‘I don’t think anyone thinks of us’: experiences of teenage head porters amidst COVID-19 in Ghana

IF 0.7 Q4 FAMILY STUDIES

Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies Pub Date : 2021-09-13 DOI:10.1080/17450128.2021.1975860

C. R. Mbamba, I. K. Ndemole, Madinatu Sarah Hassan, Stella Gmekpebi Gabuljah, Desire Senam Okpattah

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引用次数: 3

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Ghana, a population of teenage head porters have made the streets their sole living and breathing space. They are faced with several challenges as they live and work on the streets. The era of COVID-19 amidst several safety protocols that should be followed including maintaining physical and social distance as well as reducing movements appears to be detrimental to the survival patterns of teenager head porters as they live and work on the streets. Consequently, the study explores the experiences of teenage head porters in the wake of the pandemic to draw practice implications. Evidence was collected using semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 teenage head porters in Kumasi, Ghana. Narratives were analyzed thematically using reflective thematic analysis procedures. The study identified Kinship neglect and high exposure to infection as over-arching challenges experienced by teenage head porters on the streets amidst COVID-19. The study suggests providing emergency state intervention programs to aid teenage head porters' survival. Findings also support working with social workers to spearhead the campaign for these interventions as a humanitarian profession and recommend that the Department of Social Welfare collaborates with some agencies and organizations like the street children’s project in Accra and Kumasi to provide alternative economic engagements like vocational training to take them out of the streets.

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“我认为没有人会想到我们”:加纳新冠肺炎疫情期间青少年搬运工的经历

在加纳，一群十几岁的搬运工把街道当成了他们唯一的生活和呼吸空间。他们在街头生活和工作时面临着许多挑战。在2019冠状病毒病时代，人们应该遵守一些安全协议，包括保持身体和社交距离以及减少移动，这似乎不利于青少年搬运工的生存模式，因为他们在街头生活和工作。因此，该研究探讨了大流行后青少年搬运工的经历，以得出实践意义。通过对加纳库马西20名青少年搬运工的半结构化定性访谈收集证据。使用反思性主题分析程序对叙事进行主题分析。该研究确定，亲属关系忽视和高感染风险是2019冠状病毒病期间街头青少年搬运工面临的首要挑战。该研究建议提供紧急国家干预计划，以帮助青少年搬运工的生存。调查结果还支持与社会工作者合作，将这些干预措施作为一种人道主义职业，并建议社会福利部与一些机构和组织合作，如阿克拉和库马西的街头儿童项目，提供其他经济参与，如职业培训，让他们走出街头。

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来源期刊

Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies FAMILY STUDIES-

CiteScore

1.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies is an essential peer-reviewed journal analyzing psychological, sociological, health, gender, cultural, economic, and educational aspects of children and adolescents in developed and developing countries. This international publication forum provides a much-needed interdisciplinary focus on vulnerable children and youth at risk, specifically in relation to health and welfare issues, such as mental health, illness (including HIV/AIDS), disability, abuse, neglect, institutionalization, poverty, orphanhood, exploitation, war, famine, and disaster.