Exploring The Life Experience of Street Children in Addis Ababa, Stadium Area

Abstract

There are a large number of children living or spending most of their day on the street. The situation for those children is harsh situations. Several organizations’ work to help these children that includes interventions towards street children in their programs, but the amount still increases every year. The main objective of this study is to explore experience of street children on street children who are around stadium area. This study can be used as an eye-opener for organizations working with street children and for any one who is interested to help street children. Since the complexity of the issue is becoming a worldwide phenomenon. The most significant drivers of the street child population appear to be a complex of poverty, death of parents, and conflict in family, peer pressure, job searching and limited alternatives. Street children also face infinite challenges when they are leaving on the street among them meeting their basic needs like food, cloth and finding decent and secure sleeping places, lack of access to services such as health, education and recreation are some of them. Besides violence is another challenge perpetuated VI Exploring the life …… 9 by older boys, members of the public and the police, sexual abuse is also one of the main problem they faced, as they are living unprotected and are highly vulnerable section of the society. Especially female street children are more vulnerable to street life than their male counterparts due to gender based violence and exploitation. Moreover, the result showed that mutual supporting groups with peers is one of the main coping strategy street children use among the different coping mechanisms while they are on the street as well as the process of socialization occurs when a new child arrives on the street. Efforts should be made by different stakeholders government, non -governmental organizations and community-based organizations and by the public at large. All the stakeholders need to work hand in hand in order to alleviate the multifaceted problems of these children.