Receiving Peer Support

On the street, young people can develop supportive relationships through which they may find belonging, social capital and support (Beazley 2003; Davies 2008; Evans 2006; Karabanow 2008; Lucchini 1993). Overcoming such social and emotional ties to the street as they leave, has been described as an emotional upheaval, which can emote both feelings of hope and self-confidence, as well as of ‘loneliness, guilt, and disloyalty’ (Karabanow 2008:782). Therefore, the friendships developed by young people as they leave the street would, to some extent, suggest a means of overcoming street-based attachments as they move forward. Many of the participants described friends that helped them to settle in when they first migrated to the street, and groups of street- connected children that slept together for protection, or worked together to earn money. They were not explicit about the importance of these relationships, or if they struggled to leave these friends behind. However, friends were mentioned as important to helping them find their feet, when they described arriving on the street and again when leaving it.

Peer support, or the impact of developing accepting and supportive relationships with peers, was a central theme in explaining the participants’ experiences of leaving the

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street. Friends and friendships were mentioned by all of the participants involved in the study, particularly in relation to peers supported by the same organisation, or attending the same schools and training centres. The nature of the social interactions they shared with peers at various points along the transition journey was instrumental to developing a sense of belonging to the communities in which they lived and were educated. The

support through acceptance they received was especially influential before and after a physical transition: such as moving from the street to a transitional care centre, from a transitional care centre to school, and from primary school to secondary school. This support was most evident in the interactions between the young men from the cohort at

Imani.

As I saw the participants from Imani on a daily basis at the drop-in centre, I witnessed the friendship groups that they had developed with each other, and with others who had made the transition from the street into vocational training. This social network was not necessarily comprised of individuals who were on the street together, and they had not all been through Imani‘s reintegration programme (a stay at the short-term transitional care centre before moving home), but their shared identity as a result of their similar histories and experiences formed the basis of supportive friendships. They spent time together at the garage complex where they were training, at the drop-in centre, and

Participants’ Pen Portraits Box 4.1

Andrew was supported by Imani to train as a mechanic. He lived with a friend in one of the informal

settlements very close to his mother (an alcoholic) and his siblings. Andrew had been on the street on two separate occasions. The first time he lived in Nairobi as a 10 year old boy with his older brother, who still lived on the street with his partner and child. The second time he lived on the street, he could no longer attend secondary school in the town where the study took place. He was taken to Imani by Thomas, another participant, and requested an apprenticeship so that he could earn money as he trained. At the time of the research Andrew was the main breadwinner in the family.

Chebete was supported by Matumaini to train as a tailor at the polytechnic. She lived at home with her

aunt, siblings and cousin, and walked to the polytechnic each morning to attend her training course. Chebete was having difficulties at home as her aunt was struggling to support all of the young people living with her.

Faith was supported by Matumaini to train as a tailor at the polytechnic. She lived at home with her

mother and walked to the polytechnic each morning to attend her training course. Faith had previously finished primary school at Tumekuja while she stayed at Matumaini’s centre, visiting her family at weekends.

Thomas was supported by Imani to train as a mechanic. He lived with a friend in the informal

settlement, very close to his mother and his siblings. His mother had a respiratory disease and was unable to work. Thomas had been on the street on three separate occasions. The first time was when he lived in Nairobi. He moved to the town where the study took place when a “good Samaritan” assisted his family to move. At the time of the research he was the main breadwinner in the family.

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during their social time.

As well as being rooted in shared experiences of transition, the friendships between the young men were also the result of one of them being integral to the other deciding to leave the street. A number of the young men referred to a ‘friend’ who took the role of convincing them to approach the staff at Imani for assistance. Thomas met Andrew and took him to the drop-in centre, which formed the basis of their close friendship: Andrew referred to Thomas as his “best friend”, and vice versa. There were similarities in their backgrounds, as both of them supported incapacitated single mothers and their siblings, as well as having lived on the street, and this shared understanding made their friendship stronger.

The cohort of young people supported by Matumaini to train at the polytechnic shared a similar sense of camaraderie. A number of the trainees boarded together at the

polytechnic dormitories and the day students lived close to each other in one of the informal settlement outside of the town. Being associated with Matumaini appeared to give them a structure of support.

At Matumaini there is safety and security, and supportive friends…who listen.

Chebete

Chebete mentions the importance of support from friends, which some of the young people at the polytechnic referred to as continuing after they had completed this stage of their education. For example, Chebete and her friend Faith made plans to share their business endeavours as tailors once they had completed their courses.

The young people at the polytechnic had lived at Matumaini’s centre together and developed strong friendships over a number of years. At the centre, the children stay Monday to Friday, attending the primary school across the road, and go home at

weekends and holidays, therefore they spend most of their time with their friends at the centre. If they were moved to another primary school, because of good exam

performance for example, they did so in groups and tended to board there. Therefore, if the young people at the polytechnic are representative of the Matumaini experience,

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providing a support network of young people who have similar life experiences could be said to develop social capital and strong emotional ties.

Usaidizi and Imani followed different models of reintegration, in which young people

transition from the street to short-term transition centres before returning home. The long-term benefits from the peer support provided during their time in transitional care may not be guaranteed, especially if they were the only young person to return to their particular community and school from the centres. Five of the participants lived in rural homes and attended schools nearby, where they were the only student to have been supported by one of the three organisations. In addition, children graduating to boarding secondary schools (who were not part of this study) may have found themselves boarding alone. In the next two sections I explore the relationships between those participants’ who were attending primary and secondary schools and their peers from the wider school communities.