This article explores the working lives of street children especially
in Africa, with focus on the analysis of begging. The practice of begging is
complex, largely depending on the changing nature of children's livelihood,
economic capacity, and relations with both the public and their families. Many
children view begging as shameful activity and would prefer to avoid if they
had alternatives, but the street children have no choice.
To
examine the different means of survival by the street children, there exist
three broad categories of informal activity: street begging, street daily
labour and street vendor.
There
exist casual and consequential correlation between begging, homeless, poverty,
and mental illness, inadequate access to housing, income, and health support
services.
Factors
associated with begging are:
Poverty:
Indication of poverty includes poor health care, malnutrition, unemployment and
lack of education. These were usually measured with regards to specific
calories intake as well as earnings per capita (FGN/UNICEF, 1990). In survey from
developed countries, it was observed that a child living in a solo-mother
family is five times as likely to live below the national poverty level,
especially when both economic and parenting responsibilities fall on only ‘one
pair of shoulders; (UNICEF, 1996). In alleviating their sufferings 55% of
children were sent out as street workers in Nigeria, by their mothers
(FGN/UNICEF, 1990).
Homelessness:
UNICEF report stressed that 100 million street children worldwide are homeless,
and about 15,000 children in Nigeria alone are homeless. Literature also shown
that 43% of beggars were long-term homeless, out of which 71% of them slept
rough (Horn & Cooke, 2001). Danczuk (2000) found that 80% of people who beg
are homeless.
Break
Down of the Family System: Oluwole (cited in Aye, 1996) was of the view that
most children ran away from their homes with complaints that their fathers’
wives were too strict or that parents were too busy to care for them. Some
forms of separation or divorce exert financial pressure on a partner and
results into mothers sending their children out to beg on the streets
(FGN/UNICEF, 1990).
Mental
illness and Drugs: In a study by Wolf (2005), some respondents attributed the
reasons for begging to addictive disorders such as alcohol dependency (41%) and
drug dependency (24%) while most of the beggars spent money received from
begging on irresponsible and unnecessary items, like drugs, alcohol and
tobacco. Similarly, 45-47 respondents experienced drug dependency, 33-45% experienced
problematic alcohol use and 50% had a physical, intellectual or psychiatric
disability (Danczuk, 2000; Jowette, Banks, & Brown, 2001).
Unemployment:
In the Nigerian situation, Federal Government of Nigeria and UNICEF (1990)
viewed street begging in terms of the economic situation of poor urban
families, whereby children were subjected to working conditions, for the
survival of the families involved.
Cultural
and Religious Factors: In Nigeria, especially the northern part of the country,
begging seems to be a cultural practice. For instance, it is common to see most
nursing mothers who have twins begging for alms in the market places. They
believe that children draw sympathy from passers-by who are moved with pity to
give generously so as to help the mothers cater for them. Similarly, among the
Indians, it is a traditional practice and a duty to give alms to beggars,
especially the ‘Sadhus’, whose traditional way of life limits any income. They
believe that even Shiva the Hindu god ran his household from begging alms
(Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia, 2007).
In
terms of religion, alms giving is regarded as one of the pillars of Islam, were
by beggars are believed to bring blessings to others and in so doing, provides
them with an opportunity for earning merit. Therefore, the wealthy give alms in
fulfillment of religious obligation. In Nigeria, the ‘Almajiral’ system of
education, which encourages children to move from place to place, contributes
to destitution. The Almajirai is a system of Qu’ ranic education in Northern
Nigeria, which existed before the 18th century jihad of Usman Danfodio. It was
observed that the system is now a problem for being responsible for rural-urban
migration (of children in particular), breeding touts and criminals as well as
denying the potential leaders of tomorrow the opportunity of good life. The
pilot study conducted by the National Council for the welfare of Destitute
(NCWD) in 408 Almajirai schools in three towns in Kaduna State, revealed that
there were over 30,000 Almajirais in these towns. This also noted that 21
million Nigerian children are out of school (Formal Education) as a result of
destitution. Similarly Adefowokan (2007) observed that the ‘Almajirinchi’
refers to a practice of being an “Almajiri’, whereby young boys study under
Islamic clerics. The ultimate expectations for the boys leaving their families
to be become Allah’s servants and to gain support financially and materially
from communities but unfortunately many of them end up in the streets, begging.
Consequences
of Street Begging:
Some
of the consequences of begging as a means of livelihood for street children
includes:
Sexual
Abuse: The dependency on public individuals by street children has its dangers.
One of such is that some of them have been identified as victims of HIV/AIDS.
The chances of contracting AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases are
much higher for these children. Young girls are the most vulnerable, chances
are that they end up with unplanned pregnancies, as seen in the case of most
female beggars in Nigeria.
Kidnapping
and Prostitution: Trafficking in children in recent times is most distressing
and inhuman, as a result of poverty. The street children are at the risk of
kidnapping and the female among them are forced into prostitution by
individuals. These children are left with no choice because they want to
survive.
Crime
and illegal drugs trade: The street children are victims of illegal drug
trafficking, due to promises of better life by ring of traffickers.
Accident
risks: Street begging could be risky to life especially in areas where there is
heavy traffic. The street children stand the risk of being run over by careless
drivers.
How
can we help ?
· Provide them with food, clothing,
shelter, education, health care, love, protection and basic rights
·
Prevent conflict within their family
·
Reduce poverty in the communities
and homes
·
Reduce the spread of HIV/AIDs
·
Enforce law system to protect them
·
Promote their integration into
society
·
Encourage more programs that support
them
· Promote child's rights