Contested identities of street kids

Street kid' and what can or cannot be done to a person so defined is a contested issue. Often, only voices of the hegemonic moral order count. In Zambia, these voices depict street kids not only as needy victims of socio-economic forces who take up abnormal childhood but also as a social menace to be eradicated. The thesis of this book, anchored on ideas of space and social construction of meaning, makes self-portraits count. Insights drawn from the analysis of peripatetic interviews are instructive for both the theory and practice of working with street kids. As Zambian street kids carve for themselves a survival niche on the streets, they contest ascribed negative identities and strategically position themselves as 1) vulnerable victims, 2) heroic victims, and 3) human beings par excellence. These identities, connected to street kids' hard times life trajectories, act as tools for social activism. Firstly, they help legitimise street kids' unreserved inclusion in the mainstream society while undermining ascribed negative identities by which they are separated from, and discriminated against, by society. Secondly, the identities are a tool for attracting charitable reactions.