Neros’ School

Title: “ጎዳና ተዳዳሪ ህጻናት ለምን ወደ ጎዳና

ይወጣሉ?”

Research Proposal

By:
Yeron Firew

Date: 14/09/2017
 1 . Introduction

In most developing nations across the globe, particularly in Ethiopia, the critical
phenomenon of street children is emerging as a significant social issue that
should be tackled. Street children are children who live on the streets on a
full-time basis, or often simply known as street dwellers, or who spend a
majority of their time on the streets and go home only periodically, if at all.
Unfortunately, these vulnerable children are likely to experience all manner of
abuse, exploitation, severe hunger, and an awful lack of access to education and
decent healthcare services.

In the country of Ethiopia, and more specifically its urban centers such as Addis
Ababa, Bahir Dar, Mekelle, and Hawassa, there has been a disturbing and
alarming increase in the number of children who find themselves living and
working on the streets. This is attributed to a multitude of economic, social, and
familial problems that are besetting these societies. Some of the most prevalent
push factors contributing to this trend include such issues as family poverty,
divorce rate, incidences of domestic violence, movement of people from rural to
urban regions, and an acute lack of proper social support systems that would
otherwise take care of these segments of the population.
 2. Statement of the Problem

The growing and alarming number of street children in Ethiopia, particularly in

towns and urban areas, represents a severe and complex social and economic
issue portending grave danger not only to the well-being and health of such
exposed children but also to the public safety of society in general. Although
various policies and institutions exist aimed at providing protection and care for
children in need, most of them are still pushed to the streets by a variety of
interconnected factors comprising chronic poverty, family disintegration and
dysfunction, abuse histories, the pattern of rural-urban migration, and the
enticing sparkle of city and town life. These children are left vulnerable to
exploitation, drug abuse, violence, and early death.

Despite our persistent endeavors, we are still far from having a complete
understanding of the numerous factors causing the phenomenon of children
becoming street children. This is particularly true if we look at it from the
perspective of the children themselves, along with that of their respective
communities. Without this certain and specific information regarding the
causes, it is difficult for the government agencies, NGOs, and community
organizations to devise proper measures to prevent this and assist the children.
 3. Research Objectives

General Objectives
The main aim of this study is to reflect on and examine the major causes that
force children to leave their homes and live or work on the streets of Ethiopian
cities. The study seeks to understand the social, economic, and familial
situations that push children into street life. The research takes into account the
primary reasons and real experience of street children. The aim is to provide
useful information to policymakers, social workers, and organizations that work
for vulnerable children. This will help to enhance prevention strategies, recovery
assistance, and return of these children to society.

Specific Objectives
The specific objectives of this study are to find and understand the major
causes why children end up living on the streets. Some of these causes are
poverty in their families, abuse, neglect, and independence. It wants to study
the effects of family relationships, financial problems, and social environment on
children's choices to leave home. The study also investigates the problems
street children face during their time on the streets and confirms the support
systems and community support that are in place.
 4. Research Questions (Q&A)

Why do children go to the streets?

Children resort to streets mainly due to poverty, breakdown of family life, physical and
emotional abuse by parents, parental deaths, and deprivation of education. Others are
also attracted by money or freedom opportunities in urban areas.

What challenges do children face after they go to the streets?

They face various problems like hunger, exposure to illness, drug addiction, physical
and sexual abuse, exploitation by adults, and involvement in criminal activity. They are
also often stigmatized and refused services.

How does family relationship affect children’s decision to go to the streets?

Unhealthy family dynamics such as neglect, domestic violence, or ineffective
communication play a big role. When children feel unwanted, abused, or
misunderstood at home, they rebel and end up on the streets.
 5. Significance of the Study

Policy Makers:​
Government officials and child protection agencies can use the research findings
to design evidence-based policies, improve child welfare programs, and develop
national strategies to prevent streetism.​

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs):​

NGOs working on child rights, education, and social protection will gain a deeper
understanding of the root causes and challenges facing street children. This helps
them design more targeted and impactful interventions.​

Families and Caregivers:​

Parents and guardians can better understand the risks that push children away
from home and learn ways to create safer and more supportive family
environments.

Street Children Themselves:​

Indirectly, the ultimate beneficiaries are the children on the street, who will benefit
from improved policies, services, and public attitudes informed by this research.
 6. Scope and Limitation

This study was conducted in Adama, one of Ethiopia’s major urban centers where the
phenomenon of street children is increasingly visible and socially concerning. The area
was selected due to the high concentration of street children, availability of NGOs
working in the sector, and the accessibility of stakeholders for interviews and
observation. The focus of the research was to explore the underlying reasons that
cause children to leave their homes and live or work on the street, as well as to
understand the challenges they face and the responses currently in place.

The study specifically included children aged 8 to 17 years. This age group was
selected because it captures both younger children who are extremely vulnerable and
older adolescents who often take on more independent street roles. Children under the
age of 8 were excluded due to ethical limitations, communication barriers, and the
need for special protection during research

In addition to street children themselves, the study involved interviews with key
informants, including social workers, NGO staff, local government representatives,
community leaders, and concerned residents. These stakeholders were included to
gain a broader understanding of the issue from multiple perspectives. Children who
had been on the street in the past but were already fully reintegrated into homes or
institutions were excluded to maintain the study’s focus on current street experiences.
 7. Literature Review

1. Local Research (Ethiopia)

●​ UNICEF Ethiopia (2021):​

A report highlighted that thousands of children live on the streets of major
cities like Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, and Bahir Dar due to poverty, family
disintegration, and child abuse. The study also noted that reintegration
programs are often underfunded and poorly coordinated.​

●​ Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA):​

Several assessments found that many street children in Ethiopia come from
rural areas and are often victims of trafficking, forced labor, and neglect. Efforts
to reunite children with families have faced challenges due to recurring poverty
and lack of follow-up support.​

●​ Save the Children Ethiopia (2019):​

This study revealed that peer pressure, physical abuse, and lack of education
were key drivers of streetism. It emphasized the need for more child-friendly
shelters, life skills training, and psychosocial support.​

●​ Research by Addis Ababa University (Various Theses):​

Several graduate studies found that the majority of street children had
experienced trauma and often lacked access to education and healthcare. One
 MA thesis in Social Work (e.g., 2018)​

2. International Research

●​ UNICEF Global Reports:​

Globally, over 100 million children are estimated to live and work on the
streets. The causes are consistently related to poverty, abuse, war, and weak
child protection systems. International comparisons show that children in
Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, face higher risks due to systemic
poverty.​

●​ Consortium for Street Children (CSC) – UK-based NGO:​

Research shows that legal invisibility of street children in many
countries—including Ethiopia—leads to a lack of protection, exclusion from
services, and frequent abuse by authorities.​

●​ World Bank Reports on Urban Poverty (Africa):​

These studies link child streetism directly to rising urban inequality, rapid
migration, and poor housing. They emphasize that economic interventions (like
conditional cash transfers) are essential to prevent family breakdown and child
neglect.
 8. Methodology

This research employed a mixed-method approach, integrating both qualitative and

quantitative techniques to provide a well-rounded understanding of why children in Ethiopia
leave their homes and turn to street life. The mixed method was chosen to capture not only
statistical patterns but also the personal, emotional, and social realities that numbers alone
cannot reveal.

Data Collection Methods

Semi-Structured Interviews:

These were conducted with a selected group of participants, including street children aged
8–17, social workers, NGO staff, and government officials. The interviews allowed for
flexibility in exploring personal experiences, causes of leaving home, and the challenges
children face on the street. They also provided insights into the effectiveness of current
interventions.​

Structured Questionnaires:​
These were distributed to a sample of street children to gather quantitative data on their
background, such as age, gender, education level, reason for streetism, health status, and
daily survival strategies. The results were used to identify trends and correlations.​

Non-Participant Observation:​
The researcher visited key urban locations (e.g., streets, bus stations, markets) where
children are known to gather. Observations were made regarding the children's daily
routines, behaviors, peer group structures, and interactions with the public and authorities.
This helped validate data collected through interviews and questionnaires.​

Sampling Method

A purposive sampling technique was used to deliberately select participants who have
direct experience or involvement with child streetism. This included children who live or
work on the street, aged 8 to 17, as well as key informants such as NGO workers and local
officials. Due to the hidden and mobile nature of street children, snowball sampling was
also employed, where initial participants referred to other children they knew, helping the
researcher access a wider group. Care was taken to ensure the sample included a mix of
genders and ages to reflect the diversity of the street child population.

Ethical Considerations

This study was conducted with strict ethical guidelines to protect the safety and rights of
participants, especially children. Informed consent was obtained from adults, and verbal
assent was gathered from children after explaining the study in simple terms. Participation
was voluntary, and children could stop at any time without consequence.

All data was kept confidential, using pseudonyms instead of real names. No identifying
information was recorded or shared. To follow the “do no harm” principle, interviews were
conducted gently, and any child in distress was referred to appropriate support services.

The research received ethical approval from [insert name of university or ethics
committee], and complied with both national laws and international child protection
standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
 9. Statement of the Problem

The research conducted brought forth a considerable amount of strong research data,
which firmly proved beyond any doubt that poverty and economical insecurity were by
far the prime causes resulting in children living on the streets. The vast majority of the
respondent population covered under the research study, i.e., children aged between
10 to 16 years, portrayed the unfortunate fact that their parents simply could not
afford even the bare necessities of life. The scarcity of means included provision of
sufficient food to consume, decent clothing to wear, educational expenses to pursue
their studies, or even the means to pay rent to have a roof on their heads. In many
instances, the parents were unemployed or had any type of stable employment or were
in a condition of under-employment and thus left the household in a long and severely
impoverished state. As a direct result of such difficult circumstances, some of the
children felt a strong urge to commence earning a livelihood at a shockingly early age.
They began performing work independently to fend for themselves or to support their
siblings to keep up so that they and their other relatives could make ends meet
because their own household was living a poor life. For some of the children, street life
began as a short-term venture to earn a small amount of money quickly—activities
like shoe shinning, begging as almsmen, and selling trinket were all undertaken to earn
a livelihood—but eventually turned into a long-term means of survival because of the
unavailability of any type of protective system to readily look up to and rely on.
Moreover, it was also seen that in households with minimal means and high numbers of
relatives, children often felt a strong urge to leave their own homes voluntarily in
hopes of finding better means to survive and better their lives. Moreover, the role of
rural-to-urban migrants was also a prominent causal factor augmenting the problem
because many of the children who migrated to the urban regions did so with
unrealistic expectations to gain employment or to gain a better life but eventually
found themselves as street orphans or exploitative victims.

Another key and significant finding emerging from the in-depth study was the
profound and far-reaching impact of family breakdown, abuse incidents, and neglect on
children's lives. Through the use of a rich combination of extensive case observations
and in-depth interviews, it became patently obvious that a significant number of
children had left home as a direct and tragic result of having suffered various forms of
violence. This violence was most frequently experienced in the form of physical
punishment, emotional abuse, or even sexual assault—often at the hands of
step-parents or extended family members who were meant to love and support them.
In many such families, parents were struggling to cope with severe alcohol or drug
addiction-related problems, which thus led to toxic, dangerous, and unsafe home
environments for the concerned children. Many such vulnerable children shared
heart-rending stories of how they were unjustly blamed for a whole host of family
problems or treated as an unjustified burden by their parents, which only served to
deepen their feelings of isolation and despair. Some of these children had also
experienced the traumatic loss of one or both of their parents, leading to their living
with guardians who abused them or neglected their very basic needs, thus failing to
give them the love, care, and attention that every child has a right to. Emotional
abandonment was a familiar occurrence with these children— they were frequently
ignored, severely criticized, or denied even the most basic opportunities such as
registration in school—a common motif that ran across all the respondents
interviewed. For these children, despite the inherent risks that came with living on the
street, it paradoxically provided them with a sense of freedom from their troubled and
conflict-ridden home lives and, at times, even provided temporary moments of
companionship. Further, the study uncovered an alarming reality: there were very few
formal support mechanisms available to intervene early in such extreme cases, which
thus meant that there were many such children who fell through the cracks of society
without the requisite support they so urgently needed and deserved.

In conclusion, the research highlights the influential and pervasive role of peer
relations, the seductive pull of city life, and the complex social hierarchies
characterizing life on the streets. As the children grew deeply enmeshed in street
culture, they were thereafter typically wrapped in loose informal groups of peers,
popularly known as "street families." These groups did not only afford essential support
on an emotional level but also shared essential commodities and important survival
skills required to overcome the rigors of daily life in such environments. The close
interpersonal bonding produced a deep sense of belonging and group identity many of
the children lacked in their own homes. The lack of restrictions normally exerted by
adult authority, combined with the alluring features of city living—such as pulsating
music, readily available means of transportation, throngs of people, and numerous
alternatives of entertainment—helped to further tempt children to pursue life on the
streets even further. Unfortunately, even as the groups afforded camaraderie and
togetherness to the children, they also exposed the children to a host of serious perils
and threats to life and safety and included drug use (notably glue sniffing), episodes of
physical exploitation, and possible manipulation by exploitative adults. Many children
gave accounts of having been bullied into taking part in begging schemes or pursuing
illicit activities coordinated by senior street youth or organized gangs.
 10. Discussion

The findings of this study highlight the complex and overlapping reasons why
children in Ethiopia migrate to the streets, revealing that poverty alone is not
the sole driver. Instead, a combination of economic hardship, family
dysfunction, abuse, and lack of supportive structures contribute to this
growing social crisis. While poverty sets the stage, it is often emotional
neglect, violence, and the absence of protection that ultimately push
children out of their homes. The role of peer influence and the allure of
independence on the street further reinforce their detachment from formal
systems like school and family. These patterns are consistent with both local
and international research, indicating that interventions must be
multidimensional not just focused on economic aid but also on strengthening
families, improving child protection services, and providing accessible,
child-centered rehabilitation programs. Without addressing the root causes and
reinforcing community-based solutions, children will continue to seek refuge in
the street, exposing them to even greater risks.
 11. Conclusion

In conclusion, the study reveals that the phenomenon of street children in

Ethiopia is driven by a complex mix of poverty, family breakdown, abuse,
and lack of access to basic services. Economic hardship forces many
children into early survival roles, while domestic violence, neglect, and
emotional trauma push others to flee unsafe homes. Once on the street,
children often find temporary support through peer networks but also face
severe risks, including exploitation and substance abuse. The findings
highlight the urgent need for integrated interventions that address both
the root causes at the household level and the challenges children face
after entering street life. Without strong family support systems, social
protection programs, and accessible child welfare services, the cycle of
streetism is likely to continue and worsen, especially in urban centers.
 12. Recommendations

For Governments:

To effectively address the rising issue of street children in Ethiopia, the government
should implement a comprehensive, multi-sectoral response. First, it should
strengthen social protection programs such as food aid, cash transfers, and school
support for vulnerable families to reduce poverty-driven child migration to the streets.
Secondly, the government must invest in community-based child protection
systems, including early identification of at-risk children and responsive services such
as counseling, family mediation, and temporary shelters. Stronger enforcement of
child abuse laws and stricter regulation of domestic labor and child trafficking are
also essential. Moreover, the government should expand access to free, inclusive
education and vocational training, particularly in poor urban and rural areas, to keep
children in school and off the streets. Finally, coordination between ministries (e.g.,
Education, Women and Social Affairs, Justice) and partnerships with NGOs, religious
institutions, and local communities should be improved to ensure sustainable,
long-term support for street children and their families.
 For NGOs:

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should prioritize a holistic approach to

addressing the issue of street children by focusing on both prevention and
rehabilitation. This includes supporting vulnerable families through income-generating
programs and parenting education to reduce the economic and emotional pressures
that push children to the streets. NGOs should also establish safe shelters and drop-in
centers that offer basic needs, counseling, and psychosocial support. Furthermore,
reintegration efforts such as family tracing, mediation, and foster care alternatives are
essential. Providing access to flexible education and vocational training can empower
street children with the skills needed for a stable future. Lastly, partnerships with local
governments, communities, and peer-led outreach programs can strengthen early
intervention and ensure long-term support for at-risk children.
 For Families:

To prevent children from resorting to street life, families need greater access to
financial and emotional support to alleviate poverty and create a safer home
environment. Parents should be encouraged to adopt positive parenting practices
that promote non-violent discipline and emotional care. Additionally, improving access
to education by removing financial barriers and offering community-based schooling
options can prevent children from leaving school due to economic struggles.
Strengthening family and community support networks is also crucial, providing
families with resources and guidance during difficult times. Finally, raising awareness
about available services such as child protection programs, psychosocial support, and
emergency assistance can empower families to seek help before children are pushed
to the streets.