William Myers

Michael Bourdillon

Every day millions of children in developing countries face adversities of many kinds, yet there is a shortage of sound evidence concerning their plight and an urgent need to identify the most appropriate and effective policy responses from among the multiple approaches that exist. This collection of journal papers aims to engage with researchers and debates in the field so as to understand better some of the numerous risks confronted by children in developing countries. It highlights the complexity of protecting children in various forms of adversity, challenges conventional wisdom about what protects children, demonstrates why it is essential to consult with children to protect them successfully, and suggests that successful protection must be based on strong empirical understanding of the situation and the perspectives of children and communities involved. The contributors are all experienced researchers and practitioners who have worked for many years with children in developing countries. The book offers suggestions for reform of current child protection policies, based on empirical findings around a range of child protection concerns, including children’s work, independent migration, family separation, early marriage, and military occupation. Together, the contributions provide a body of knowledge important to humanitarian and development policy and practice. This book was published as a special issue of Development in Practice.

Child Protection in Development

This book deals with problems facing children and youth in African cities today. African populations have high growth rates and, consequently, relatively high proportions of young people. Population growth in rural areas has stretched resources leading to urban migration and a rapid growth of cities. Economies have not grown apace with the population; and in some countries, economies have even shrunk. The result is a severe lack of resources in cities to meet the needs of the growing populations, shown in high unemployment, inadequate housing, poor services, and often extreme poverty. All the essays in this book draw attention to such urban environments, in which children and youth have to live and survive. The title of this book speaks of negotiating livelihoods. The concept of ‘livelihood’ has been adopted to incorporate the social and physical environment together with people’s responses to it. It considers not only material, but also human and social resources, including local knowledge and understanding. It, thus, considers the material means for living in a broader context of social and cultural interpretation. It, therefore, does not deal only with material and economic existence, but also with leisure activities, entertainments and other social forms of life developed by young people in response to the dictates of the environment. The book contains country-specific case studies of the problems faced by youths in many African cities, how they develop means to solve them, and the various creative ways through which they improve their status, both economically and socially, in the different urban spaces. It recognizes the potentials of young people in taking control of their lives within the constraints imposed upon them by the society. This book is a valuable contribution to the field of child and youth development, and a useful tool for parents, teachers, academics, researchers as well as government and non-government development agencies.

Negotiating the Livelihoods of Children and Youth in Africa's Urban Spaces

Afua Twum-Danso Imoh

Sylvia Meichsner

This book explores children’s lives across the Global North and Global South in the context of academic discussions of childhoods. The edited volume offers a unique selection of materials suitable for teaching in the areas of children, childhoods, young people, families, and education in a global context, as well as specific aspects of international development and social policy. While the focus of the project is conceptual rather than practical, the holistic understanding of childhoods that it encourages should also enable practitioners to better ensure that they are improving the lives of the children.

Michael Bourdillon

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