Factors influencing the rehabilitation of street children in Kisii Town; Kisii County

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

This study sought to establish the factors influencing street children rehabilitation in Kisii town; Kisii County. The study was guided by the following objectives; to evaluate the influence of child participation on street children rehabilitation in Kisii town, to assess the influence of parental care on street children rehabilitation in Kisii town, and to analyze the influence of community attitude on street children rehabilitation in Kisii town. The study reviewed literature on street children phenomenon, and the factors that may influence street children rehabilitation. These are: child participation, parental care and community attitude. \n \nThe study employed descriptive survey research design. According to a survey by social workers of Kisii Municipal council, the total population of street children in Kisii town is one hundred and ten. This comprise of one hundred boys and ten girls (Barongo and Nyangaresi, 2011). The researcher used the population census since this is a small number. Mugenda and Mugenda state that when the census is small there is no point of sampling if time and resources allow and this increases reliability (Mugenda and Mugenda 2003). Focused group discussion, interview schedule, Questionnaires and observation schedule were used to collect data. Piloting was done in the town ofNyamira which has similar environment as that of Kisii town. Split- half technique was used to improve on instrument validity. This was preferred as it minimizes chance error. The research instruments were subjected to expert opinion of three senior lecturers of the University of Nairobi to improve on instrument reliability. \n \nData was administered by the researcher after obtaining permission from the National Council for Science and Technology, Ministry of higher education. The collected data was coded and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Tables and frequencies were used for presentation. Interpretation was done in line with literature review. Research findings were discussed in line with the study objectives and compared with literature review. The research findings show that child participation positively influenced street children rehabilitation, parental care had both positive and negative influence on street children rehabilitation, community attitude had negative influence on street children rehabilitation. \n \nThe study recommended that the government should step up measures to protect the rights of street children. Parents should be trained and encouraged to embrace democratic parenting. Parents should make efforts to promote child participation considering their age and ability to make sound decisions. The community should be sensitized on street children rehabilitation process so that they can make informed decisions concerning the street children. \n \nThe study also recommends networking and bench making with other similar street children rehabilitation organizations and enhanced monitoring of children to avoid incidences of child abuse such as sodomy. The study findings are a contribution to the body of knowledge. The study made suggestions for further studies: in future researchers should try to investigate the extent to which the factors influence each other in the process of street children rehabilitation. In future researchers should try to investigate the factors influencing street children rehabilitation in other towns for comparison purposes with the findings of this study. Future research should be done on the impact of street children rehabilitation on school enrolment in Kisii County.