Begging as a livelihood pathway of street children in Addis Ababa

This paper explores the working lives of street children in Addis Ababa focusing in particular on an analysis of begging. Based on participatory research approaches, it discusses the social and economic significance of begging for impoverished children, documenting what they beg for, how and why, as well as what they think about their involvement in the activity. It is argued that, although begging is a way of life that some children have followed since early childhood, for others it is merely a pastime activity, and a temporary survival strategy from which they will eventually ‘move on’. The practice of begging is complex and fluid largely depending on the changing nature of children’s livelihood pathways, economic capacity, and relations with both the public and their families. Many children view begging as a shameful activity that they would prefer to avoid if they had alternatives. However, a large majority also consider it as a central part of their lives – as ‘work’ – through which they can fulfil the expectations of their parents and share responsibilities as members of their household. The conclusion is that interventions to improve the livelihoods of these children need to take more seriously the structural constraints of poverty and exclusion, as well as children’s mobility, transient experiences, and social skills.