Socio-economic status of street children (A case study of Pokhara Valley)
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Department of Sociology
Abstract
The objective of this study is to explore the socio-economic status of street children in Pokhara valley with the specific objectives: to examine the overall status of street children in Pokhara in terms of their access to education, health and their lifestyle; to explore the factors pushing children on the street and to access the nature and magnitude of the problems of street children. Finally their socio-economic status is examined in the light of the indicators of the conceptual framework drawn in the study.
The exploratory research method is applied to explore the various aspects and variables of the topic of the study and similarly, the descriptive and quantitative methods are employed to describe and generalize the socio-economic status of the street children and possible opportunities to enhance their quality of life in all aspects. There are 262 street children in Pokhara. Among them 50 street children are taken for the study as a sample on the basis of convenience and random sampling method.
The results of the study are that most of the children are 13-15 in age and 58% of children are from dalit community and 72 % Hindu and 18% Christian and only 18% Buddhist. From the study we found that 88% of street children are literate but nobody had completed even primary education. The main reasons behind not completing even primary level of education are lack of interest and run away from home.
It has been deduced that 66% of children of children are giving importance to their health. 68% of children have a habit of taking bath once a week. Likewise, 84% of children don't have a habit of brushing whereas 90% of children have a habit of hand washing before having meal.
From the study we deduce most of the children leave home due to poverty, lack of love and affection and having companion with street boys. Children are bound to come to the street despite living in small family. Most of the street children are in the occupation of street rag-picking, begging, working in hotel restaurant and vehicle cleaner etc and their average income is Rs 100 per day. Though they earn very nominal amount of money some of them use to save their earning as well. 24% of the respondents have a saving habit. All of them spend their earning for food and cigarette/alcohol and most of them are habitual with dendrite sniffing which needs to be minimized giving them other opportunity or engaged them in other creative activities.
As street children have spent their life in street and they have to go through different circumstances and problems. They use to make different places as their shelter. Significant street children use to sleep in front of shop and with friends. They feel cold in the winter season as they don’t have proper bed to sleep. Most of the street children feel problem of rain and coldness in their residency, mistreated by police and problem of things get stolen at the place of residence. This can prove that they don't have safe and secure place to sleep and life is very sturdy and painful for them. There is no arrangement from the government to improve their sleeping condition.
The main problem of street children that they (38%) are facing in their daily life is about safe accommodation. Likewise, 26% have a problem of shortage of healthy and hygienic food, 24% have a problem of poor sanitation and 12% have problem of abuse and violence. Street children and their family have an effect of culture of poverty. 66% of street children have an effect of culture of poverty, 30% do not realise culture of poverty in their family and 4% have no idea about it.
Even if the street children live in street, but they also have their own future plans. From the study we find that 46% street children want to give up living in the street whereas 54% want to stay on the street as they get free life despite various problems that they have to face in daily basis. 28% of street children want to become a driver in future followed by 18% who want to become rich people, 14% want to be an educated person, 12% want to be a hotel owner. Saving habit may lead them to get success in their future goal.
From the study, it is explored that street life is full of problems, challenges, difficulties and hardships. Every-day they have to fight with the hurdles, obstacles and risky circumstances in the street. The main factors that force children to leave home is the influence of the peers that children who have lived and worked in the city influencing their peers in their rural homes, poor economic situation of the family, change in family structure and social relations, and attraction towards city life. Once children come to the street they don’t want to return home as they don’t want to lose freedom.
Education status of street children is very worse. Some of the children have never been to school even if the government has its policy of free education up to secondary level. Health status of the street children is also very fragile as they don’t get hygienic food to eat. They also don't give preference to their own cleanliness.