Abstract:
In 2017, of the 6.4 million boys and girls in Zimbabwe, 4.9 million lived in poverty, including 1.5 million in extreme poverty, and these children mostly come from households where adults are unemployed (ZIMSTAT, 2018). Poverty and environmental risks present the biggest threat to children in the form of pollution, violence, poor sanitation, poor diets and a lack of access to rights like education, health and a safe living environment. However, whilst children can be the biggest casualty of poverty and environmental risks, they have the agency to reduce the impact of poverty and environmental risks through their participation in designing, implementing and the monitoring and evaluation of programmes aimed at mitigating poverty and environmental risks.
The goal of the study was to explore and describe how children’s agency is recognised and respected in programmes/interventions aimed at reducing poverty and environmental risks in the Education for Income Programme at the Lighthouse Institute, Harare. The study adopted a qualitative research approach; it was exploratory and applied and the research design was an instrumental case study. The sample for the study was purposively chosen and included five key informants and five child participants from the Education for Income programme at the Lighthouse Institute. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and the data was analysed using thematic analysis.
The findings revealed that children are vulnerable to poverty and environmental risks and this vulnerability, together with lack of knowledge, violation of rights, lack of education, culture and the perception of children, have hindered the full participation of children in mitigating poverty and environmental risks. However, it was also found that children have agency and have the capacity to fully participate in mitigating poverty and environmental risks when they are empowered and understand the scope of their participation and their rights.
The study concluded that children should not be defined by their vulnerability and need for protection, but rather by their agency to make a contribution in matters that affect their lives. They should be recognised and respected by including them in all the phases of programmes intended to mitigate poverty and environmental risks. Recommendations made include creating awareness of the importance of child agency, adoption of policies that promote child agency and the use of a human rights-based approach when dealing with children.
Key words
Child
Agency
Child participation
Poverty
Environmental risks
Education for Income Programme, Lighthouse Institute, Harare
