PSYCHOSOCIAL NEEDS OF STREET CHILDREN AND THE EFFECT ON THEIR EDUCATION IN CAMEROON
Abstract
This study dwells on the psychosocial needs of street children and goes further to demonstrates the effects of these needs on their educational Rights in the Society. The provisions of psychosocial needs for street children, is not only a vector for their education but equally assist in their social insertion in the society. The study is qualitative in nature it attempts investigates the reasons why the persistence of children living on our streets despite strategies put in place to advert this situation. The participants for the study included fifteen street children and three key informants from the rehabilitation centers. Fifteen individual interviews were conducted all of them boys. Ten of these children were hosted by the “Institute Camerounaise de l’Enfance” (ICE) Betambain the Mbam et Kim Division. Three of the them found in ‘Centre d’Ecoute et transits' and two from Foyer d’Esperience all centers in Yaounde, Mfoundi Division which were still living in the streets but pending recruitment in one of the rehabilitation centers. The participants were aged between 10 and 15 years. The consent of the participants was obtained from their supposed responsible surrogates from the ICE Betamba and from the Educators of Centre d’Ecoute et transits Yaounde. All these centers are all found in the Centre Region of Cameroon. Findings from the study revealed that poverty, lack of basic needs, dysfunctional family settings, authoritative parenthood, family violence, deprivation of school needs, inadequate upbringing of children are not only the causes for persistence of this in phenomenon in the Cameroonian setting but equally these psychosocial factors deprive these children from their Rights to education. It was found out that the provisions of basic needs as well as the effective psychosocial support for these children will not only enhance their Rights to education but reintegrate them in the society. It was equally revealed that it would be good to provide parents with training on effective child upbringing in terms of the effectiveness of parental affection and guidance that will lead to self-esteem for the children.
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