Living on the Margin of Life: The Condition of Street Children During Covid-19 Outbreak in Three Selected Towns of SNNPR (Sodo, Jinka, and Arbaminch)

Abstract

The objective of this study is to assess the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on street children, their awareness about COVID-19 transmission and support of government to street children in three selected towns of SNNPR (Jinka, Arbaminch, and Sodo). To achieve these objectives, concurrent mixed research designs were employed. To identify respondents, both convenience and purposive sampling techniques were used. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. As instruments of data collection; interview schedules, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used. Finally, data were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The finding of the study depicted that the outbreak of COVID-19 worsen the social and economic problem of street children. Despite the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, no permanent support was given to the children both by the government and charity organizations. Moreover, the finding showed that street children suffer from various problems like lack of basic needs, depression and deprivation of work opportunity. Thus, holistic intervention should be used to address various problems that street children faced.