In this article, we examine the social networks that enable working children on the streets of Addis Ababa to cope and exercise agency under adverse circumstances. Based on qualitative interviews with 45 children, we explore how they take part in new and existing social networks. We analyse the work of social networks and explain how they help the individual child to attain physical and economic security, secure living quarters, food supply, and formal and informal schooling. Finally, we discuss to what extent the networks can be considered as social capital for the children.
AbebeTGizawSMekonnenT. (2013) Chapter 4: Migrant children’s portfolio of street-based livelihoods in urban Ethiopia. In: AbebeTKjørholtAT (eds) Childhood and Local Knowledge in Ethiopia. Trondheim; Oslo: Akademika forlag, 99–126.
2.
AptekarLAbebeB (1997) Conflict in the neighborhood. Street and working children in the public space. Childhood4(4): 477–490.
3.
AssefaM (2005) Gender dimensions of urban poverty in Ethiopia: The case of three Kebeles in Addis Ababa. In: KassahunDAssefaM (eds) Issues in Urban Poverty – Two Papers, FSS Studies on Poverty. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Forum for Social Studies (FSS), 25–55.
4.
BourdieuP (1986) The forms of capital. In: RichardsonJG (ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood Press, 241–258.
5.
BoydenJLingBMyersW (1998) What Works for Working Children. Florence: UNICEF/Rädda Barnen (Save the Children Sweden).
ColemanJS (1990) Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA; London: The Bel Knap Press of Harvard University Press.
12.
ConnollyMEnnewJ (1996) Introduction to children out of place. Childhood3(2): 131–145.
13.
JamesAProutA (1997) Chapter 1: A new paradigm for the sociology of childhood? Provenance, promise and problems. In: JamesAProutA (eds) Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood, 2nd edn.London: Falmer Press, 7–33.
14.
LeonardM (2005) Children, childhood and social capital: Exploring the links. Sociology34(4): 605–622.
15.
MorrowV (1999) Conceptualising social capital in relation to the well-being of children and young people: A critical review. The Sociological Review47(4): 744–765.
16.
MulugetaE (2005) Working on the streets to cope with childhood poverty: Problems and resilience of children in Addis Ababa. Journal of Ethiopian Studies38(1): 151–174.
17.
MulugetaE (2008) Negotiating poverty: Problems and coping strategies of women in five cities of Ethiopia. In: MulugetaE (ed.) Urban Poverty in Ethiopia: The Economic and Social Adaptations of Women. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Addis Ababa University Press, pp. 10–66.
18.
NieuwenhuysO (1997) Spaces for the children of the urban poor: Experiences with participatory action research. Environment & Urbanization9: 233–249.
19.
PoluhaE (2007) Chapter VII: Research on Ethiopian children. Subjects covered and possible new themes. In: PoluhaE (ed.) The World of Girls and Boys in Rural and Urban Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Forum for Social Studies/Save the Children, 181–211.
20.
PortesA (2000) The two meanings of social capital. Sociological Forum15(1): 1–12.
21.
PutnamRD (2000) Bowling Alone. New York: Simon & Schuster.
22.
TeferraTShiferawHShibeshiA (1997) A study on child labor in the Informal Sector of three selected urban areas in Ethiopia. ANNPCAN, Red Barnet and DANIDA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December.
23.
Weiss RobertS (1994) Learning from Strangers. The Art and Method of Qualitative Interview Studies. New York: The Free Press.
