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Earning a living on the margins: begging, street work and the socio‐spatial experiences of children in addis ababa

Abstract This paper explores the everyday life experiences of boys and girls who beg on the streets in Addis Ababa. Based on seven months of child‐focused research, it discusses begging as an often overlooked but crucial aspect of social reproduction in which children earn resources in order to contribute towards their household livelihoods. It is argued that child beggars are not passive victims of their circumstances, but are aware of the fact that begging is not a perpetual predicament in their lives. Moreover, the activity of begging is complex and fluid, and is based on the changing nature of the children's experiences, livelihoods and socio‐economic conditions. Age, gender, social maturity and availability (or lack) of alternative income‐generating strategies are important variables shaping both their spatio‐temporal participation in and withdrawal from the activity. The perception of the public towards the children's involvement in begging and the children's own perceptions and reactions to it differ. The findings suggest that, as opposed to most children who construct their engagement as shikella, or simply business, the public has an ambivalent attitude, associating children with aspects of the culture of poverty, and considering them either ‘at’ risk or ‘as’ risks. The study concludes that interventions to improve these children's lives need to take more seriously their transient experiences, resources and social skills.