Socio-Cultural Animation As Community Based Social Work with Street Children in Maputo, Mozambique

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Trepo - Institutional Repository of Tampere University MIGUEL L. MARRENGULA Addressing Socio-cultural Animation as Community Based Social Work with Street Children in Maputo, Mozambique ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Tampere, for public discussion in the Auditorium Pinni B 1100 Kanslerinrinne 1, Tampere, on December 11th, 2010, at 10 o’clock. UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE ACADEMIC DISSERTATION University of Tampere Department of Social Work Research Finland Distribution Tel. +358 40 190 9800 Bookshop TAJU Fax +358 3 3551 7685 P.O. Box 617 [email protected] 33014 University of Tampere www.uta.fi/taju Finland http://granum.uta.fi Cover design by Mikko Reinikka Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 1566 Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis 1015 ISBN 978-951-44-8268-7 (print) ISBN 978-951-44-8269-4 (pdf) ISSN-L 1455-1616 ISSN 1456-954X ISSN 1455-1616 http://acta.uta.fi Tampereen Yliopistopaino Oy – Juvenes Print Tampere 2010 Acknowledgements It would be too selfish of me to say that this work was done by me alone. This study is the result of much effort and commitment on the part of a large number of people without whom it would have not taken place. I thank you all for filling the gaps in my mind and my soul, for providing me with psychological, economic and moral support during the writing of this book. I sincerely thank my supervisors, Leena Kurki and Tarja Pösö, both of whom have patiently guided me through the thinking process and the writing of this dissertation. Your care and patience, your knowledge and wisdom have enlightened me through the years when this work was being completed. I am truly indebted to you. Thanks to the team of the Africa•America Institute, Mozambique, which have taken care of the administrative matters of my grant, and to the Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program for entrusting me with the grant to fulfil this dream. Without such support this work would not exist. To the teachers and other staff members of the University of Tampere, such as Professor Jorma Sipila, Dr. Irene Roivainen, Professor Tuomas Takala, Lecturer and PhD candidate Anna Metteri, Lecturer and PhD candidate Sinikka Forsman, Professor Hanelle Forsberg, Mrs Seija Veneskoski, Ms. Eeva•Maija Forsman, Mrs. Paula Palin, Ms. Hanna Karoll, Mrs. Terhi Raitakari, Ms. Paula Ristimäki, and Ms. Satu Ylinen, among others, I thank you for the support you gave me in many different ways. I also thank Mr. Abdul Faquir, Abdul Remane, Hernano, Isac, João, Crimilda, Helena, among others, from Meninos de Moçambique, Dr. Samuel Quive from UEM, Mrs. Sonia Nhamtumbo from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mozambique, Rede CAME Mozambique, the Associação Reconstruindo a Esperança in Mozambique, the Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Comunidade (FDC Moçambique), LINK Mozambique, Ingrid Shawner youth rehabilitation centre Mozambique, Arco Iris Ministry rehabilitation centre for street children Mozambique, Global Social Work Association Finland among other people and organizations , for the help provided during the field work and the research process. iii My special thanks go to Professor (emeritus) Rauni Räsänen, Professor Vishanthie Sewpaul, and Professor Kirsi Juhila for the valuable comments and guidance you provided during the evaluation of this dissertation. Your comments were invaluable in completing this book. I thank all the 12 street children and the 6 families for sharing their lives with me, for participating in this research and for contributing to the development of this work. Your efforts mean a lot to me and I will never forget your dreams. I also thank all my colleagues at the University of Tampere, such as Rosi Eenros, Sirpa Saario, Katja Kuusisto, Tarja Vuorela, Satu Ranta•Tyrkkö, Jeni•Mari Rässänen, Mikko Perkio, Olli Karsio, Masaya Shimmei, among others, for the help (psychological, economical, academic and moral) you have given me. You will always be very precious to me. Many people have read this work and provided valuable comments, and I am not able to recall all the names; however, I thank you all for your support, especially to Narciso Mahumana, Carlos Cuinhane, Santiago Merino Lopez, Sanna Rynanen, Riikka Salokangas, Emmanuel Eneh, Mesue Nikolas, Mirja Hentila, Jaana Salo, Tuomas Murole, Anu Sianoja, and Emmanuel Shey, among others. I also thank Mr. Roger Luke, for providing his expertise for language proofreading and editing of this book. Your efforts have had important effects on the actual structure of this work and will always be of great value to me. Special thanks go to my wife Nesse Cinturão•Marrengula, for her support; few women have the courage she has, to stay alone for many years for the sake of the education of her husband. For this I shall be indebted to her all my life. Thank you for caring for me and for loving me, for drying my tears from far away and for kissing my heart when I was weak and for telling me not to give up. I thank my daughters who in many ways have increased their pressure on me to work hard, and, even harder, for loving me and giving me the courage to do it and not to give up. Thank you Shaquira Marrengula, Sházia Marrengula and Jennifa Marrengula. iv Abstract The study addresses socio•cultural animation (SCA) as a social work approach in a Mozambican context by showing the way it can be applied in promoting street children’s active participation for social change, on the development of an emancipator practice throughout consciousness and self awareness, and the promotion of child rights within street children groups and communities. The central argument in this study is that the use of the SCA approach with street children, its philosophy and ethical concerns, enables democratic participation, where street children develop awareness and consciousness in order to reveal their competence in directing observations about their social settings, and in promoting their active engagement with other team members in decision making for social change. Methodologically, the study was based on a SCA participatory action research project in the city of Maputo, Mozambique, during a six month period, from June to December 2009. Framed in a hermeneutic•humanist perspective, with a research team composed of 12 street children and 4 professionals (1 psychologist, 1 nurse, 1 street educator and 1 social worker), the study produced data on the basis of a qualitative research approach, through a combination of methods such as dialogical conversation, direct observation and active participation on daily activities. In this study SCA praxeology integrates theory and practice byworking with street children rather than working for street children. The study brings insights into the possibility of applying SCA participatory action research as a practical approach on social work practice, where research and practice come together in a reflexive perspective. Through the active participation of street children, the study promoted emancipation, self•confidence, self•awareness and revealed the street children’s capabilities to take informed decisions that have produced changes in their lives, impacting on the social transformation of their community. Key words: Socio•cultural animation, street children, active participation and social change. v Abreviations CCA• Child to Child Association FAO• Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations FDC• Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Comunidade [Foundation for Community Development, Mozambique] FRELIMO• Frente de Libertação de Moçambique [Liberation Front of Mozambique] IMF• International Monetary Fund INE• Instituto Nacional de Estatística [National Institute of Statistics, Mozambique] MISAU• Ministério de Saúde [Ministry of Health, Mozambique] MOZAL• Mozambique Aluminium Company RENAMO• Resistência Nacional de Moçambique [National Resistance of Mozambique] UA• African Union UK• United Kingdom UN• United Nations UNESCO• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNDP• United Nations Development Program UNICEF• United Nations Children’s Fund USA• United States of America vi CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 12 1.1. STREET CHILDREN PHENOMENON 13 1.2. SEARCHING FOR A DEFINITION 15 1.3. GENDER DIFFERENCES 19 1.4. AGE DIFFERENCES 21 1.5. PUSH AND PULL FACTORS 22 1.6. STREET CHILDREN AS A GLOBAL PHENOMENON: SOME FIGURES 23 1.7. CONTEXT OF THE STUDY: MOZAMBIQUE IN BRIEF 25 1.8. THE STREET CHILDREN PROBLEM AND THE RELEVANCE OF THIS STUDY 29 1.9. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 33 1.10. SUMMARY 34 CHAPTER 2 : COMMUNITY, CHILDHOOD AND ORIGINS OF STREET CHILDREN 36 2.1. INTRODUCTION 36 2.2. COMMUNITY AS A CONCEPT 37 2.3. CHILDHOOD AS COMMUNITY ISSUE IN A CONTEXT OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN MOZAMBIQUE 43 2.4. THE MEANING OF ‘CHILD’ IN MOZAMBIQUE: SOME GENERAL ASPECTS 45 2.5. THE ORIGINS OF THE STREET CHILDREN PHENOMENON FROM BRONFENBRENNER’S PERSPECTIVE 48 2.5.1. Socio•ecological theory and street children phenomena 49 2.5.2. Street children community 57 2.6. ADDRESSING A COMMUNITY•BASED APPROACH ON STREET CHILDREN’S WELFARE 59 2.7. SUMMARY 62 CHAPTER 3 : SOCIO•CULTURAL ANIMATION 64 3.1. INTRODUCTION 64 3.2. DEFINITIONS OF SOCIO•CULTURAL ANIMATION 64 3.3. ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIO•CULTURAL ANIMATION 69 3.3.1. The hot universe of animation 71 3.3.2. The cold universe of animation 72 3.4. ONTOLOGICAL AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SCA 72 3.5. THE THEORY OF SOCIO•CULTURAL ANIMATION 75 3.6. SCA PRAXEOLOGY AS RESEARCH APPROACH 78 CHAPTER 4 : SCA AS PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH 84 4.1. INTRODUCTION 84 4.2. ACTION RESEARCH: ORIGINS AND DEFINITIONS 86 4.2.1. Origins of action research 86 4.2.2. Definitions of action research 87 4.3. SCA AS PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH 88 7 4.4. GENERAL STEPS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SCA AS PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH 95 4.4.1.

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