Research Article
Rose Poni-Gore, Richard Lado L
Abstract
Introduction: In the recent years Juba the capital of South Sudan has been experiencing the problem of street children, a problem attributed to long civil war in the Sudan, current economic crisis and the current political conflict which started on 15th December 2013. According to UNICEF(Sweitzland 1983), a street child is “ Any girl or boy who has not reached adulthood for whom the street has become her or his habitual abode or source of livelihood and who is inadequately protected ,supervised or directed by irresponsible adult.” Methodology: The study took place in Juba city in the five major markets namely, Konyo konyo, Juba, Jebel, Custom and Munuki. It targeted children within the age of 6-17 years of age. The study was done by cross sectional design. The methods of data collection were questionnaires and interviews. The sample size was 120 and the data was analyzed by Excel program. Results: The findings were 55% were within the age of 10-14, 70% were boys,41.7% had both parents alive, 40% hadfamilies comprising of 6-10 members, 38.3% do minor business, 55.8% come from urban area, 54.2% sleep at home , 28.3% earn living by selling wares, 37.5% obtained food by buying, 30.8% used their money on family expense, 40% of them were School drop outs, 23.3% sniff glue, 59.2% go to the public hospital for treatment, 56.7% do not have knowledge about HIV/AIDS, 30% of the street children felt that the public do not like them, 43.3% of the street children said their life on the street was tough,44.2% of the street children were responsible for themselves and47.5% of the street children were on the street in search for employment. Limitations: The study was faced with limitations such as consent. Conclusion: Majority of the street children are male within the age of 10-14 years and originally from urban areas, with extended families of low socio-economic status. The highest percentages of the children go to the street for employment purpose, followed by parental loss, child abuse, strict regulations at home and commitment of offence. They survive by engaging in works such as selling wares, shoe shining, collecting rubbish, collecting empty battles for re-use by local beverage makers, washing cars, and others beg or steal, They face a lot of problems such as drop out from school, drugs abuse, feeding themselves by left over from restaurants and some sleep hungry, they experience inhuman treatment such as torture, rape and arrest by police. The government in collaboration with NGOs should create employment opportunities to the people, establish enough rehabilitation and correction centres, schools and health centres, campaign for the rights of street children rights, commemorate ‘Street children’s Day’(January 31st ) and empower street children by providing outreach education, training, food and health services.