Homeless Street Boys in Nepal: Their Demography and Lifestyle

Abstract

Homeless children live and work independently of their families on the streets in many cities of the developing world. A survey was undertaken to compare the family backgrounds and current lifestyles of 329 six to seventeen year old Nepali boys is contrasting environments. A representative sample of 130 homeless boys is compared with three other groups of 54 rural, 62 urban squatter and 83 urban privileged school - children. Structured questionnaires and iterviews revealed considerable variation in the family background of the homeless and control populations. Homeless children belong to a variety of caste and ethnic backgrounds, with 49% of individuals being high caste. Data on family structure showed that 52% of homeless boys had both parents at home, 23% had step-parents, and only 8% were parent-less. In contrast, very few rural and urban controls (0-2%) had step-parents. For the homeless, family structure, particularly the presence of step-parents, influenced the age of first leaving home, reasons given for migration, and frequencies of home visits. The majority of homeless children visited their families at least once a year. Success on the streets, as indicated by daily earnings, is variable and influenced both by age and income-generating activity. The lifestyles and relationships of homeless boys are discussed.

Illness incidence and health seeking behaviour among street children in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan – a qualitative study

“…In studies done in Indonesia (Gross et al . 1996) and Nepal (Baker et al . 1997), the role of peer groups was highlighted and they were recognized as dependable friends.…”

“…Many studies mention that street peers are considered 'dependable' in times of need (Gross et al . 1996;Baker et al . 1997;Rhode et al .…”

Comparative study of flex heart rate in three samples of Nepali boys

“…HR monitoring was undertaken as part of a wider multidisciplinary study of the health and lifestyles of Nepali street children, rural villagers, and urban middle-class school boys Baker et al, 1997). Because homeless street children in Nepal are almost exclusively males, HR monitoring was confined to boys in all populations.…”

Elevated acute-phase protein in stunted Nepali children reporting low morbidity: different rural and urban profiles

“…Four populations of Nepali boys (n 104) ± villagers, urban squatters, homeless street children, and middle-class pupils ± participated in measures of growth status, morbidity, and biochemical markers of infection (during November± December 1993). This project was part of a multidisciplinary study of a larger sample of rural and urban Nepali children (Baker et al 1996;Panter-Brick et al 1996a) which extended to measures of physical activity via heart rates (Panter-Brick et al 1996b,c), of psychosocial arousal via salivary cortisol (Panter-Brick et al 1996d, Panter-Brick & Pollard, 1999, of demography and lifestyles (Baker et al 1997), together with ethnographic observation (Baker, 1998). One social anthropologist, one biological anthropologist, and one medical doctor collaborated in the fieldwork.…”