OVCs AND THE HOMELESS (STREET

CHILDREN)

Definitions
Poverty is a situation where an individual or families

cannot afford basic needs and live below a dollar a day

It can also be defined as social, spiritual physical, and

mental inadequacies.
Poverty trap, a mechanism which makes it very difficult

for people to escape poverty

Orphans

Uganda, defines an orphan as a child below the age of 18

years whose mother or father has died or both (MGLSD
2004b).

Cont.
Vulnerability is a state of being or likely to be in a risky

situation where a person is likely to suffer significant

physical, emotional or mental harm that may result in
their human rights not being fulfilled.
Vulnerable child is a child who is suffering and is likely

to suffer any form of abuse or deprivation and therefore

is in need of care and protection.

Magnitude of the Problem

A household survey data 2005/6 indicates that 14 percent

of children in Uganda have been orphaned which is

equivalent to a national total of 2.43 million out of 17.1
million children below 18 years.

Nationally, up to 96 percent of children have some level of

vulnerability and of this 51 percent of the children in

Uganda

are

considered

moderately

or

critically

vulnerable, equivalent to a national total of approximately

8 million vulnerable children in Uganda.

Cont.
The data suggests that orphan-hood in urban

areas is 18 percent and significantly higher

than in the rural areas where it is 14 percent.

However the degrees of vulnerability tend to

be higher in the rural areas at 52 percent for

moderately and critically vulnerable children
combined and 43 percent in urban areas.

Cont.
Based on the vulnerability score, overall vulnerability

tends to be highest in the conflict affected areas like

Northern region, and lower in the more affluent Central
region.

In Uganda, many children live in situations that render

them vulnerable, rampant poverty and lack of access to

basic services such as appropriate housing, health care,
education, water, and sanitation have left many children
vulnerable to high risks of exposure to harm.

Poverty trap
Poverty is a big challenge to the OVCs and street
children/homeless and this becomes even worse when
they are caught up in the poverty trap because they are;
Physically weak
Powerless
Vulnerable
Isolated, and
Poor

Poverty Traps
Poverty becomes a trap when a vicious cycle undermines the efforts of

the poor, in which conditions of poverty feed on themselves and create

further conditions of poverty (chronic poverty).

In a child labor trap, if a parent is too unhealthy and unskilled to be

productive enough to support their family, the children have to work. But
if children work, they cant get the education they need; so when they
grow up, they have to send their own children to work.

If OVCs work, the unskilled wage is low, so parents making low wages

cannot afford to take their children out of the workforce.

Vulnerability
This is due to orphan hood, disability, age, HIV and AIDS,
other diseases, poverty in the family and illiteracy.

Many MDGs address the situations that lead to

vulnerability. E.g. MDG 5 where the mother dies the

children are left exposed, MDG 7 where OVCs are not
able to tap and sustain resources in their environment

Different partners, donors and nations come together in

MDG 8 to mitigate this vulnerability.

Poverty
At least one in every four households has an orphan and 3

million children live below the poverty line because they lack
assets, have little land, no livestock, live in small houses and
work for family members even if they are young, old or sick.

Due to the national challenge of poverty implementation of MDG

one, is still slow and far from being achieved and children suffer
the most because of their dependency nature.

In at least 12 Sub-Saharan African countries a child is more

likely to die before the age of five than attend secondary school

Poverty is the loss of childhood

At least 180 million child laborers are either 15 years

old or younger or work in conditions that endanger

their health or well-being according to the ILO

73 million working children are under 10 years old

An estimated 8.4 million child laborers are trapped in

slavery, trafficking, debt bondage, prostitution, and

other abhorrent conditions.

Poverty
Poverty is multidimensional; raising incomes

is crucial but low income is only one of the

problems of poverty

Poverty is watching the environment on which

you depend deteriorate year by year

Poverty is also less quantifiable but no

less oppressive conditions
Poverty is vulnerability to destitution after a shock or catastrophic

event, such as an illness, death or theft of your land.

Each year about three quarters as many fall into poverty as

escape. The struggle against poverty is often one of 4 steps

forward, 3 steps back.
But 300-420 million live in chronic extreme poverty
Poverty is the ongoing stress of desperately trying to anticipate

and adapt to vulnerability.

Poverty is lack of access to markets that could offer a way out of

poverty.

Powerlessness
Due to lack of education as demanded by MDG 2 children

lack knowledge and decision making skills making them

prone to exploitation.
OVCs have no bargaining power for advocating for their

needs and rights that they are denied e.g.

legal rights,

access to justice, food, and sexual abuse.

In Northern Uganda, landless children especially those

returning from IDP camps and captivity have emerged and

majority of these children have had their land grabbed,
posing daunting challenges to them and their families as they
can not legally fight for their rights.

Poverty is Powerlessness

Poverty is systematic exploitation, theft, and abuse not only

by the rich but by the government officials ostensibly there

to help

The poor must pay larger bribes, as a share of their

income, than the rich just to survive.

Poverty is debilitating and deliberately created feelings of

hopelessness and dependence on whatever minimal

remuneration is offered by a particular rich family in your
sphere of life.

Powerlessness
Powerlessness is violence within the family and without.

Poverty is powerlessness to stop things hurting you and your

family and keeping you poor.

The poor are so desperate for food that they overuse their land

even though they know the result will be lessened fertility next
year with this it will be difficult to achieve environmental
sustainability MDG 7.

Physical weakness
OVCs are taken up by guardians or relatives who at times mistreat

them causing them to suffer from physical violence and abuse

inflicting pain or injuries.

In relation to MDG 4 and 6, OVCs lack the essential medical care

exposing them to communicable diseases hence increasing the child

mortality, malnutrition and disability.

In under nutrition traps, an undernourished person is too weak to

work productively, so their resulting wage is too small to pay for

sufficient food to improve their nourishment, thus they continue to
work with low productivity for low wages.

Isolation
The OVCs are stigmatized and discriminated hence

not able to socialize with other children, due to illness

or disability.

They also suffer from emotional abuse (e.g. shouting

at the child), public humiliation which lowers their self

esteem making them isolate from other people.

Causes of vulnerability in children

Child vulnerability reflects the level of socio-economic

development in Uganda.

Early marriages,

Major causes of child vulnerability include;

Orphan hood,
Disability,

Lack of access to basic

services such as food, shelter,

health care, clothing,
education and psychosocial
Childvulnerability reflects

support
the level of socio-economic

development in Uganda. Major causes of child vulnerability

include;
Poverty,
Armed conflict

HIV/AIDS, and other diseases

Effects of Vulnerability
The causes of vulnerability have enormous effects on a child e.g.
Child laborers,
Child headed households ,
Living in child headed households,
Living in elderly headed households,
Idleness
Children in conflict with the law,
Abused or neglected children in need of alternative family care,
Children living on the streets/ street families

Challenges encountered while

providing services to OVCs in Uganda
The biggest challenge is the sheer inadequacy of resources. This is
furthered more by;

Increased abuse of children

Misuse of donated resources or inherited properties of the children.

OVC issues are supposed to be addressed by two core program

i.e. Child Protection Unit and Legal Aid which receive the least
attention.

Challenges encountered while

providing services to OVCs in Uganda
Lack of sufficient training and awareness of the

National Strategic Plan among local leaders and

service providers.

Lack of careful planning and good management skills

on income generating activities for the OVCs

Interventions
Adequate resources to be mobilized and equitably distributed to

facilitate delivery of comprehensive services to OVC.

Strengthening partnerships and networks between government,

private sector, civil society and development partners on OVC

issues.

Implementation of plans to ensure that legislation, policies,

plans and programmes are in place to protect vulnerable

children.

Interventions
Create awareness about childrens rights among children and

the community.

Creation of ordinances for the OVCs to voice out their

problems.

Inclusion of OVCs in the planning and decision making

process.

Sensitization and empowerment of communities on the

importance of education.

Interventions
Provide support care through psychosocial counseling to the

OVCs and their caregivers

Establishment of age friendly services for the children.

Provide HIV/AIDS/other medical care services to the OVCs

Reinforcement of the children act by the government

Provide Food security and nutritional services.

Public Health Importance

Children who are sexually active and/ or those who suffer from

sexual abuse, those subjected to early marriages are at a higher

risk of STIs and HIV infection.

In communities and schools, the burden of care and poor

nutrition further compound the vulnerability of children infected

with HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

The number of facilities providing child-friendly and adolescent

reproductive health services remains limited.

Homeless/Street children

Homeless ( street children)

DEFINITIONS
Homeless; are people who are most

unable to acquire and maintain

regular, safe, secure and adequate
housing, or lack fixed, regular, and
adequate night time residence.

A street child; is any girl or boy who

has not reached adulthood for whom

the street has become his or her
habitual source of live hood, and who
is inadequately protected, directed,
and supervised by responsible adults

Homeless street child

Street child.
A street child means a child who (a) because of

abuse, neglect, poverty, community upheaval or any

other reason, has left his or her home family or
community and lives, begs or works on the streets; or

(b) because of inadequate care, begs or works on the

streets but returns home after night (The Childrens

Act of 2005, Number 38 of South Africa )

Who are considered the homeless and

street children?
Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) asserts
that States Parties recognize the right of every child to a
standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental,
spiritual, moral and social development. Homelessness denies
each one of those rights.

US AID has divided Street Children into Four Categories:

A Child of the Streets': Children who have no home but the

streets, and no family support. They move from place to place, living
in shelters and abandoned buildings.

Who are considered the homeless

and street children?............
A Child on the street': Children who visit their families regularly and

might even return every night to sleep at home, but spends most days
and some nights on the street because of poverty, overcrowding, sexual
or physical abuse at home.

Part of a Street Family: These children live on sidewalks or city squares

with the rest of their families. They may be displaced due to poverty, wars,
or natural disasters. The families often live a nomadic life, carrying their
possessions with them.

In Institutionalized Care: Children in this situation come from a situation

of homelessness and are at risk of returning to a life on the street.

Magnitude of the problem

UNICEF estimates there are approximately 100 million street children

worldwide with that number constantly growing.

Many studies have determined that street children are most often boys

aged 10 to 14, with increasingly younger children being affected (Amnesty

International, 1999).

Many girls live on the streets as well, although smaller numbers are

reported due to their being more useful in the home, taking care of
younger siblings and cooking.

Magnitude of the problem

The phenomenon of children living and working

on the streets is a worldwide problem

Getting accurate statistical data for street children is difficult

given the hidden and isolated nature of life they lead

It is estimated that there are about 100 million street children

around the world. The figure reaches 150 million in some studies

UNICEF estimated the figure to be around tens of millions in 2005

Reports from African Network for the Prevention and Protection

against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) indicate that the

number of street Children in Uganda has increased from 4000 in
1993 to over 10,000 today, signifying an increase of 70 percent.

Magnitude

Around In 250,000-300,000 children live and work on the streets

across Kenya with more than 60,000 of them in Nairobi

Approximately 110 infants were abandoned on the streets of

Khartoum, Sudan, in 2003, every month, with 50% dying within hours
Street children are increasing in Sub-Saharan cities, mostly because

of HIV/AIDS. For example:

In Brazzaville, Congo, almost half of the street children are orphans

In Lusaka, Zambia, the majority of children living on the street are

orphans
The majority of street children belong to the age category of 10 to14

but there are studies that show the age ranges from a low of 6 years
to a high of17 years

Reason for going to the Streets

Poverty

Rapid urbanization and industrialization associated with the

collapse of rural economy

Structures that leave children unprotected

Wrong perception that life in a big city would be easy and fun

Other social, economic and political crisis such as epidemics,

military and ethnic conflicts, refugee movements and etc.

Poverty Trap

When the street children/homeless are they caught

up in the poverty trap they become;
Physically weak
Powerless
Vulnerable
Isolated, and
Poor

Vulnerability
Children who are vulnerable to street life include; those

who have been abandoned by their families or sent into

cities because of a family's intense poverty, often with
hopes that a child will be able to earn money for the family
and send it home.

In several areas of the world, disabled children are

commonly abandoned, refugee children of armed conflict

areas, children separated from their families for long
periods of time, and AIDS orphans, repeatedly find
nowhere to go but the streets.

Vulnerability

All the earlier mentioned reasons

expose the children to gangs hence
gang culture, drug and substance
abuse, rape, un wanted
pregnancies, prostitution, HIV and
AIDS, abortions and other infectious
diseases

In relation to MDGs 1,2,4,5 and 6

,most of the street children live in
abject poverty with poor living
conditions, they do not go to school
and die from preventable diseases
due lack of immunization.

Poverty

This is the main cause of homelessness especially to the young

children due to lack of basic needs such as; shelter, food, healthcare,
safe water, clothing, security and education

Most children run to the streets for refuge hoping to make ends meet
but in most cases this is not the case. The streets aggravate the
situation.

It will be hard to achieve MDG 1 if the numbers of street children

continue growing which will affect the socio-economic development
of the country.

Its difficult for street children to advance from extreme and chronic
poverty.

Isolation
Homeless children are found living in the major streets such as

Kampala, Entebbe etc.

They live in isolated areas such as dungeons, deserted buildings and

parks, public toilets

These children are also isolated because of their behavior e.g. pick

pocketing, gang culture, poor personal hygiene, obscene language

and drug and substance abuse.

Isolation can be amongst themselves having street kings.

In relation to MDGs, its hard for service providers to avail services and

for them to access e.g. nutrition, medical, education and environment

friendly services.

Inclusion and protection of the homeless/street children is needed to

achieve goal 6 and 8.

Physical weakness
The homeless suffer from

physical violence and abuse

inflicting pain or injuries
bruises, scratches and
wounds on them.

Poor nutrition, drug and

substance abuse, fights

amongst them and the
community affects their
immunity weakening them
physically.

Street children sniffing glue

Case studies

A street child who was burnt and the other was injured during a
fight with other street children after a disagreement

Powerlessness
Many homeless children are enticed by adults and older youth into

selling drugs, stealing, and prostitution. Their inferiority to their

seniors renders the powerless.
Drug use by children on the streets is common as they look for

means to numb the pain and deal with the hardships associated with
street life. Such drugs include; alcohol, cigarettes, heroin, and
cannabis sativa
Due to their state of mind as a result of continuous drug abuse,

behavior and Illiteracy its hard to involve them in policy and decision
making rendering them powerless.

Its therefore hard to achieve MDG

Powerlessness
In regard to MDG 6 street children have low enrollment rates

and thereby poor access to information and are also

believed to be neglected in many health immunization
campaigns, maintaining the livelihood of viruses and the
continued dependency on immunizations

We will not reach/attain the MDGs unless we identify an

effective strategy for including the children who consistently

keep falling through the cracks of communities, policies and
programs and to secure their equal participation.

Effects & implications of Street and

Homeless Life

Homelessness and street life have extremely detrimental effects on

children.
Their unstable lifestyles, lack of medical care, and inadequate living

conditions increase young people's susceptibility to chronic illnesses

such as respiratory, gastrointestinal disorders, and sexuallytransmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
The mental, social and emotional growth of children are affected by

their nomadic lifestyles and the way in which they are chastised by
authorities who constantly expel them from their temporary homes
Street children lack security, protection, and hope, and continue to

face a deep-rooted negative stigma about homelessness. And, more

than anything else, they lack love.

Effects & implications of Street and

Homeless
Often viewed as Life
a threat to the society
Suffer from violence and abuse
Vulnerable to traffic accidents
Vulnerable to substance use
Mistreated by the law enforcing bodies
Find it difficult to go to school
Loss of an adult care giver relationship, parental affection and

opportunities for growth

What
needs
to
be
done

Advocate for the ratification, popularization, implementation of and

reporting on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child

Use all opportunities to advocate and lobby for the children and make

their voices heard e.g. Day of the African Child.

Intentionally target children living and working on the street as

participants, beneficiaries and owners of programmes

Promote cross-sector programmes to address the underlying causes

(child friendly schools, non formal education, vocational training,

access to employment market with protective measures (ILO
Conventions)

Promote national social protection policy (AU social protection

framework).

Challenges faced while trying to

rehabilitate street children

1. Institutionalization, causing loss of flexibility and participation

2. Goal deflection: displacement of ends by means, e.g. fundraising
3.Minority rule, in which NGO priorities reflect their own
organizational origins rather than their participants priorities
4. Ineffectuality, or philanthropic amateurism
5. Philanthropic insufficiency, due to limited scale and resources
6. Philanthropic particularism, reflecting Governments and NGOs
choice of clientele and projects, possibly neglecting greater needs

Public Health Importance

Leaving these children unassisted is a moral dilemma and can also

pose serious crime and public health risks to community and society
Rehabilitating a former street child, child prostitute, delinquent child

and child soldier is difficult and costly to the national budget.

The presence of the street children in the streets poses a great

security risk to the citizens of any nation.

All street children are equally needy and deserve social protection

and inclusion.
Inequality and social exclusion have proven to hamper economic

development and social stability.

The liberator

From our discussion on both the OVCs and the homeless/street children it
goes without saying that most of the interventions to rescue them from the
poverty trap are social, physical, mental and economic.

The spiritual dimension of the interventions mainly helps them have

reverence for a supernatural omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent and
almighty being.

This spiritual dimension is normally not emphasized yet it plays a key role in
liberating them from the poverty trap.

The spiritual dimension is very important as it goes beyond human

capabilities to solve any problem. Its the acceptance of mans limitations in
his physical, social, mental and economic capabilities to liberate anyone from
bondage.

A supernatural being with supernatural capabilities is the only and best

liberator from the poverty trap. With God, nothing is impossible!

Three
broad
conclusions

Extreme poverty is a hard problem because: many are caught in poverty

traps; high growth is hard to ignite and sustain; and the poor may not
benefit from growth.

Practitioners know much about how to help the poor escape poverty traps

even in countries without good prospects for high growth. Much good can
be done with relatively little money, by identifying and supporting effective
and innovative programs that develop key assets and capabilities, and
utilizing rigorous evaluation.

Development and poverty reduction rests on a three legged stool of

private, government, and citizen sectors. The citizen sector including

NGOs hold comparative advantages in addressing poverty traps, and so
can play a central role in ending extreme poverty.

Working together we can help unlock

poverty traps and eradicate poverty,
hunger, and deprivation.

References
Samuel Kalibala1 and Lynne Elson2 Protecting Hope: Situation

Analysis of Vulnerable Children in Uganda 2009

http://www.childrenontheedge.org/uploads/8/2/9/7/8297605/ugan
da_hvc.pdf ( accessed on 30th May 2014)

Ministry of gender, labour and social development National

strategic programme plan of interventions for orphans and other

vulnerable children 2011/12 2015/16

http://www.unicef.org/uganda/final_printed_ovc_strategic_plan_u

ganda_-nsppi_2.pdf ( accessed on 30th May 2014)

References
Street children, The phenomenon, Current Trends &

implications For Their Rights, 4th Civil Society Organization

Forum on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child,18th March 2011,Addis Ababa

http://www.chimpreports.com/index.php/news/9358-uganda-

street-children-number-rises-by-70-percent.html (accessed on
3/6/2014 at 3:28pm)

Investopedia explains 'Poverty Trap

www.investopedia.com/terms/p/poverty-trap.asp( accessed on
30th May 2014)

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!!