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Nadia Owusu-Ofori SOCIAL SUPPORT of CHILD MIGRANTS in ACCRA, GHANA the Experiences of Young Female Head Porters (Kayayei)

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Nadia Owusu-Ofori SOCIAL SUPPORT of CHILD MIGRANTS in ACCRA, GHANA the Experiences of Young Female Head Porters (Kayayei) Nadia Owusu-Ofori SOCIAL SUPPORT OF CHILD MIGRANTS IN ACCRA, GHANA The Experiences of Young Female Head porters (Kayayei) Declaration I do hereby declare that apart from references to other people’s work what have been duly acknowledged, this thesis is my own work. ………………………………………………………….. Nadia Owusu-Ofori November, 2018, NTNU Trondheim, Norway i Acknowledgement I thank God Almighty for His guidance and protection and for giving me the knowledge and strength throughout this research process. I would also like to express my warmest gratitude to the participants in this study for their time and cooperation. I am also very grateful to my supervisors, Professor Randi Dyblie Nilsen and Professor Vebjørg Tingstad, for their time, guidance, support and encouragement throughout the whole writing process and aiding in the successful completion of this thesis. I would also like to thank all the lectures and Staff of the Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB) at NTNU, for their kind gesture, tuition and administrative support throughout my studies at the centre. I would also like to say a big thank you all my friends who have supported me inn diverse ways throughout this journey, with their words of encouragement and kind gestures. Lastly, I express my profound gratitude to my family, especially my mum and dad. Mr. Charles Owusu-Ofori and Mrs Christiana Yartey, for their prayers and financial and emotional support. I could not have done this without them. Also, I appreciate the love from all my siblings. God richly bless everyone who has contributed towards the success of my studies. ii Dedication I dedicate this thesis to God, my father Mr Charles Owusu-Ofori, my mother Mrs Christiana Yartey and the entire family. iii Abstract This study aims to explore the experiences of young female head porters on their social support and how that helps them survive in the city of Accra. It aims to discuss how the social networks of the head porters functioned in the lives of these girls. Furthermore, the study sought to find out more about the roles and challenges of stakeholders in their provision of support for the female head porters. The overarching perspective of this study is grounded in the philosophy of the social studies of children and childhood. The principles of childhood as a social construct and viewing children as active social agents in matters concerning them were paramount in this study. Other concepts like social support, social network and children’s work were also included in the study as an unpinning framework. The study employed the qualitative research approach in the collection of data. It employed multiple participatory methods such as participant observation, focus group discussions, semi- structured interviews. Field notes and other reflections from observations were included. The total number of participants in this study were twelve female head porters who were between the ages of 11 and 17 years. The study was conducted in the Nima market where the female head porters lived and worked. I conducted semi structured interviews with one government official and four informants from different NGOs. The analysis of the study reveals that the common forms of supports received by female head porters from their social networks were instrumental, emotional and informational support. The findings suggest that instrumental support from friends was very prominent in the lives of my participants while they relied mostly on family for emotional support. The study further reveals that children continue to demonstrate their ability to survive in the face of adversities by developing coping strategies through their social networks and employing their agency in various situations. This study therefore suggests that stakeholders providing support for the female head porters must increase children’s participation in decision making to gain a better understanding of their needs in order to provide appropriate interventions. iv Table of Content Acknowledgement .......................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 An overview .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the problem ...................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Aims of the project ................................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Main research questions ........................................................................................................ 4 1.5 Significance of the study ....................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Thesis outline ........................................................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................... 7 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................... 7 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Brief description of Ghana .................................................................................................... 7 2.3 The study area; Accra ............................................................................................................ 8 2.4 Northern Region .................................................................................................................... 8 2.5 Child policies in Ghana ......................................................................................................... 9 2.6 Intervention programs for Kayayei ..................................................................................... 10 2.7 North-South migration in Ghana ......................................................................................... 11 2.8 History of head portage in Ghana ....................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................................. 13 THEORITICAL PERSPECTIVES AND CONCEPTS ................................................................ 13 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Social studies of children and childhood............................................................................. 13 3.3 Perceptions of children and childhood ................................................................................ 15 3.3.1 Childhood in Ghana ...................................................................................................... 17 3.4 Agency and resilience ......................................................................................................... 18 3.5 Children’s work ................................................................................................................... 20 3.6 Social support ...................................................................................................................... 21 v 3.7 Social network ..................................................................................................................... 22 3.8 Brief literature review ......................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................... 27 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................. 27 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 27 4.2 Gaining access ..................................................................................................................... 27 4.3 Research site ........................................................................................................................ 29 4.4 Choice of informants and sampling techniques .................................................................. 29 4.5 Methods of data collection .................................................................................................. 31 4.5.1 Participant
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