Affiliation:
1. Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy and Centre for Children in Vulnerable Situations (CCVS), Ghent University, Belgium
Abstract
Worldwide, many children live in the street; equally so in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where this phenomenon is seemingly connected to recurring armed conflicts. Yet, the role of war in children’s motives to join the street remains unknown. A total of 102 youths (12–18 years) were interviewed in Bunia by community researchers (i.e. former street children). Motives related to armed conflicts (e.g. rebel attacks) played an important role in children’s decisions to join the street, next to non-war-related motives (e.g. poverty, familial changes). Most children indicated a chronological chain of multiple motives, mostly starting with war-related motives.
Subject
Development,Geography, Planning and Development