Browsing by Author "Ncube, Angela"
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- ItemPsychosocial needs, stressors and survival strategies of adolescent street children in Mzuzu, Malawi: A human development approach(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03) Ncube, Angela; Green, Sulina; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: When a developing country embarks on a pathway towards modernization and urbanization, one form in which poverty expresses itself is in the outgrowth of street children. In Malawi, the number of street children increases every day. The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of the needs, stressors and survival strategies of street children in Mzuzu, Malawi. To achieve this goal, the objectives formulated are: to explain adolescent development within the context of a human development approach; discuss the phenomenon of street children, their needs and related stressors; describe their survival strategies; and to analyse and interpret data on investigation of the needs, stressors and survival strategies employed by adolescent street children in Mzuzu, Malawi. A qualitative research approach was used together with an exploratory and descriptive research design in order to provide a detailed description of the phenomenon being studied, namely street children. The sample for the study was selected by means of purposive sampling. Twenty-five adolescents between the age of thirteen and fifteen living in/and or working in the streets of Mzuzu were involved in the study. Data was gathered by means of a semi-structured interview schedule which was administered during individual interviews. The main recommendations of the study are related to improvement of households’ capacity to care for their children. In addition, recommendations suggest support at grassroots level (family) as a way of mitigating the exodus of children into the streets. It is also recommended that policy should look at the issue of street children as a child rights and a child protection issue.