Working with Street-Connected Children: A Training Model for Street Work Practice

A case study on a generalist service delivery model for street children in Durban, South Africa: Insights from the capability approach

“…In these centres, children are less likely to develop adaptive preferences (Schimmel, ). However, we support the views of Morgan (), McEvoy et al (), Silungwe and Bandawe (), and Ballet et al () who propose the idea that street children's agency should be respected and thus never be forced to leave the streets.…”

“…Sen (, ) identifies agency freedom as “the choice, act or role one has to achieve any kind of aims or values that he or she considers important.” Recent studies have focused on the agency of street children, who are identified as agents of change in their own lives. This demands that adults recognize that children have agency and manifest social competency (Ballet et al, ; McEvoy, Morgan, McCready, Bennett, & Henry, ). Although there has been a recent increase in attention on the agency of children in the literature, it remains a challenging concept that balances “recognising children as active agents in their own lives, entitled to be listened to, respected and granted increasing autonomy in the exercise of rights” and “being entitled to protection in accordance with their relative immaturity and youth” (Lansdown, : p. 9).…”