Early Childhood Experiences in Zimbabwe: A Study on Street Children in the Harare Centralbusiness District

Abstract

This study examined the reasons why children prefer to live and work in the inner cycles of urban cities in Zimbabwe. The study was conducted in the inner cycles of the Harare Central Business District in Harare Metropolitan Province. The specific objectives were; to establish the levels of parent-child relationship experiences in early childhood of street children; to explore the key dynamics which tend to generate the problems of children living and working on the streets and to determine interventions and sustainable strategies that could be used to curb the occurrence of children living and working on the street. Qualitative data was obtained through indepth interviews, FGDs and direct observations from thirty street children (fifteen boys and fifteen girls) within the inner cycles of the Harare Central Business District. Five key informants presumed to have knowledge on the phenomena and street vendors’ familiarity with the lifestyles of the street children within the inner cycles of the Harare Central Business District were interviewed. The study established that children who appeared deprived of attachment-bond in early childhood tended to have disturbing problems in later years and yet very little in this context has been done to address the dilemma. The study concluded that there is need for comprehensive interventions and strategies that could be used to address the problem. The study recommends that the Government and agencies should intervene by strengthening policy formulations and programmes. This could be in the form of participative model that educates families and parents, as well as children, to re-enforce parentchild attachment bond in early childhood. The aim is to curb the appalling problem of children living and working on the streets.