Report on Street Children in Mauritius

Summary

The need for conducting a specialized study on the issue of ‘children in street situation’ in Mauritius arose from a number of reasons, primarily:
1. The lack of specialized studies on the issue of street children in Mauritius and the lack of accurate statistics on the size of the problem;
2. The scarcity or total absence of data on the characteristics of children in street situation, including, how they spend their time, why they remain in the streets, the reasons for neglect and exposure and other such information;
3. The absence of appropriate policies for protecting these children so as to avoid the pitfalls of delinquency, substance abuse, HIV /AIDS etc.
The overarching objective of this study is to define and quantify the street children phenomenon in Mauritius in view of finding appropriate solutions to the related problems.
Specific objectives:
1. To define the socio-economic and cultural profile of a child in street situation; 2. To identify what type of support, guidance or life skills they need in order to avoid the pitfalls of delinquency, substance abuse and HIV /AIDS and to succeed in life;

3. To identify the community structures and government institutions that can contribute in their assistance and follow-up, and determine in what way they can be of help; and
4. To propose a line of action that can be taken to effectively help the child in street situation of Mauritius by the various potential actors.