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Microfinance and street children: is microfinance an appropriate tool to address the street children issue ?

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par Badreddine Serrokh
Solvay Business School - Free University of Brussels - Management engineer degree 2006
  

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2. CHARACTERISTICS

2.1. About their family

One `myth' about street children is that they are «orphans» and «homeless» children. However, research tends to show that this is far to be the case and the findings tend to demonstrate two things.

First, the majority of street children are children «on» the streets, estimated at about 75% of the street children population (Shurink, 1993 quoted in Grundling and al., 2005)9(*). So, «only» an estimated 25% of street children are children «of» the streets, having therefore little or no contact with their families (see e.g. Taçon 1992 quoted in Lalor 1999). For example, they are 27 percent in Nairobi; 2 to 16 percent in Brazil; 10 percent in Mexico, and fewer in Italy 10(*)(Blanc, 1994). This leads some experts to label this phenomenon «home-based children on the street» (see e.g. Komobarakaran, 2004)11(*).

Second, the majority of children «of» the streets has still their families, but has run away from home, often in response to psychological, physical or sexual abuse (UNICEF, 2006: 41).

The majority of street children is therefore not abandoned, but return regularly to their households to share income and maintain social relationships (Conticini, 2004). Therefore, they can be considered as being parts of a `multispatial household' with `mobile livelihoods' (Tacoli, 1999; Olwig and Sørensen, 2001; Stepputat and Sørensen, 2001).12(*)

2.2. About their gender

Findings tend to show that the majority of street children are boys, the girls being more subject to exploitative conditions at home (UNICEF, 2006; Aderinto, 2000; Blanc, 1994)13(*). Lalor (1999) makes an interesting review of the literature and indicates that the street child population in Columbia (estimated as one of the highest in the world) is 75% male and 25% female. In Ethiopia, street boys and girls are also in the same proportion. Finally, ILO (2003), in a survey of street children in Bangladesh, found only 2.44% of girls.

However, beyond the question of the number, the World Health Organisation (WHO,) points interestingly how important it is to identify street girls, and highlights that

«...Girls on the street have more difficulties and are often overlooked by street educators. Street girls are looked down upon in many societies and are easily exploited. They usually have less economic opportunities than boys and are given less money than boys for similar activities. Educational opportunities are denied to them and street educators usually engage street boys in various activities while paying little attention to girls». (WHO, 2000)

Consequently, street girls are doubly discriminated: by the society and by youth organisations.

2.3. About their economic activities

Grundling and al. (2005) indicate how street children share one common characteristic: «working the streets» to make a living. Indeed, Lucchini (1998)14(*) highlights that the children are not content in the street when they are not able to pursue some concrete activity, that the child will feel ashamed of being in the street with nothing to do, and that being without any activity causes boredom, the need for diversion, and the feeling of being condemned. So, street children tend to work, and the relationship between street children and the work is so close that it has created new terminologies such as «street-based working children» (see e.g. Gilligan and al. ,2004; Foy, 2001).

Many would assume (or witness) that street children do beg or steal, and therefore can not be considered as «child workers». However, Ennew (2000) indicates that even begging and stealing are considered as a form of work from the child's perspective, as it is a way to survive15(*). So, although street children have specific problems, they can be considered as a direct subset of working children.

Box. 1.3.: Types of work of Street Children (from Ennew, 2000)

The range of street children's economic activities stands mainly in the informal labour market (Bartlett, Hart, Satterthwaite, Barra et Missair, 1999). This market has different characteristics, depending on the local economy `landscape', and comprises many types of work. However, despite this diversity, two common features can be drawn: first, it is unregulated,; and second, jobs are generally carried for short-term periods and do have low barriers to entry.

The income-generating activities of street children are therefore diverse, and include occupations such as vendors, scavengers, tea and juice shop helpers, mechanics helpers, car washers, etc (Blanc, 1994: 326). Many of them are self-employed, but need to supply one part of their earnings to someone who supplies the good - for example, children who park or wash cars need to pay a premium to someone who controls the territory (Ennew, 2000: 29). Some other may be also working in small family enterprises - such as handicrafts and sweets-making - and despite being carried out in a family environment, some of these businesses can be extremely detrimental to the children's future (Blanc, 1994: 339).

However, as pointed by ILO (2003), when referring to street children in Bangladesh, «most of the labouring children themselves do not mind having to work. What they object to are the humiliation, scorn and the various abuses they have to endure from their employers and clients». Avoiding harassment of their employers might therefore explain why street children prefer to be self-employed, although they are quite limited as their access to capital in order to start their own business activity is limited.

* 9 E.g. Makombe (1992), quoted in Grundling and al. (2005), estimates that 85% of all street children in Zimbabwe have homes.

* 10 Essentialy among the Roma community (see e.g. Unicef, 2006: 24)

* 11 Quoted in Grundling (2005)

* 12 Quoted in Conticini (2004)

* 13 However, once they leave home, they are generally less likely to return (Consortium for Street Children Worlwide, FAQs)

* 14 Quoted in Liebel (2004: 59)

* 15 However, the UNICEF does not consider it as a work, but does nevertheless include it in several programs as «illegal work» (Liebel, 2004 : 43)

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