Intervening in the Lives of Street Children A Case from Zambia

There have always been orphaned, abandoned and working children in the world. Historically, however, adequate systems to deal with these children existed. In the more industrialized societies, they were placed as apprentices, into foster care or in institutions. In the more traditional societies, they were absorbed into the extended family network. Many of these same tactics are still used in industrialized countries. However, in the past few decades, the unmanageable burden of debt, the AIDS pandemic and the overall lack of development in non-industrialized countries have led to the near dissolution of the extended family safety net. It is no longer possible for needy children to be taken in, and even children who do reside with their families, may spend most of their time working in the streets. These children, known as street children, are the unfortunate products of modern-day social and economic systems. Unless these systems are amended, the street child phenomenon will not subside. Nevertheless, unique and individual children are on the streets today. They have a right to safety, shelter, adequate nutrition, education and the other basic necessities of life. Therefore, development practitioners concerned about street children, have an obligation to design and implement relevant and functional forms of intervention. This paper attempts to highlight the main factors underlying the street child phenomenon, the types of intervention that have been most often relied upon, and the details of one case study from Zambia. Finally, questions to be thoughtfully and carefully considered before beginning a program for street children, are offered. The Global Street Child Phenomenon During the last decades of the twentieth century, images of disheveled and dirty children working, begging and playing on the streets of developing countries began to make their way into the consciousness of Westerners. Coined “street children,” they became the focus of much international attention and concern. Conferences were convened to discuss their fate, agreements were made and various programs and policies were implemented. Nevertheless, as the world watched and celebrated the dawn of the new century, more children than ever were themselves waking up from a night of sleep on city sidewalks and park benches. The global figure most often quoted is 100 million, with 25 million of these children believed to be completely homeless (U. S. House 1991). At first glance, this problem appears to be insurmountable and all of the children who spend their days in the center of cities like Nairobi, Calcutta and Rio de Janeiro seem to be lost