Child labour on the streets of Mombasa: its nature, underlying factors and consequences

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.