| dc.description.abstract | The study deals with the problem of child labour on the
streets of Mombasa. It focusses on three aspects namely. the
nature, factors and consequences of child labour. F rom the
literatu re review and basing on the study's theoretical framework of
reference group theory, four hypothesis are formulated. The study
utilized a multi-stage sampling frame and data was collected using
an interview schedule and observation. The testing of the
hypotheses led to certain salient findings.
The ed ucational background of the child did not influence who
they would work for. This showed that children were unselective
about their work and worked wherever that work was available.
Regarding the type of work done the study revealed that the
majority of the children (77%) were involved in selling foodstuffs
along the streets. Most of the work was being done for employers
(non-relatives),which accounted for 73% of the cases. Employers
housed the children in 52% of the cases.
Most of the children (86%), complained of various problems
related to their work. They worked under poor conditions such as
long hours, had poor sleeping facilities, ate unbalanced meals and
were mistreated by employers. Despite this, 73% of the children still
enjoyed their work.
In terms of factors that brought children to work, the study
found out that the nature of father's occupation was important in
influencing the children to work. It was concluded that the children
ii
whose fathers were in sporadic and temporary employment or had no
jobs at all were more likely to work. Most of the mothers also had
low occupational status which further heightened the need for the
child to work.
The study also found out that those children who were already
working had played a crucial role in influencing other children to
join the labour market through constant interaction. The children
working on the streets had previous knowledge of other such
children who they had been in contact with. The study concluded
that the children who had been working on the streets had acted as
a reference group and influenced the children to work on the
streets.
Finally, regarding the health status of the children, the study
established that meal constituents affected health status of the child.
Thus whether the children had balanced or unbalanced meals would
have an impact on their health. However, a working condition such
as number of hours worked did not determine the child's health
status. The study concluded that there was no significant
relationship between working hours and child's health status. | en |
