1. Introduction
The phenomenon of street children represents one of the humanity's most complex and serious challenges (Le Roux, 1994). It is not only felt in developed countries but is experienced worldwide. No country and virtually no city anywhere in the world today is without the presence of street children (Le Roux, 1994). Their proliferation in these urban communities contributes to high incidence of social problems because they are either abandoned, neglected, unsupervised, uncared for by responsible adults.
Definition of “street children” varies across countries and cultures, as do the causes of this problem. By UNICEF‟s concept it refers to boys and girls aged under 18 for whom „the street‟ (including
unoccupied dwellings and wasteland) has become home and/or their source of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected or supervised.
Some of these children are "on the street," that is they maintain quite a good family contact, often returning home each night. They may be on the streets to work, have fun, to pass the time, or due to overcrowding in their homes which may Abstract: The countryside also has a share of children on the streets. The study tried to determine the characteristics of these street children in contrast to street children in the big cities. The rural countryside doesn't have a prevalence of street children and is observable only in the urban countryside like Catbalogan City. The overall situation of street children was done through mapping out areas of their concentrations, their activities, magnitude and patterns of drug abuse, and their health and nutritional status. Information about the state of street children was derived from interviews, observations, Focus Group Discussions and collection of secondary data from City Social Welfare Development (CSWD) Office, Philippine National Police (PNP) and from Barangay records. The emergence of the problem is due to parental neglect, congested home condition, inadequate family income, peer pressure and to escape from work demands in the home. Catbalogan street children who are very visible on the streets consisted of 14 boys and two girls; with an average age is nine years old, a big family size of 9 whose parents are mostly tricycle drivers. Eighty-one percent of these children have dropped from primary school. For them to survive, they tend to look for areas where they feel secure and with the possibility of earning and having fun. These children hope to alleviate their condition by having a permanent job, literacy education and learning a profession. They hope to live in a community where they are helped, understood, cared and protected. The paper recommended that sectors should intensify their programs of working with families of street children and to constantly monitor whether the programs works. There is a need to establish family guidance and counseling centers, livelihood training centers, an orphanage or Street Children Center, regular functional literacy classes, sports program, moral, nutritional and personal hygiene classes, programs that can provide a scholarship for these children.
Keywords: poverty, street kids, family, countryside, province, intervention
Status, Hopes, and Aspiration of Street Children in Catbalogan City, Philippines
Sherrie Ann C. Labid
College of Education, Samar State University, Philippines [email protected]
provide little more than a place to sleep.
Others are "of the street," where the street is their home. This means that the street becomes their home for they have nowhere to go or to take shelter but only the street.
Approximating the number of street children and the extent of complexities they experience has been difficult. In 1989, UNICEF estimated 100 million children were growing up on urban streets around the world. Fourteen years later UNICEF
reported: „The latest estimates put the numbers of these children as high as 100 million‟ (UNICEF, 2002: 37). And even more recently: „The exact number of street children is impossible to quantify, but the figure almost certainly runs into tens of millions across the world. It is likely that the numbers are increasing‟ (UNICEF, 2005:
40-41). The 100 million figures are still commonly cited, but has no basis in fact (Ennew and Milne, 1989; Hecht, 1998;
Green, 1998). Similarly, it is debatable whether numbers of street children are growing globally or whether it is the
awareness of street children within societies which has grown.
In the Philippines, there are about 1.5 million street children according to 1998 report entitled “Situation of Youth in the Philippines” (A Situationer of Street
Children in the Philippines). Studies on the situation of street children range from two to three percent of the child and youth
population of a city. Metro Manila which has more than 3 million children and youth population has about 50,000 to 75,000 street children (DSWD pamphlet).
About 70% of children visible on the streets are boys (A Situationer of Street Children in the Philippines). Girls are fewer because, among other reasons, they are helping younger siblings, they are usually
hired as domestic helpers within private households, they are lured or trafficked into prostitution and are housed in brothels. It is speculated that the male child is expected to do less work at home than the female child.
The street children‟s ages range from six (6) to seventeen (17) years, but most of them are from the eleven (11) to fourteen (14) year-old bracket.
The children come from large families of at least 6 to seven seven
members. The majority of the children live with one or both of the parents. However, a considerable number of the parents - 15 to 65% - were separated, and many appeared to be living with other partners who often maltreated the children (DSWD).
Catbalogan City, the capital of Samar Island with a population of 92,454 (Local Social Welfare & Development Stationer, 2009) also suffers from this alarming societal problem. With
approximately 34,287 children and youth whose age ranges from 5 to 19 years old, approximately 8,412 are in schools (Summary of Literacy Mapping Result, January 2009). The remaining number, considered as out-of-school youths are found to be working in private
establishments as domestic helpers, salesladies/baggage boys, nannies, market vendors of the city and in other big cities of the country to augment meager family income. Other children belonging to this age bracket are left to do household chores and to help other siblings. Still, other children are found roaming around the city, who either live or work on streets like begging food, collecting use plastic materials, cartoons and other reusable things. They would usually spend a significant amount of time engaging in
different occupations, with or without the care and protection of responsible adults.
Along with supporting or negating the claim of different studies reviewed, the purpose of the study was to assess the general situation of street children in the countryside and determine the factors why they are on the street and their dreams of the future.
2. Objectives
The paper aims to present the
occurrences of street children in a provincial city of the Philippines. Specifically, it sought to;
1. Determine the demographic profile of the street children and their family, 2. Identify causes of why they are on the
street,
3. Determine their hopes and aspirations.
3. Methodology
The study employed the descriptive survey research. This is the general
procedure employed in studies that have for their chief purpose the description of phenomena in contrast to ascertaining what caused them and what their value and significance are Sanchez (1997,p.109).
The City Social Welfare and Development Office of Catbalogan
(CSWD-Catbalogan) records revealed that there are 27 street children. Of this
number, 16 were identified by the said office as highly visible and were classified as children “on the street.” WHO Manual (2000) describes them as children visiting their parents regularly and might even return every night to sleep at home, but spends most days and some nights on the street because of poverty, overcrowding, sexual and physical abuse at home. These
16 street children were taken as respondents of the study.
To gather data that will answer the specific questions of the study, interview guide/questionnaire was constructed.
Inputs from different experts in research, personnel of CSWD and psychologists were first sought to help them construct an instrument that suits the kind of
respondents of the study.
The interview guide/questionnaire constructed is divided into three major parts. Part I was the street children profile.
Part II attempted to elicit information about the reasons why they stay on the streets, their activities, needs, hopes, their health and nutritional status, and their use of illegal drugs, if any. The interview
guide/questionnaire prepared was translated to dialect and was submitted to further expert validation.
Before the main gathering of data, street children were regularly assembled at first with the presence of CSWD personnel and the researchers. Months were devoted to literacy and numeracy classes, sports and singing activities for bonding purposes.
Group dynamics and workshops were provided them which gave the researchers the opportunity to obtain data without necessarily asking them questions.
In addition to the interviews
conducted, observations, on-site visits, case studies, existing records and focus group discussions were also employed to monitor their activities, to map out their areas of concentration and to describe these places.
Triangulation method was also utilized, interviewing the parents and other relatives, some neighbors of the street children, barangay officials and CSWD to validate responses of the street children.
Data collected through interviews, observation, on-site visits and focus group discussions were subjected to statistical analysis using frequency counts, mean, percentage, standard deviations, and other statistical tools.
4. Results and Discussion
4.1 Occurrence of street children in the countryside
Out of the 24 towns and two(2) cities in Samar, six (6) was randomly selected, and prevalence of street children in these places was examined. The assessment had shown that street children could be found
predominantly only in cities of Catbalogan and Calbayog. However, in rural Samar, there exist child labor practices, and these children cannot be identified as street kids as they are actually in the farms assisting their respective family's agricultural activities (Cabrales, et.al., 2013). Younger children in Catbalogan City are getting more engaged in
labor (ibid), some of them are actually street dwellers.
4.2 Demographics of Street Children Around 9 in every 10, a street child is a boy who is different compared to the total population of Samar (Male-51% and Female-49%) and the entire country (Male- 52% and Female-48%) as seen in 2004 NSO survey. The proportion of girls among street children is reported to be less in Catbalogan mainly because females are recruited for domestic work in private households while others do household chores and attend to their younger siblings.
Average size of street kids family is nine which is higher than Catbalogan City average of 5 (Local Social & Development Situationer, CY 2009)
Around 75% of the street kids in Catbalogan City come from one village while others come from four other villages
Table 1. Profile of Street Children and Family Size
Age Distribution Boys % Girls % Total Family Size No. of Street
Children
Pre-school (3-5) 1 7 - - 1 7 4
Primary (6-9) 5 31 - - 6 8 5
Intermediate (10-12) 7 57 2 12.5 8 9 5
Secondary (13-16) 1 7 - - 1 10 0
Total 14 87.5 2 12.5 16 11 1
Average Age 9.42 9.00 9.44 12 0
13 1
Average 9
Table 2. Occupation of Street Children Parents
Occupation of Fathers No. % Occupation of Mothers No. %
Tricycle Driver 8 50.00 Housewife 10 60.00
Porter 3 18.75 Market Vendor 3 20.00
Fisherman 3 18.75 Laundry Woman 3 20.00
Farmer 2 12.50
of the city. Their houses are made from light materials approximately 12 square meters. A child revealed that they are now staying within the jail premises as their father has been charged for a thief. Another boy confessed that he sleeps inside park premises and sometimes in a pedicab (tricycle) of his father since they don't have a permanent place to sleep at night.
Figure 1. Educational attainment of street children
Apparently, mother of the street children are a housewife, and their fathers are tricycle drivers. This means that every member of the family of a street child is likely living Ph17.00 a day. None of those children is knowledgeable if their parents were one of the 4Ps beneficiaries of the city‟s more than four thousand beneficiaries in 2013 (Parrocho, 2013).
3.1 Reasons for being in the streets The problem of street children in Catbalogan cannot be blamed to a single cause or factor. Unlike the situation in other cities where a single cause such as extreme poverty, civil wars, or natural disasters might be the principal cause. Reasons, why there are street children in Catbalogan, is multi-dimensional. Parental neglect and the congested home condition is the primary
reason why they are on the streets as well as insufficient family income.
Table 3. Reasons why Children are on street
Reasons F %
Parental Neglect 15 94
Congested Home Condition 15 94
Insufficient Family Income 10 63
Peer Pressure 5 31
To escape from work demands in the Home
5 31
Many street children pointed out that peers acted as supportive means for their existence on the street. They helped each other to develop their ability to cope with street life. Waray-waray families train their children to participate in routine family tasks. At times the demands on children may be more than they can take like taking care of younger siblings, washing clothes, fetching water from a far deep well and many others. This leads to the child feeling that he or she is a slave or a servant. Such children leave home in search of freedom from adult demands.
3.2 Where street children congregate
Aside from food, clothing, protecting themselves against violence and other forms of abuse, survival for street children also means shelter- a place or area where they find temporary "haven" away from their overcrowded homes and relief from the difficult situation they are facing. These areas give them special support and do not contradict with their way of life, nor cause threats against their survival. Based on the observations conducted and from the records of CSWD, street children tend to “hang about" in areas where they feel safe, protected from cruelty, and with the possibility of both earning a living and
having fun. These areas are the areas with the following characteristics:
Popular areas full of big stores, shops, and workshops where they can
informally work and earn a living in doing minor jobs such as cleaning and carryings things,
Areas where children can easily find their basic needs for cheap food, and shelter,
Markets and commercial areas,
Public parks and playgrounds where they can sleep
Areas with special socio-cultural characteristics where they can beg people for money,
Under big buildings where they can sleep and/or beg
Areas where street children tend to congregate in Catbalogan include Capitol Grounds and City Hall Plaza, Outside Roman Catholic Church, Mayong‟s Bakeshop, Novo and Centro Department Stores, Mercury Drug and Lester Lace Grocery Stores. Some street children interviewed sometimes preferred to sleep in Pieta Park, a park just in front of the Police Department for security reasons as there are some big bullies would get their daily earnings.
Direct Quotes from a Street Child
(originally in waray- waray) “Oh, we’ll go with you to the pier to take a bath, then dry our clothes and proceed to Jollibee…. to beg.” I told the other street boys who were heading to the pier’s direction.
3.5 Activities of street children
Interviews indicated that most street children after sleeping on the sidewalks, parks, playgrounds or near department stores would play and later beg for food and
money for their meals. Some will go swimming to a nearby pier to take a bath and use the same old and dirty clothes for the whole day.
Table 4. Activities of Street Children
Activities of SC No. of SC %
Begging 16 100
Scavenging 13 81
Car Washing 9 56
Cargo boy 5 31
Washing 3 19
Strolling town 3 19
Street children often help in one another's survival. WHO says that they usually teach one another how to earn a living, where to go for a living, and what to do in case they face problems. This "is a clear manifestation of their "subculture" that comes out as a result of their existence together on the street over an extended period and daily exposure to similar threats and circumstances."
Some street children carry out the above-mentioned activities on a daily basis.
They usually earn from 10 to 50 pesos per day doing the previously mentioned activities. Most of the children interviewed stressed that they immediately spend the money they earn on food, toys, and
entertainment. They rarely save money since they have no safe place to keep their money and because some older children would steal it from them usually at night when they sleep.
Quotes from Street Children (originally in waray- waray)
“Yeah! See I have a lot of coins in my pockets! During holidays many people shop, I station myself at the door with my
right palm open, I usually say, "please my brother is sick and starving;" Some hastily stare at me then give me one or two coins."
"We were once a happy family in a simple dwelling, my father, mother and 5 of us siblings (1 elder sister and 4 brothers). I am the eldest of the male children. But, why did we boys frequent to the streets to beg when were supposedly we are in school just like other boys? My father’s income as a tricycle driver? Oh, my! You know it
already! Also, the boys in the neighborhood make a little income by begging. They are an influence. So begging, selling cartoons and plastics and bottles, scavenging and running errands, with my brothers of
course! This is an everyday occurrence just to fill our empty stomachs."
******
“I have two elder brothers and one elder sister who grew up in our love because our parents keep on quarreling maybe because of financial distress and my father’s vices. “
******
We are enrolled in school in school during the first and second week of classes but because of the attraction of the streets, and our Lola cannot afford to send us to school, we spend our time begging,
scavenging, vending or selling items we got from garbage like plastics. With the
proceeds, we buy food for us (brothers and sisters) and sometimes if there is extra, we bring food to our Lola's house so that we have something to eat in the late evening.
******
From stall to stall in the market, I beg and beg nd I feel happy when I have a coin in my pocket for I can buy bread to fill my empty stomach. Most often, I suffer the pain of ridicule and humiliation.”
3.6 Substance abuse among street children According to the study on Street Children by WHO, many street children are involved in the harmful use of psychoactive substances. The result of Focus Discussion Groups with street children, however, revealed that street children in Catbalogan City do not show the pattern of drug abuse.
However, two street children occasionally use cigarette
3.7 Problems met by street children
On Physical Problems: These street children do not usually get enough food to eat thus these results to inadequate nutrition. Some of them suffer from bullying thus resulting in minor bruises.
They are also vulnerable to diseases like a cough and colds, headaches and other common diseases.
Psychological Problems: There are many situations in the past that led these children to stay on the streets.
Some of these are family conflict and transitory lifestyle resulting to mental problems.
Social Problems: Street children lack basic resources to sustain healthy living. They rarely have access to facilities that they need for hygiene and sanitation, such toilets and clean and safe water supply. They are therefore more vulnerable to health problems resulting from poor sanitation.
Moreover, street children tend to be excluded from participating in most activities and facilities of other
children. This is one reason why street children often do not have access to medical, educational, recreational and vocational resources (WHO Manual).
3.8 Needs and Hopes for the Future
Interviews with street children show that they believe that they cannot be “on the streets” all their lives. They, too as part of the community need to contribute something and so they hope to be alleviated from their present condition.
Direct Words from a Street Child (originally in waray- waray)
"When our father went to Manila with the promise he will support us for our needs, my dream of a good and different future grew dimmer when he didn't keep his promise. Instead, he found another woman, another family. And worst, my older sister is being chased by boys in the marketplace for a short time affair, for her, too frequent in the streets. We followed our father in the city, thanks for the support of CSWD, but again the same old ways… begging, garbage collecting and our family have deteriorated due to tour father's negligence so back to this place again."
"There are those who offer assistance! I feel relieved when there are occasions like feeding, class sessions, meetings, and others because there will be snacks! But, after this, what?”
Some street children could not identify their needs, hopes, or means to achieve them. This indicates that even when help is provided through the GOs or NGOs, this does not assist many children to clarify their needs. NGOs have to develop ways to provide help to street children on an
individual basis to ensure the personal satisfaction of every child who visits their centers. Training in case-management and counseling is needed to deal with this issue.
Table 5. Needs and Hopes of Street Children Needs and Hopes for the
Future No. of SC %
Learning a Profession 15 94
Having a job 14 88
Returning to their family 5 31
Remain the same 3 19
Cannot Identify 7 44
Table 6. Means to Achieve Needs and Hopes Means to achieve needs
and hopes No. of SC %
Permanent jobs 14 88
GO intervention 14 88
Voc'l training 13 81
Literacy education 13 81
Parents w/ sufficient
income 5 31
Cannot identify 4 25
Table 7. Needs of SC from the Community Needs from the
community No. of SC %
Care and protection 13 81
Help when needed 11 69
Understanding &
sympathy 9 56
Cannot identify 4 25
5. Conclusion and Recommendation In the light of the discussion above, the following conclusions were drawn:
1) Catbalogan City street children are of school age, yet all of them are not in school at present. The majority of the street
children are boys. They come from a family, the size of which ranges from 7 to 13. All of them are from Catbalogan, 75% are from Barangay 13.
2) Occupation of fathers is not on a
permanent basis. Most of them are tricycle drivers; some are porters, fishermen, and farmers. On the other hand, mothers of street children are plain housewives taking care of the younger children. Others are laundry women and market vendors.
3) These children are on streets due to parental neglect, congested home condition, insufficient family income, peer pressure and to escape from work demands in the home;
4) Street Children gather together on places and areas full of big stores, shops, and workshops where they can informally work and earn a living in doing minor jobs, areas where they can easily find their basic needs for cheap food and shelter; market and commercial areas, public parks and areas with special socio-cultural characteristics.
5) Activities of Street Children include sleeping on the sidewalks or near department stores; begging for food and money for their meals. Other activities include scavenging/collecting and selling used cartoons, plastic containers; car watching, baggage carrying, motorcycle washing and renting a bicycle and strolling around the town.
6) Street children do not show any pattern of drug abuse. Some, however occasionally use a cigarette.
7) These children encounter physical, psychological and social problems 8) Street Children hopes to learn a profession, have a job, return to their families as a first need. Some, however, cannot identify their hopes.
9) They can achieve their hopes through having permanent jobs, through GO
activities and programs, vocational training and literacy education. Still, others cannot identify their means o achieve their hopes.
10) Street Children long for a community that will care and protect them help, understand and sympathize with them.
However, others cannot identify their needs from the community.
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