Navigating life at the margins: social identity and survival among street-connected children in the slum of Makerere Kivulu, Kampala

Abstract

Street-connected children in Kampala’s urban slums navigate complex realities shaped by poverty, marginalization, and limited institutional support. This study explores how Street connected children construct identities, exercise agency, and develop survival strategies. Using qualitative methods, the research examines how peer networks and informal social structures shape daily life, analyzes psychosocial and practical coping mechanisms, and investigates interactions with institutional actors such as police, NGOs, and schools. The study was conducted in Makerere Kivulu, Kampala, Uganda, among street-connected children living and working in the area. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with street-connected children, alongside key informant interviews with selected community and organizational stakeholders. Study findings highlight the resilience and creativity of street-connected children, who negotiate societal labels while asserting self defined identities. Peer networks emerge as critical sources of support, solidarity, and informal regulation. Coping strategies range from spiritual practices to resource-sharing economies, reflecting adaptive responses to structural exclusion. Interactions with institutions reveal ambivalence: while some children perceive NGOs and schools as sources of opportunity, others experience policing and discipline as forms of control and marginalization. The study contributes to sociological understandings of childhood at the margins by emphasizing the importance of recognizing agency in contexts of vulnerability. It recommends policy interventions that move beyond protectionist frameworks to embrace participatory approaches, ensuring that the voices of street-connected children inform urban development strategy