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Research
Summary:
My
PhD research is investigating ‘Child-Headed
Households’ (CHH) in which
minors are responsible for (often)
younger siblings/relatives/friends.
CHH may include children who have
formed household units irrespective
of kinship ties, such as ‘surrogate
street families’ (Beazley,
2003); groups of child relatives
(e.g. group of siblings) who are
coping on their own following abandonment
by or death of parents; and ‘young
carers’ (Robson and Ansell,
2001) who have assumed the role
of the household head because of
the inability of the present adult
(e.g. because of ill-health, disability,
substance addiction). The phenomenon
of CHH is of growing interest to
the UK-based NGO Street Child Africa
who have identified them in urban
areas of Zambia and are the non-academic
partner in this research. This PhD
follows pilot research commissioned
by Street Child Africa which made
preliminary investigations regarding
the extent and nature of CHH, knowledge
and understanding about them and
current interventions with them
in two provinces in Zambia: Lusaka
and the Copperbelt. Data collection
included surveys of two community
schools and one compound community
and focus group discussions and
interviews with key stakeholders,
including development organisations
and community members. The pilot
study indicated the need for more
comprehensive research, not only
to clarify the true status of CHH
in Zambia, but to investigate, more
closely, a number of complex issues
pertaining to its apparent growth
in recent years and the implications
this growth holds for the future.
Therefore, my PhD research is building
on these issues through an ethnographic
and participatory study with CHH
in Zambia using a toolkit of methods
(e.g. participatory observation;
in-depth informal interviews; focus
group discussions; and various PAR
techniques). The findings of this
research will ultimately inform
Street Child Africa’s work
in Sub-Saharan Africa with in terms
of the formulation of appropriate
policy and sustainable programme
interventions.
Research
Update, December 2006
Ruth Payne,
UK
I am now back in the UK, busy dealing
with all sorts of new challenges
and missing Zambia greatly! The
research continues to progress and
gets busier and busier! Being back
in the UK allows me to work more
closely with SCA and, together with
Patrick Shanahan, Felix Holman and
Sarah Burt, as well as academic
supervisors at Royal Holloway, University
of London: Prof. David Simon and
Dr Katie Willis, we are having interesting
debates about all the issues raised
during the data collection over
the past (and most recent) fieldwork
visit to Zambia which lasted for
six months. So, there is a lot of
news, but I have focussed on three
exciting developments. They should
give you some insight into what
has been going on!
Research
Project Workshop:
In October research stakeholders
meet to discuss the research project.
It was a great event, attended by
research assistants and representatives
from the Research Partners organisations.
Sessions on research findings, communication
and feedback plans were held and
many useful discussions took place.
Participants
at the Research Project Workshop,
October 2006 |
Research
Website:
The website is undergoing some significant
changes and developments with the
help of Sarah Burt (Assistant Programmes
Officer, Street Child Africa) who
has been uploading lots of new information
including profiles compiled by some
of the research partners (see links
below). These profiles and a great
way to get to know about the work
of partner organisations directly
and I would encourage you to contact
them directly if you are keen to
take your interest further!
Research
Newsletter:
Again, with Sarah’s help,
I am in the process of launching
an official newsletter specifically
dedicated to disseminating research
project news to all stakeholders
and other interested individuals
and organisations. The first issue
will be published at the end of
January and will be available to
download from the website in both
English and Bemba! The newsletter
will contain exciting news from
research partners and Core Community
Groups in Zambia as well as updates
on research progress and information
about all those involved in the
project. So, remember to check back
in January to see the newsletter!
Finally, please
do always get in touch if you wish
to discuss any aspect of this research.
It is always encouraging to hear
from others involved in similar
fields or who are simply interested
to know more!
To read
a Research update from January 2006
click here
To read a Research update from September
2006 click
here
To find
out about Partnerships in the field
please click
here
To read
about the different partner organisations
in the field, please click on their
names below:
Children
in Crisis
Rainbow
CHEP
Children's
Desk
Please note
these organisations are partnered
with the research and are not directly
linked with Street Child Africa.
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