| dc.description.abstract | Street children can be defined as children for whom the street
(including unoccupied dwellings and Wasteland) has become a habitual
abode and /or source of livelihood, and who are not adequately protected,
supervised or directed by responsible adults. International Catholic
Children's Bureau, 1985, p. 58).In 2000, UN ICEF estimated that there were
250,000 children in this category in Kenya. At the same time, UN AIDS
estimated that there were 624,000 maternal and double orphans under the age
of 15 living in Kenya. Both statistics are increasing rapidly. The increase in
the number of street children in cities is a global tragedy Agnelli, S. (1986).
It is estimated that there are approximately 700 Street Children in Kitale
town. The upsurge in the number of street children in Kitale has been
attributed to the hardships in neighbouring pastoralist counties such as Pokot
and Turkana, which are often faced with drought and famine, AIDS and
longstanding issue of squatters in the county but no research has ever been
done to proof this. Most of these children are involved in begging, pickpocketing, drug trafficking, child prostitution, scavenging, directing
motorists to parking spaces and hawking (Onyango 1988). Children who live
and work on the streets are often the victims of violence, sexual exploitation,
neglect, and human rights violations (UNICEF, 2000). For example, street
children throughout the world are abused and sometimes murdered by police,
other authorities, and individuals who are supposed to protect them. When
there are no other means of survival, street children with and without formal
family contacts may resort to prostitution for survival. They are extremely
vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The
purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence the street
Children population in Kitale town. The target population was 730 which
included 700 street Children and 30 managers of the institutions working
with the Children in Trans-Nzoia Street Children rehabilitation centers. After
obtaining verbal consent, children were interviewed using a structured
questionnaire to determine how many of them live permanently on the
wastelands, those who live with guardians but spent most of their day on the
streets, those who are double orphans, single orphans, those with both
Parents, those with single parents and those whose parents are divorced,
separated or alcoholics. After assembling and organizing completed
instruments, the researcher used descriptive statistics to analyze data.
Quantitative data was analyzed using the descriptive statistical tools of
average, mean, percentages and frequencies. This data was presented in
terms of tables, graphs and charts. In analyzing general and demographic
information the researcher computed percentages of the respondents who
provided data. Qualitative data on the other hand was organized and
summarized into opinions, and report relevant to this study | en_US |
