Needs Assessment Part 3: Why Children Move to the Streets

Here are excerpts from a needs assessment carried out in 2008 in a slum in Morogoro, Tanzania, by two dozen children and young people. The assessment was part of a Participatory Community Development project funded by the Baring Foundation and the John Ellerman Foundation of London. The local partner is the Faraja Trust Fund, primarily an HIV and Aids prevention NGO. The focus was on how to stop or slow down the migration of children and youth to the streets.

Please visit the Faraja Trust Fund's website: http://www.farajatrust.org/


FACTORS/REASONS FOR CHILDREN TO MOVE FROM HOME INTO STREETS:
Reasons for the Increasing Numbers of Street Children

During data and information collection, the children group applied two methodologies which included: Focus Group Discussions and questionnaires. The children group findings were as follows:

Absolute Poverty in the Families
Interviewed children said that many residents of Kwa Mahita community live in absolute poverty. The poverty results in there being families that to fail to provide basic needs such as food to all of their members. This situation compels some parents or guardians to send children into streets to do petty business or work at the quarries doing brick making or collect scrapers in order to earn some money so as to supplement family income for buying food or scholastic materials and other needs.

Juma: At school teachers demand school contributions. Unfortunately our parents are unable to pay and as a result we have to look for money by doing whatever activity we find in the streets. By doing so we are able to pay the school fees, as well as buy school uniforms and stationary.

Shida: .Some days I miss school because my grandmother asks me to peddle vegetables in order to get money so as we can buy food at home.

Children Mob-Psychology
Some children responded that not all children who go into street have problems at home. Some street children are from middle class families but are just imitating other street children.

Koba: In the street, children earn some money and as a result they are able to pay to watch videos, buy school uniforms and other items at school. This situation encourages other children to go to the streets so that they too can earn some money.

Irresponsible Parents
Children revealed that there are some parents who are totally irresponsible in caring for their children and see no point of sending their children to school. Children who are at the age to go to school but are not registered often choose to go to the streets. Some parents who send their children to school, do not provide them with scholastic needs, uniforms and school contributions or monitor the academic progress of their children. For children whose basic needs are not met, they opt to look for school needs by themselves in the streets. The fortunate/lucky ones earn enough to support themselves and pay for their education but the majority do not and eventually drop out of school and become street children.

Omary: I do not know how to read and write. I have never gone to school as my father did not send me to. My father says that I am 12 years old. I always feel bad when I see my peers and even the young ones from other families going to school. I have a young sister who is 10 years old, but she too is at home, not going to school. My friends and I collect iron scrappers and sell them so as to earn some money.

Twaha: I always buy my school uniforms as my father says that he does not have money to buy me uniforms. There is no way I can earn some money to buy uniform, except in the streets.

Video Shows
Almost all children interviewed admitted that video shows play a major role in increasing the number of street children. In order to be able to watch the video shows, children have to wake early in the morning to find any activity that will pay them some money to cover the cost of admission to the video show. Some children miss school. Children pay Tsh 30 for action pictures but have to pay extra Tsh.20 for pornographic pictures. Children come to watch video shows as many families at Kwa Mahita do not own video.

Juma: Children like to watch videos here because there are no videos in their homes that is the reason they are ready to do any activity in the street so as to get money for the video shows.

Sele (9): We are always allowed to watch the video free of charge from morning until evening on the condition that we clean the hut and the surroundings. But other children have to pay an entrance fee which is about 50 shillings for action picture or pornography. It doesn’t matter whether you are a child or not so long as you can pay you are free to watch.