The Role of Solvents in the Lives of Street Children

Summary

This article is published in the African Journal of Drug & Alcohol Studies and is available to read online free of charge.

This paper explores the use of solvents among a group of street children in Ruiru, a satellite town of Nairobi. Solvent use is functional- dulling the senses against the hardship of the street- yet it also provides a link to the support structure of the ‘street family’ as a potent symbol of shared experience. Organisations working to rehabilitate street children are criticised for failing to appreciate the social context of solvent dependence amongst street children. Dependence on glue is preceded by dependence on ‘street families’, therefore organisations working to rehabilitate street children need to ensure they work through, rather than in conflict with, the ‘street family’.