The Experience of Street Children in the Rehabilitation Program of Kirkos Sub City: The Case of Drop in Rehabilation Center Project (Dirc) Child Space Program
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Date
2014-06
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Addis Ababa University
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 examine and explore the
experience of street children in one of the rehabilitation center which is called the Drop in
Rehabilitation Program (DIRC).
This study can be used as an eye-opener for organizations working with 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 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 rehabilitation center, the process of socialization occurs when a new child
arrives on the street.
Thus the problem of street children is not the case that should be left to one organization.
Efforts should be made by different stakeholder’s 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
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Social Work