A study on the casual factors,substance usage and effects of rehabilitation of street children at garden compound drop in centre - lusaka

Abstract

A total of one hundred "street children" attached to the street kids international project being spearheaded by the Zambia Red Cross Society at Garden compound Drop-in centre were interviewed on a one to one basis. It was observed that street kids have a multifactorial aetiology with factors such as poverty, psychological as well as physical abuse playing a very important role; whilst armed conflicts, natural and man-made disasters, unlike in other countries, appeared not to play any role. Besides focusing on here and now survival strategies that inevitably subject them to various exploitative kinds of "piece work" and risk behaviors whilst on the streets. These children have also been found to partake all sort of illicit drinks and other psychoactive substances with the hopes of alleviating stress and suffering which unfortunately has often times worked out to the contrary. The majority of children talked to were still in contact with their families to which they returned after a day's sojourn in the streets. However, some were completely homeless and without an knowledge of a living relative. Zambia Red Cross Society has become "a parent" to such children and seem to be doing an excellent job in rehabilitating these children as well as many others falling in different circumstances and/or categories.