STREET CHILDREN‟S STORIES OF ESCAPING TO, AND SURVIVING ON, THE STREET – “SLUMDOG” LIFE AND “MILLIONAIRE” ENDING?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15270/47-1-144Abstract
Most movie enthusiasts were intrigued by the film Slumdog Millionaire. This story reflects, amongst other issues, the survival strategies of kids living on the streets in towns in India and the happy ending for one of them. The findings of the research on which this article was based could likewise have been dramatised into a script with similar story lines. It would reflect stories of kids trying to escape deprivation and violence and getting caught up in drugs and criminal activities. The authors of such a script could, however, argue that the researchers‟ interpretation of the findings would not substantiate any story with a “millionaire” ending. Nevertheless, according to the perspectives of research participants, street life could indeed be likened to a “millionaire‟s life”, compared to their home circumstances.The discussion that follows clarifies and substantiates this introductory statement. The rationale for, and the goal of the study, are presented, followed by a summary of the research methodology. The article then reports core findings in an inductive, narrative style and concludes with a summary and certain recommendations. Relevant literature is compared to the findings of the study.
Downloads
References
ABRAMS, L.S. 2006. Listening to juvenile offenders: can residential treatment prevent recidivism? Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 23(1):22-34.
ADERINTO, A.A. 2000. Social correlates and coping measure of street children: a comparative study of street and non-street children in South-Western Nigeria. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24(9):1199-1213.
ALBERTSE, L. 2007. Gang members‟ experiences of victimization and perpetration of rape in prison. Bellville: University of the Western Cape. (Unpublished mini-thesis, MA in Child and Family Studies)
BAKER, R.P. 1999. Children of the street: a re-interpretation based on evidence from Durban, South Africa. [Online] Available: http:www.streetchildren.org.uk. [Accessed: 07/11/2008].
BEZUIDENHOUT, C. & JOUBERT, S. 2003. Child and youth misbehaviour in South Africa: a holistic view. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
BIGELOW, B.J. 2000. Delinquency: current Opinion. Psychiatry, 13(6):563-568.
COFFEY, A. & ATKINSON, P. 1996. Making sense of qualitative data: complementary research strategies. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
CRESWELL, J.W. 1998. Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR. 2002. Towards a national child labour action programme for South Africa: discussion document. Pretoria: Employment Standards Directorate.
DORLAND‟S MEDICAL DICTIONARY FOR HEALTH CONSUMERS. 2007. New York: Elsevier Inc.
ENNEW, J. & SWART-KRUGER, J. 2003. Introduction: homes, places and spaces in the construction of street children and street youth. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1). [Retrieved October 2006 from http//cye.colorado.edu.journals].
FARROW, J.A., DEISHER, R.W., BROWN, R., KULIG, J.W. & KIPKE, M. 1992. Health and health needs of homeless and runaway youth. Journal of Adolescent Heath, 13:717-726.
FOUTIE, V.W.R. 2004. A phenomenological study of the lived experience of street children in Uitenhage. Port Elizabeth: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. (Unpublished PHD Dissertation)
INSTITUTE ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM. 2005. [Online] Available: Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. [Accessed: before 30/03/2005].
KIDD, S.A. 2003. Street youth: coping and interventions. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 20(4):235-257.
KOMBARAKARAN, F.A. 2004. Street children of Bombay. Children and Youth Services Review, 26(9):853-871.
KRIEGER, N. 2001. A glossary for social epidemiology. Epidemiology of Community Health, 55:693-700.
LAYLOR, K.L. 1999. Street children: a comparative perspective. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23(8):759-770.
MacDONALD, J. 2009. Street children‟s construction of the cycle of recidivism. Bellville: University of the Western Cape. (Unpublished MSW mini-thesis)
MAPHATANE, M.T. 1994. Black street children and their families: towards the development of basic support services. Johannesburg: Randse Afrikaans University (RAU). (Unpublished MA Dissertation)
MASHOLOGU-KUSE, T. 2007. Families of street children in the Transkei: a developmental perspective. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 43(1):61-71.
NIEUWENHUIZEN, P. 2008. Street children in Bangalore (India): their dreams and future. Amsterdam: Het Spinhuiz.
OLLEY, B.O. 2006. Social and health behaviour in youth of the streets of Ibadan, Nigeria. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(9):271-282.
REGULUS, T.A. 1995. Encyclopedia of Social work. Washington DC: NASW Press.
ROBERTS, B. 2002. Biographical research. Buckingham: Open University Press.
ROSSOUW, L. 1999. Social work family focused intervention for juvenile re-offenders. Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch. (Unpublished MA thesis)
SCANLAN, T.J., TOMKINS A., LYNCH M. & SCANLAN, F. 1998. Street children in Latin America. BMJ, 1316:1596-1600.
SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS ACT, No. 84 of 1996. Pretoria: Government Printers.
WALSH, C., MacMILLAN, H.L & JAMIESON, E. 2003. The relationship between parental substance abuse and child maltreatment: findings from the Ontario Health Supplement. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12(4):1409-1425.
WARD, C.L., SEAGER, J. & TAMASANE, T. 2007. Street children. Report to the Department of Social Development, Provincial Government of Gauteng. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.
YOUNG, L. 2003. Journey to the street: The complex migration geographies of Ugandan street children. Geoforum, 35(4):471-478.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged when works are cited.
Authors may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, and with conferences.
The following license applies:
Attribution CC BY-4.0
This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.
Articles as a whole may not be re-published with another journal.
