Who are considered as homeless and street children? The realities and conditions faced by these children and youth are dependent on the social, cultural, economic and political situations of a given country. However there are characteristics that cut across the board.

3 These children have no means of self sufficiency, lack access to essential services such as education and health care which leads to deteriorating physical and mental health. They face violence, drug abuse, sexual exploitation, and disease including HIV/Aids, poorly paid jobs, loneliness, police harassment and even death. They also face homelessness, exploitation, abuse, coercion and control by adult gangs, conflict with law, and lack of identification papers by (West, 2003).

They are too often invisible to mainstream society. They do not fit easily into molds or categories. They do not show up on the national census. Just because they are not counted does not mean they do not count by Hall (as cited in UNESCO, 1995).

They comprise of a

population that does not show up in health statistics or in the education system.

Understanding the Terms Different terms have been used to describe homeless youth across the regions. In developing nations the term street children is commonly used while in the developed nations the term ‘runaways’ or ‘homeless’ children and youth is used.

4 Street children are those for whom the street (in the widest sense of the word, i.e. unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc) more than their family has become their real home, a situation in which there is no protection, supervision, or direction from responsible adults by Ennew (as cited in Panter-Brick, 2002) For save the children fund,’ a street child is any minor who is without permanent home or adequate protection. (Panter-Brick, 2002)

In the International health literature, homeless adolescents are often referred to as ‘street youth’, and further divided into ‘children on the streets’ and ‘children of the streets’. Children on the streets maintain family contact and often return home to sleep, but spend most of their time on the streets either working or having fun. Children of the streets are youth who live, work, and sleep on the streets (Ensign, 1998). The term street children was widely adopted by international agencies in an attempt to avoid negative connotations for children who had been known as street urchins, vagrants, gamines, rag-pickers, glue sniffers, street arabs, or vagrants by William(as cited in Panter-Bick 2002)

Rotheram-Borus et.al(1991) defines homeless youths to include those who have left their homes without a parent's or guardian's consent (runaways), those who are thrown out of their homes (throwaways), those who leave problematic social service placements

5 (system kids), and those lacking basic shelter (street youths). According to Oberlander (as sited in Baxter, 1991, p.8) taking homelessness literally, is talking about a person without a home, without an address, without personal security, without privacy, a person continuously on the move, haunted and hunted, hiding from him/herself and the personal shame that society has attached to them, or hiding from society as a whole

West (2003) further explains that street children constitute a dynamic population, shifting as opportunities arise, moving in and out of other designated categories for children. It is important to keep in mind that all these terms have been developed and are used by adults working with or studying the populations of homeless youth and do not reflect how the youth refer to themselves (Ensign,1998)

Background to International Homelessness As noted by Glasser & Brigman (1999) homelessness emerged as a public concern in the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s as Americans began encountering people living on the streets, a way of life which had formerly been confined to the skid rows of large cities. By the mid-1980s to early 1990s, the visibly homeless were becoming a common sight even among those countries with well-developed

6 social safety-net programs, such as Canada. Much of the early discussion of homelessness in industrialized countries centered on the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill who were so visible on city streets. The last two decades witnessed both more homeless individuals and the development of a large number of different services, such as soup kitchens, drop-in centers, and shelters in the majority of North American metropolises by Baum and Burnes as cited in Karabanow 1998). Bamurange (as cited in Kilbride, 2000 p.g. 4) argues that Street children in Africa are a recent development but frequently reflects patterns of exploitation emanating from colonialism in the early 20th century. For example in South Africa, all street children are of African origin with no white children on the streets reflective of South Africa’s history of racial segregation (Le, Roux in Kilbride, 2000 p. 4) Kenya too has no Asian or European street children a reflection of racism during colonialism( Killbride, 2000 p.g.4)

Extent of the Problem The hidden and isolated nature of street children makes accurate statistics difficult to gather; however, UNICEF (as cited in UNESCO,

7 1995) estimates there are approximately 100 million street children worldwide with that number constantly growing. There are up to 40 million street children in Latin America. In Brazil alone, 17mil children and youth work on the streets and seven million live on the street. In Mexico, an estimated ten million children are working on the streets and 250,000 are living on the streets. In Ecuador, 100,000 children work on the streets and 3,000 children live on the streets. In India, there are at least 18 million and 10million in Africa children on the street. In Guatemala, 1.45 million children work on the streets in a country where the total population is about 8 million. In Philippines, 1.2 mil children live and work on the streets while in, Thailand, an estimated 800,000 girls under the age of 20, work on the streets or in brothels as prostitutes (U.S Congressional Hearing, 1992, p.g .54). In the United States, estimates of homeless youth range from 500,000 to 2million by (Enisgn, 1998) In Canada it is estimated at 15,000 and over in Greater Toronto area alone by McCrossin (as cited in Fitzgerald M,1998).Many studies have determined that street children are most often boys aged 10 to 14, with increasingly younger children being affected. by Amnesty International (as cited in Kanth, 2004) Background to Kenya The Republic of Kenya is located in East Africa and has a population of around 37.9 million people with a 2.78 growth rate (2008 est.), 60% of this population is below 20 years of age, with 40% unemployment rate.

8 50% of the population is estimated to be below poverty line (2000 est.)The life expectancy rate in Kenya is said to be 56.64 years. The total area is 582,650 sq km (CIA, 2008).

Estimates of the Kenyan

literacy rate range between 75 and 85 percent; with the female rate about 10 points lower than the male. It is estimated that 1.2 million people are living with HIV/AIDS and 150,000 HIV/AIDS deaths (2003 est.) (CIA, 2008)

Kenya has 8 provinces with Nairobi its capital and largest city. Kenya has the highest rate of road accidents in the world, with 510 fatal accidents per 100,000 vehicles (2004 estimate)

Street Children Situation in Kenya There are an estimated 250,000 children in Kenya living on the streets. Their lifestyles are characterized by continued marginalization from basic services and support ranging from proper shelter, education, health-care, parental care and guidance to nutritional support due to a multiplicity of socio-economic gaps/problems. Such gaps include widespread poverty both in rural and urban areas (slum communities), domestic violence, retrogressive socio-cultural beliefs & practices and the far reaching negative impact created by the HIV/AIDS pandemic on various families

9 They face innumerable hardships and danger in their daily lives. In addition to the hazards of living on the street, these children face harassment and abuse from the police and within the juvenile justice system for no reason other than the fact that they are street children. Some children are born and grow-up on the streets.

Most of the affected street children normally succumb to demeaning ways of living e.g. voluntary/forced engagement in child labor related activities so as to generate income to support themselves, crime involvement, forced/opted early girl child marriages in exchange for money or property, prostitution, begging, rampant abuse of cheaply & readily available drugs e.g. bhang, glue and cigarettes. In addition to the same, life in streets for both young boys and girls is known to be cruel, harsh, traumatizing and uncertain. Many have witnessed and experienced untold sufferings in the form of rape, sodomy, police arrests and harassments, hunger and serious physical assaults by both members of the public and older colleagues in the streets.

Prostitution among adolescents and youth is reaching alarming levels in Kenya, with one in 10 cases less than 10 years of age involved in sex work. According to a new report on the sexual exploitation of adolescents and youth on the Kenyan coast, 30 per cent, or more than

10 one in four girls between 12 and 18 years, are selling sex for cash (UNICEF, 2006).

Push Factors (Local and Global Perspective) The most frequent explanations given by youth include problems of incompatibility with family and step family members, disrupted and dysfunctional

families,

neglectful parents,

coercive

and abusive

parents (emotional, physical and sexual abuse), parental rejection and problems in school that often produced further conflict with parents by (Hagan & McCarthy 1997). Rejection and stigmatization by family and community of origin for gay and lesbian identified youth are also reasons for homelessness (Ensign, 1998)

The world and Africa in particular are witnessing rapid and wide ranging

socioeconomic

and

political

changes.

There

is

rapid

urbanization, run away population growth and increasing disparities in wealth. The introduction of structural adjustment programmes and globalization are changing the very fabric of African society. One of the negative consequences of these changes is the emergence of large numbers of children on the streets. (Kopoka, 2000)

Poverty is perceived often as a major reason for children going to the streets. Poverty in turn can be caused by other factors like floods,

11 unemployment, loss of land among others (Kopoka, 2000).

West,

(1999) explains that along with poverty, economic inequality has been shown to have a major impact on family health and to exacerbated family stresses, which are often manifested in domestic violence. Due to poverty many rural adolescents and youth migrate to urban areas in search of better opportunities and employment. Most of them end up living in overcrowded city slums or in the streets.

West (2003) found that many children who are abandoned come from families affected by HIV/Aids or are HIV positive themselves. The phenomenon of “Aids Orphans” has brought some children onto the streets.

Other factors that exacerbate the problem of street children include discrimination, domestic violence and abuse, drugs and armed conflict. A case in point is the election violence in Kenya after the 2007 general election, many children lost their guardians or they were displaced.

Street Children Access to Services Health Enisgn (1998) noted that adolescents in general have unique barriers to access of appropriate health care and exhibit poor patterns of preventive primary health care. The barriers include confusion over

12 legal consent to seek care, office hours that conflict with school, and discomfort with traditional health care settings. Health status data on homeless adolescents are limited in both quantity and quality. They have greater problems with access to health care, including a more profound lack of insurance/payment sources, anxiety over issues of confidentiality. Enisgn, (1998) further explains that adolescence are often overlooked in health care and research because they are perceived as being healthy, and because they fall between the medical practice that disciplines of pediatrics that focuses on younger children and internal medicine that deals with adults. The risky behavior by street children put them at health risk which include susceptibility to infectious diseases; vulnerability to HIV/AIDs, physical and sexual abuse. According to Congressional Hearing (1992.pg 85) the side effects of regular drug use by street children are devastating. Industrial glue when inhaled produces light-headedness, occasional hallucinations, loss of appetite and nausea. The long term health impacts include lung damage, irreversible brain and kidney damage, malnourishment and a general weakening of the children’s health. In terms of mental health, emotional distress and psychiatric problems are three times more common among homeless youths than among

13 adolescents in general (Robertson et.al as cited in Rotheram-Borus, Koopmaq & Ehrhardt 1991). Karabanow et.al (2007) conducted a study on Exploring the health Experiences of Halifax street children, they found that majority of the street youth involved in the study suggested that street life enhanced one’s feeling of stress, anxiety and depression-much of this related to the continual requirement to meet basic needs of shelter, food and clothing.

Karabanow et.al (2007) found that there was some form of resistance by street children to accessing the formal health system, primarily due to a perceived discomfort and fear that they would not receive the intended care, or else would receive care in a very unsupportive and disrespectful manner.

Participants voiced that mainstream health

providers lacked an intimate understanding of their situations and would in turn be judgmental of their life styles.

Street children are seen as “dirty” this makes them not accepted in health care settings. Homeless youth are more likely to seek medical attention after they are no longer able to ignore a health problem. Homeless youth don’t go for community health services for fear of being stigmatized as homeless.

14 The delivery of HIV-related prevention and treatment programs to homeless youths is especially difficult because of the life stressors, living situations, and adjustment problem of these youths. For example, trainers in HIV prevention programs have tried to involve families in reducing adolescents "HIV-related risk acts (e.g., Winnet, 1991).However, families are typically the sources of the greatest stress for homeless youths and so cannot be mobilized as supportive resources. (Rotheram-Borus, Koopmaq, & Ehrhardt, 1991).

Education In addition to enrollment problems, the high mobility associated with homelessness has severe educational consequences. Barriers to success in school were found to include family mobility, poor health, and

lack

of

food,

clothing,

and

school

supplies.

(National

Homelessness)

Street children generally lack access to public education services. Some are unable to go to school because they need to work, because of discrimination or because of costs. Many street children in Kenya come to the streets after being forced to leave school by poverty. While others are “pushed out” (Killbride, 2000)

15 In most cases street children cannot access services because they do not have any form of identification. They are regarded as social dropouts. With the introduction of free primary education in Kenya in the year 2003, It saw the increase in school enrollment which meant that many children were able to access school but other issues are still haunting them like school uniform, food and other classroom materials such as exercise books are still the parent's responsibility (Mushtaq, 2008) And for the country’s poorest those are still a lot of costs to bear that hinder access to schooling.

Social Connection Street children are seen as a public nuisance by the general public. They have no real connections with the public but they do develop strong connections amongst themselves. In Kenya Street children are known as chokora, roughly translated from Kiswahili as pokers at dustbins or garbage heaps in search of food and other valuables (Killbride et.al, 2000) Kenyan street children are frequently observed sniffing glue. The “glue bottle” in the public mind negatively symbolizes what is taken to be in Kenya, the defining characteristic of street children: that is people who are trouble makers and a threat to society (Kilbride et.al, 2000)

16 A case in point in Kenya is during the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Kenya, as part of the town clean-up exercise all the street children that were on the streets were all locked up in cells or mental hospitals only to be released after the event.

Exploitation The need for street children to make a living makes them vulnerable to hazardous and/or exploitative labor situations. Many formal and informal sectors depend on children as a source of cheap labor. (West, 2003).

There is also an insatiable demand for child sex workers. Children may be engaged in commercial sex work just to make a living. For the girl child sexual exploitation is not only by strangers but also by the street boys and security guards as a form of payment for protection at night. Rothman (1991) quotes a homeless girl…” the people you meet on the streets turn out to be pimps, pushers, or pornographers”. “The pimp supplies include food, clothing, and shelter and then “really make you feel like you owe him something.” In her book Webber (1947) gives a

17 vivid description of the exploitation street children go through at the hands of the so called, “helpers”.

A case in point of street children exploitation by political leaders in Kenya, the street children were used to cause havoc and chaos during the 2007 general election violence and as a result many were killed and some injured.

Employability Most of the street children are illiterate with no basic skills to help them get proper jobs. The attitude of the society towards street youth acts as a barrier even to employment. They are treated with suspicion and seen as thieves. Gaps/Needs In recent years, innovative work for street children has been almost the exclusive of the private sector: In many of the worst affected countries, notably Brazil, NGO projects, executed mostly by religious groups and mostly all underfunded and Over-worked, have developed new ways to help street children. Their programmes are less expensive, more humane and more affective alternatives to institutionalization.

18 Whether the political will exists to duplicate these innovative programmes is another matter. (Kopoka, 2000) It is also important to note that most of the services being provided to street children focus on curative services and therefore in my review I focused more on preventive services that could compliment the work being done to manage the number of children on the streets. The services being provided include-: resettlement, residential services, education support, counseling, skills training. The most essential service that seems to be lacking is detox services to help these children come out of the addictions. This is mainly because the detox services are expensive and very few institutions offer that. Various

sectors

can

substantially

contribute

to

promoting

and

safeguarding the welfare of homeless youth. Each sector typically has distinctive competencies and perspectives which, if employed within a common framework, are more likely to deal with the multifaceted nature of homeless youth issues.

Government Level:

19 With the number of street children rising on the streets, it creates a significant law enforcement problem for the country. Therefore there is need for the government to be more involved and support the efforts of Non-Government organizations in addressing the issue of street children. It’s also the role of the government to protect all citizens which includes the street children. It’s also important to get the business sector involved with the oversight of the Government because more often than not the business sector is the beneficiary of cheap labor provided by street children. It is the responsibility of the government to develop a system that will include the street children population to be reflected in the national census. There is a need for population control through promotion and increasing access to family planning services especially for the rural communities. This will help reverse the population explosion in Kenya. The Government to develop more employment, recreational and participation opportunities to channel youth’s energy in positive directions and enhance their ability to make contribution towards nation building.

20

Organization Level: There is need for greater commitment by organizations dealing with street children to strengthen networking with other organizations involved in providing services to street children. This includes improving communication, being less competitive about funding and sharing all the available resources. Services need to be Linked together to provide a more holistic approach. Programs designed for helping youth living in the streets should be flexible enough to accommodate their individual needs rather than conducting a blanket intervention that gives no room to meet individual needs. Organizations to provide youth friendly services especially in health centers by ensuring staff that are trained in providing services to children and youth. Community Level: Teachers: They have daily contact with children and interact with many parents. They should be able to identify emerging problems before

21 they become critical, to communicate with parents and to assist in referring families to professionals. Family outreach programs: available to families to help cope with issues at the family level for example in communication, decision making, self esteem and parental control. To address the attitude of the society towards street children there is need to highlight the success stories, of how street children can be reformed.

Personal Level. I guess the hardest part of this paper was the section on what this means to me and my role. Through my reflection I have realized there is room for me to improve especially as far as my attitude is concerned. I remember Dr Fitzgerald talking about measuring these children’s success not by our standards but by their standards. There are times that I have worked not because I see what these children could be and the potential they have but to justify my pay check at the end of the month. Conclusion

22 Street kids and other imperiled youngsters need the same things all children thrive on. More than anything, they need love: one to one and unconditional from a dependable adult, their very own family of sorts. They need roots, security, protection, commitment, understanding and a great deal more patience than the most trying of typical kids.( Webber, 1991) In his article, Fitzgerald, 1995 states that to counter the effects of their troubled backgrounds these youths require immediate and ongoing care and support to help rebuild attachments to others, invest in their own well being and development, acquire the necessary skills, attitudes, and resources to increasingly and effectively assume their place in society.

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23 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/print/ke.html Ensign, J. (1998) Health issues of homeless youth. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, vol. 7, No. 3, pg 159-171 Retrieved November 7, 2008, from http://www.springerlink.com/content/p588657308qt5067/ Fitzgerald, M.D. (1995) Homeless youths and the child welfare system: implications for policy and service. Journal of Policy, Practice, and Program 0009-4021/95/030717-14 pg 71 Glaser, Irene, and Rae, (1999). Braving the street: The anthropology of homelessness. New York: Berghahn Books. Kanth, A. (Ed.) (2004, September) Street Children and Homelessness. Cyc-Online, 68 Retrieved October 16, 2008, from http://www.cycnet.org/cyc-online/cycol-0904-Homelessness.html Karabanow,J.,Hopkins,S.,Kisely,S.,Parker,J.,Hughes,J.,Gahagan,J.,et

al.

(2007) Can you be healthy on the street?:exploring the health experiences of Halifax street youth. Canadian Journal of Urban Research Vol 16, Issue 1 pages 12-32. Killbride,P.,Suda,C.,Njeru,E.(2001) Street children in Kenya:Voices of children in search of a childhood, Connecticut. London

Bergin & Garvey Westport,

24 Kopoka, A. (2000, April). The problem of street children in Africa: and ignored tragedy. Paper presented at the International Conference on Street Children and Street Children’s health in East Africa, Dar-esSalaam, Tanzania.

McCarthy, B., & Hagan, J. (1998) Mean streets: Youth, crime and homelessness. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Mushtaq, N. (2008). Kenya: failing grade for free primary education? Inter Press Service News Agency. Retrieved November 3, 2008, from http://www.ipsnews.net/index.asp.

National Coalition of Homelessness.(n.d.) Retrieved November 4,2008, from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/education.html

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25 Rotheram-Borus,M.J.,Koopmaq,C.,Ehrhardt,A. (1991). Homeless youths and HIV infection. Journal of American Psychologist. Vol 46 Issue 11 pg 1188 ISSN 0003066X Retrieved November 13, 2008, from http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&doi=10.1037/0003066X.46.11.1188

Rothman, J. (1991). Runaway & homeless youth: Strengthening services to families and children Los Angeles, LA: University of California press.

UNESCO.(1995). Working with street children: selected case studies from Africa, Asia and Latin America.(Series-Youth plus)Retrieved November 5, 2008 from Ebsco database .

UNICEF. (2006), Report reveals Kenyan child sex industry of ‘horrific’ magnitude Retrieved November 3, 2008, from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/kenya_37817.html. U.S.Congressional Hearing, (1992) Street children: a global disgrace. Serial No. 102-17/ISBN Washington DC; US Government Printing Office. Webber, M.(1991) Street kids: The tragedy of Canada’s runaways. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto press.

26 West, A.(2003).At the margins: street children in Asia and the pacific .Poverty and Social Development Papers No.8. Retrieved November 10,2008, from http://www.sssk.org.uk/content/_pages/Street%20children%20in%20 Asia%20comprehensive%20report.pdf