Church-based service provision for street-frequenting young men in Suva, Fiji

Authors

  • Patrick Vakaoti A Fijian academic at the University of Otago’s Department of Social Work and Community Development.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol22iss4id30

Keywords:

Youth, Fiji, street frequenting, faith-based, space

Abstract

This paper draws from the results of research with street-frequenting young men in Suva, Fiji. It specifically discusses the interventionist work of Christian-based organisations with street-frequenting young men who through the lenses of spatial ordering and ideological transgression are constructed as being ‘out of place’. Church organisations work to reclaim the perceived lost childhood and youthful status associated with a street-frequenting ex- istence. In doing so they adopt a ‘basic needs’ approach characterised by the provision of food and to a lesser extent shelter. Whilst popular, this approach is limited in that it fails to address the structural and discursive positions that place street-frequenting young people on the margins of society. The paper concludes with a call for meaningful engagement with street-frequenting young people in an effort towards recognising their right to existence and survival. 

References

De Benitez, S. L. (2003). Reactive, protective and rights-based approaches in work with homeless street youths. Children, Youth and Environments, 13 (1). Retrieved 14 July 2007 from http://colorado.edu/journals/cye.

Dybicz, P. (2005). Interventions for street children: An analysis of current best practices. International Social Work, 48(6), 763-771.

Ennew, J., & Swart-Kruger, J. (2003). Introduction: Homes, places and spaces in the construction of street children and street youth. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1). Retrieved 13 July 2006 from http://cye.colorado.edu.

Goffman, E. (1991). Asylums: Essays on the situation of mental patients and other inmates. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Hecht, T. (1998). At home in the street: Children of North East Brazil. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Hewitt, T., & Smyth, I. (1999). Street lives and family lives in Brazil. In T. Skelton & T. Allen (Eds.) Culture and global change. London: Routledge.

Lalakato, A. (2007). Couple cares for street kids. Fiji Times Online. Retrieved 20 January 2011 from http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=63492.

Liebel, M. (2003). Working children as social agents: The contribution of working children’s organisations to social transformations. Childhood, 10(3), 265-285.

O’Kane, C. (2003). Street and working children’s participation in programming for their rights. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1). Retrieved 14 July 2007 from http://cye.colorado.edu.

Pare, M. (2003). Why have street children disappeared? The role of international human rights law in protecting vulnerable groups. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 11, 1-32.

Panter-Brick, C. (2002). Street children, human rights, and public health: A critique and future directions. Annual Review of Anthropology, 31, 147-171.

Sauve, S. (2003). Changing paradigms for working with street youth: the experience of street kids international. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1). Retrieved 6 July 2007 from http://cye.colorado.edu.

Scott, J. (1990). Domination and the arts of resistance: Hidden transcripts. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Vakaoti, P. (1998). Socially disaffiliated and marginalized youths in urban Fiji: a study of underprivileged youths at Chevalier Hostel. (Unpublished MA thesis). University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.

Van Beers, H. (1996). A plea for a child-centred approach in research with street children. Childhood, 3, 195-201.

Downloads

Published

2016-07-08

How to Cite

Vakaoti, P. (2016). Church-based service provision for street-frequenting young men in Suva, Fiji. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 22(4), 5–11. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol22iss4id30

Issue

Section

Articles