Once a Lion – Never a cat? A minor field study of former street children’s experiences of stigma and sustainable resettlement methods in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract: Research has shown that street children are exposed to discrediting and stigmatizing treatment, but what happens after the child has left the street? Does the discrediting treatment belong to street life or is the stigma a taint forever to be held? Once a street child, always a street child? – Once a lion, never a cat? From a first-hand perspective the issue of stigma among former street children has here been studied as well as how this may affect their way of living. In addition, as experts of the matter, the former street children have identified key-factors which makes the resettlement work of street children more sustainable. This Minor Field Study has taken place in the city of Kampala, Uganda, and has been performed through four interviews with three former street children as well as through observations. To enable an answer to the research questions, the data collected has been analyzed through Goffman’s (1963) Stigma theory as well as Antonovsky’s (1991) theory of Sense of Coherence. The study shows that former street children are exposed to stigmatizing treatment due to their experience of street life and that they are using different strategies to cope with this treatment. The division between the strategies can be explained by the study’s theoretical finding: the strategy of how to cope with the stigma is affected by the individual’s sense of coherence. Along with this, six key-factors of a preventive and individualized character have proven to be effective in the resettlement work of street children. A kind of work where former street children have proven to be great resources.