Beyond Poverty and Violence: Ethnographic Insights into the Lives of Street Children in Urban Rwanda

Background and Purpose: This comparative case study examines the mundane activities of everyday life and stories of two street-connected children, a 12-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl, in Rwanda. Around the world, street-connected children are at high risk including for assaults, trafficking, forced begging, sexually transmitted diseases, and substance use. Yet relatively little research has examined the quotidian life details and value systems of children, especially within contemporary African contexts. In Rwanda, street children are currently considered a pressing social challenge, but policies implemented to enhance reintegration of them into schools and homes have limited success. This study explores the experiences of two street children, their families and community members. The aim is to provide thick descriptions of the strengths, challenges and the goals of these children to inform the development of effective support programs.

Methods: This study was conducted in Kicukiro District, City of Kigali by colleagues in Rwanda and the U.S. We recruited a street involved boy, Karim (aged 12), and a girl, Divine, (aged 11), whose names have been pseudonymized. We conducted participant observations of the everyday lives of these children, and two semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews with each child. In addition, we interviewed the children’s parents and community members actively involved in supporting them.

Interviews were transcribed verbatim. All materials for each child were read holistically and emphatically, and transcripts were analyzed using a life story narrative approach (Haight et al., 2022; Lieblich et al., 1998, Linde, 1993). Children’s life stories included accounts of their current living situations, how they came to be involved in the street, personal and social identities, their struggles and sources of support. Interviews with parents and supportive adults as well as field notes from participant observations were used to further contextualize children’s accounts.

Results: Both children earned their living and spent their time on the street with some family contact. Both described severe hunger at home as the primary factor driving them to the streets. Divine had also experienced violence at home. Family ties for both children appeared tenuous. Both children viewed the streets as safer than their homes, and as providing opportunities to obtain food through activities like collecting metal parts, picking up potatoes from lorries, and doing chores such as fetching water. Divine described a love of school where she could learn and play. Her teacher, likewise, described her as a good student and made efforts to connect her with resources. Karim assumed responsibility for a younger sister who experienced rape while on the streets. Neither child trusted the social care system due to prevalent “detect-arrest-detain” strategies, stigmatization of street-involved children as “delinquents,” and the prioritization of family reunification and preservation without addressing underlying issues.

Conclusion: Social workers and researchers can act as bridges to advocate for policy reform that transcends the dichotomy of criminalization and unrealistic burdens placed on schools, communities, and families without actionable engagement strategies. This study advances international social work scholarship, highlighting the significance of child-centered service innovation driven by a deep understanding of those impacted.