Story of Children Living and Working on the Streets of Nairobi

This 118-page study was commissioned in an attempt to address the lack of adequate, reliable material published about street children. The study set out to generate useful information, both quantitative and qualitative, for project planning by service providers of street children in Nairobi. It aimed to map out the situation of street children up to the age of 18 in different areas of Nairobi, distinguish the proportions of the different categories of street children, give the children an opportunity to express their views on their lives on the street and provide partner organisations with a situational analysis of the children that they work with. It set out to give an indication of the exact numbers of street children to form the basis for well-informed planning at policy level and to build the research capacity of members of organisations providing services to street children and document this process.

Findings that dispute existing assumptions and "guesstimates" of statistics include:

• Official estimates put the number of street children in Nairobi between 50,000-60,000 whereas this survey counted slightly over 10,000 children in the research areas, using a rather inclusive and wide definition of street children. Although the research areas do not cover all the locations in Nairobi, and taking into account some other factors the total number of street children in Nairobi would not be higher than 20,000.
  
• Whereas previous studies indicated that approximately 11% of the children were girls, this study noted an average of 25% and in some areas up to 40%. 45% of children counted below the age of five were girls.
  
• Previous studies suggested that the vast majority of street children are of Gikuyu origin, whereas this study revealed that 46% of the children were of Gikuyu origin.
  
• The study also reveals that nearly 40% of the children are attending school in some form.
  
• According to the study 37% of the caretakers of the children are children themselves, mostly girls.
  

Recommendations arising from this study include focusing on preventive and responsive (rather than rehabilitative) solutions. A shift needs to take place from a welfare approach to creative and strategic solutions, involving the active participation of children. A distinction between children "on" and "of" the street is important. It is recommended that projects for street children be education-based and child-friendly. They should not be overly rigid, disciplined and rule-bound in order for children to want to use and benefit from them. A further recommendation is that facilities and structures be girl-friendly, including, for example, girl-friendly toilets that are gender-responsive in design and location.

To counteract the damage done to the street children it would be necessary to incorporate the teaching of (psychosocial) life skills into the curriculum, such as conflict resolution, negotiation, assertiveness, critical thinking and confidence-building. Life skills should be integral to formal and non-formal education provided to street children. Teaching needs to be learner-centred and transformative, not based on traditional classroom models. It is suggested that vocational skills also be included that do not gender-stereotype, bearing in mind that vocational skills may be competing with commercial sex work as a potential source of income for children. In order for young caretakers of even younger children to participate, they need to be relieved of their childcare responsibilities.

The report recommends that key action be taken, in terms of advocacy and lobbying for the rights of the street child at various levels, from grassroots to policy. Community leaders, teachers and law enforcing agents should be targeted, as well as social workers and others delivering of services to street children. It should not be assumed that they are sensitive to the rights or needs of the children or that their approach to and perception of them is always positive. A further recommendation is that teachers, law enforcers and other service providers not only be targeted for awareness raising, but also empowered with the knowledge and skills needed to make their work possible via pre-service and in-service training, followed up by monitoring, evaluations mechanisms and project planning. Finally, a recommendation was made that this report be disseminated widely amongst those projects that are working with street children, so that the findings and recommendations could be known and applied.