The inner-city street child: A profile of the dilemma and some guidelines

Abstract

It is widely believed that children are first and foremost persons in need of love and care (Brendtro et al. 1998). It is unconscionable that in our cities we have droves of children who beg , live and sleep on the streets. Measures should be adopted to support these children and to reintegrate them into their communities of origin.

Before such measures can be· considered , one requires an effective understanding of street children and their unique worlds. To begin with, it is important to stress that street children are not a homogenous group and do not experience the same circumstances. Secondly, the number of South African street children is continuously escalating and is currently estimated at 10 000 children (Levenstein 1996:45). If the · number of school youths that wander around the townships , and are consequently potential street children, are added to this , the number would be considerably higher (Smit & Van Schalkwyk 1998: 1).