Elsevier

Child Abuse & Neglect

Volume 32, Issue 4, April 2008, Pages 439-448
Child Abuse & Neglect

Children of the sug: A study of the daily lives of street children in Khartoum, Sudan, with intervention recommendations

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.07.009Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

The study examines street children's daily lives in Khartoum, Sudan to recommend ways to improve their conditions and to successfully assist them off the streets.

Methods

In 2000–2001, eight researchers conducted participant observation for 7 weeks; 20 groups of children engaged in role-plays and drawing activities; over 500 children participated in qualitative group and individual interviews; and 872 current and former street children were surveyed.

Results

Approximately half of children were 14 years old or younger. Daily life focused on eating, sucking glue-soaked rags, obtaining money, and sometimes movies or games; many children valued their freedom and relatively abundant food on the streets. Boys engaged in odd jobs, and sometimes theft, begging, or sex work. Girls had fewer work opportunities and primarily obtained money through begging and sex work. Almost half of children saw their families weekly. Children belonged to same-sex groups of common geographic origin, which shared food, shelter, and care when sick; boys’ group leaders could be both protectors and aggressors. Most girls had a boyfriend who financially assisted and protected her. Girls frequently were raped by street boys, police, or other men. Children feared routine capture, beating and incarceration by authorities. Former street children were housed in large camps where abuse was common, or costly small residencies.

Conclusions

Street-based services to improve children's health and safety are urgently needed. Re-integration programs may help large numbers of children voluntarily and permanently leave the streets. Advocacy campaigns and collaborative efforts with the police, judiciary and legislature should be intensified.

Practice implications

The paper highlights important challenges facing street children in Khartoum, and provides specific recommendations for how they might be better assisted while on the streets and successfully helped off of the streets through community re-integration, rather than current (1) large-scale beating and incarceration by government authorities, or (2) small-scale and costly residential housing by NGOs. The findings have already been used in a sustained advocacy campaign that has resulted in a number of positive legislative changes for street children, such as parliamentary endorsement of a new bill that improves street children's legal status.

Introduction

There are estimated to be tens of millions of street children worldwide, and the numbers are most likely increasing with growing urbanization and globalization (Dallape, 1996, UNICEF, 2006). It is important to understand the lives of street children both to improve their conditions while on the streets, and to help them successfully leave the streets. However, collecting accurate information about street children's lives can be challenging due to a number of reasons, such as street child mobility, distrust of strangers, and the sensitive and sometimes traumatic nature of their experiences (Lalor, 1999, WHO, 2000).

This study examines street children's daily lives in Khartoum, Sudan in order to recommend ways to improve their conditions and to successfully assist them off the streets. The numbers of street children in Sudan have increased substantially in recent decades, so that by 2002 there were estimated to be 70,000 working and street children (86% male and 14% female) in northern Sudan, most of whom were living in Khartoum State (Consortium for Street Children, 2004). This paper draws upon extensive participant observation, 872 survey interviews, and group and individual qualitative interviews with over 500 street children. It describes street children's daily activities on the streets (e.g., obtaining money and food, recreation, substance abuse, health care), as well as their relationships with their peers, families, and authorities. It then discusses the implications that the findings have for street-based health and safety interventions, street child counseling and re-integration programs, and broader street child advocacy efforts.

Section snippets

Methods

The Sudanese Minister of State for Social Planning and the Khartoum Commission of Voluntary and Humanitarian Works gave permission for this research to be conducted, as did the leaders of the 30 localities and five institutions in which the research was conducted. Prior to interviews or formal exercises, verbal informed consent was obtained from each participant.

In April and May 2000, four pairs of adult researchers spent 7 weeks observing street children in sugs in three areas of Khartoum at

Results

There were two identifiable types of children in public areas of Khartoum who were not accompanied by responsible adults: street children, who spent their days in the sug and usually slept there, and working children, who spent their days in the sug earning a living, but generally returned home to sleep at night (Connolly & Ennew, 1996). Findings for working children are presented elsewhere (Plummer, Kudrati, & Yousif, 2007). However, it is important to note here that distinctions between these

Life in institutions

At the time of the study, the three government camps had a combined capacity to hold 1,000 former street boys and 40 former street girls. The camps had relatively few staff and very limited funding. Camp staff sought to reform children through military-like discipline, regular prayer, recital of the Quran, and basic literacy classes. The camps also had a goal of re-integrating children back into their families, but 55% of boys and 39% of girls who were surveyed in camps had been there for more

Discussion

Daily life for most Khartoum street children involved work to earn money and food, recreation and socializing with peers, substance abuse, and sometimes physical or sexual violence. Street children routinely abused glue for reasons that were presented both positively (e.g., desire to experience pleasure) and negatively (e.g., compelled by a sense of dependency, or to forget the harshness of their lives). The threat of sexual abuse was commonplace and difficult to avoid, particularly for girls,

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all of the young people and adults who participated in this study: primary adult field researchers, Al Hadi Khogali Eltayeb, Ashraf Mohamed Adam Adham, Jubara Mohamed Jubara, Samah Mohamed Elnour, Shihab Ali Yousif, Vincensio Omujwok Apieker, and Wisal Mohamed Osman Khalifa; child field researchers, Abdel Rahman Ramadan Anwar, Goma Ramadan Yasir, Ismat Ibrahim Tutu, Louna Joseph, Majid Mohamed Jarbas, Mahmoud Mohamed Zein, Manal Fadel Mohammed, Martin John Adouk,

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    This study was funded by the Save the Children Alliance, Oxfam UK, UNICEF, and the Royal Netherlands Embassy.

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