Children’s agency in responding to shocks and adverse events in Ethiopia

This paper focuses on children’s experiences of shocks and adverse events and their agency in dealing with the impacts of such events in Ethiopia, using survey and qualitative data collected from individuals and groups of children and young people. It draws on Young Lives data, including data from two qualitative sub-studies carried out in 2009 and 2010. It finds out that children have their own experiences of shocks, different from the experiences of adults or of the household as a whole, and that some of the shocks have long-term consequences for children’s well-being. The paper also argues that during difficult circumstances or crises, children are active social agents. Their agency is primarily reflected in their decisions to take on paid work and subsidise their families’ incomes and their own basic needs during crises. However, it also spells out that some of their coping mechanisms are so informal and fragile that they are only applicable in specific situations and then do not necessarily bring about sustainable change. In some situations, children are seen resorting to unfavourable coping mechanisms which later give rise to other shocks with long-term developmental and health consequences for them. Finally, the paper suggests that agency of children can be described as constrained and ‘thin’, cautioning that it is necessary to consider contexts and to acknowledge children’s agency as active while at the same time offering protection, in case children’s decisions lead to other vulnerabilities in the future

Children’s agency in responding to shocks and adverse events in Ethiopia

This paper focuses on children’s experiences of shocks and adverse events and their agency in dealing with the impacts of such events in Ethiopia, using survey and qualitative data collected from individuals and groups of children and young people. It draws on Young Lives data, including data from two qualitative sub-studies carried out in 2009 and 2010. It finds out that children have their own experiences of shocks, different from the experiences of adults or of the household as a whole, and that some of the shocks have long-term consequences for children’s well-being. The paper also argues that during difficult circumstances or crises, children are active social agents. Their agency is primarily reflected in their decisions to take on paid work and subsidise their families’ incomes and their own basic needs during crises. However, it also spells out that some of their coping mechanisms are so informal and fragile that they are only applicable in specific situations and then do not necessarily bring about sustainable change. In some situations, children are seen resorting to unfavourable coping mechanisms which later give rise to other shocks with long-term developmental and health consequences for them. Finally, the paper suggests that agency of children can be described as constrained and ‘thin’, cautioning that it is necessary to consider contexts and to acknowledge children’s agency as active while at the same time offering protection, in case children’s decisions lead to other vulnerabilities in the future.</p

Children’s agency in responding to shocks and adverse events in Ethiopia: Young Lives working paper 128

This paper focuses on children’s experiences of shocks and adverse events and their agency in dealing with the impacts of such events in Ethiopia, using survey and qualitative data collected from individuals and groups of children and young people. It draws on Young Lives data, including data from two qualitative sub-studies carried out in 2009 and 2010. It finds out that children have their own experiences of shocks, different from the experiences of adults or of the household as a whole, and that some of the shocks have long-term consequences for children’s well-being. The paper also argues that during difficult circumstances or crises, children are active social agents. Their agency is primarily reflected in their decisions to take on paid work and subsidise their families’ incomes and their own basic needs during crises. However, it also spells out that some of their coping mechanisms are so informal and fragile that they are only applicable in specific situations and then do not necessarily bring about sustainable change. In some situations, children are seen resorting to unfavourable coping mechanisms which later give rise to other shocks with long-term developmental and health consequences for them. Finally, the paper suggests that agency of children can be described as constrained and ‘thin’, cautioning that it is necessary to consider contexts and to acknowledge children’s agency as active while at the same time offering protection, in case children’s decisions lead to other vulnerabilities in the future.© Young Lives 2014. All rights reserved. Reproduction, copy, transmission, or translation of any part of this publication may be made only under the following conditions: with the prior permission of the publisher; or with a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd., 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE, UK, or from another national licensing agency; or under the terms set out below. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for teaching or non-profit purposes, but not for resale. Formal permission is required for all such uses, but normally will be granted immediately. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher and a fee may be payable

Rethinking orphanhood and vulnerability in Ethiopia

‘Orphans’ became a category of vulnerable children deserving special protection in the context of the global AIDS epidemic, and currently the notion of ‘Orphans and vulnerable children’, or ‘OVC’, dominates much of the policy for protecting children across sub-Saharan Africa. Analysis of survey and qualitative data from Young Lives in Ethiopia found that parental death does not guarantee the often assumed negative impacts on children’s experiences, and that inequalities between children are greater along dimensions of poverty and household location, compared to orphan status. ‘OVC’ obscures poverty as a main source of child vulnerability and is therefore an outdated approach.Copyright 2012 Taylor & Francis. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Development in Practice on 6/06/2012, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09614524.2012.673556 Published details: Crivello, Gina and Nardos Chuta (2012) ‘Rethinking Orphanhood and Vulnerability in Ethiopia’, Development in Practice 22 (4): 536-548. DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2012.673556 The article is reproduced in accordance with the self-archiving policies of Taylor & Francis

Towards a 'bright future': young people overcoming poverty and risk in two Ethiopian communities: Young Lives Working Paper 107

This paper explores young people’s views and experiences of poverty and everyday risks in two contrasting communities in Ethiopia. The data are from Young Lives, a long-term study of childhood poverty. Qualitative data were collected with a group of children born in 1994, at three time points (when they were aged 12, 13 and 16). The paper develops three lines of argument with respect to the multiple risks that young people negotiate as they transition to adulthood. The first point has to do with the role of local environments in shaping the risks that young people face, such that young men and women experience their spatial environments differently, and some risks differ by location (rural/urban). The second has to do with the way poverty exacerbates other risks in the transition to adulthood, by limiting choices and horizons, and by creating a sense of uncertainty. The third point has to do with the importance of social risks for young people, and the way that risks become more gender-differentiated and sexualised, in both the rural and urban settings, as children get older. This study finds that young people attempt to manage their material needs and livelihood strategies alongside their moral concerns to secure ‘bright futures’ for themselves and to become the kind of men and women who are looked up to in their societies. Policies and programmes wishing to support young people in poverty need also to be sensitive to the social and moral dimensions of their experiences.© Young Lives 2013. All rights reserved. Reproduction, copy, transmission, or translation of any part of this publication may be made only under the following conditions: with the prior permission of the publisher; or with a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd., 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE, UK, or from another national licensing agency; or under the terms set out below. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for teaching or non-profit purposes, but not for resale. Formal permission is required for all such uses, but normally will be granted immediately. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher and a fee may be payable

Rethinking orphanhood and vulnerability in Ethiopia

‘Orphans’ became a category of vulnerable children deserving special protection in the context of the global AIDS epidemic, and currently the notion of ‘Orphans and vulnerable children’, or ‘OVC’, dominates much of the policy for protecting children across sub-Saharan Africa. Analysis of survey and qualitative data from Young Lives in Ethiopia found that parental death does not guarantee the often assumed negative impacts on children’s experiences, and that inequalities between children are greater along dimensions of poverty and household location, compared to orphan status. ‘OVC’ obscures poverty as a main source of child vulnerability and is therefore an outdated approach.</p

Towards a 'bright future': young people overcoming poverty and risk in two Ethiopian communities

This paper explores young people’s views and experiences of poverty and everyday risks in two contrasting communities in Ethiopia. The data are from Young Lives, a long-term study of childhood poverty. Qualitative data were collected with a group of children born in 1994, at three time points (when they were aged 12, 13 and 16). The paper develops three lines of argument with respect to the multiple risks that young people negotiate as they transition to adulthood. The first point has to do with the role of local environments in shaping the risks that young people face, such that young men and women experience their spatial environments differently, and some risks differ by location (rural/urban). The second has to do with the way poverty exacerbates other risks in the transition to adulthood, by limiting choices and horizons, and by creating a sense of uncertainty. The third point has to do with the importance of social risks for young people, and the way that risks become more gender-differentiated and sexualised, in both the rural and urban settings, as children get older. This study finds that young people attempt to manage their material needs and livelihood strategies alongside their moral concerns to secure ‘bright futures’ for themselves and to become the kind of men and women who are looked up to in their societies. Policies and programmes wishing to support young people in poverty need also to be sensitive to the social and moral dimensions of their experiences

Towards a 'bright future' : young people overcoming poverty and risk in two Ethiopian communities

Nardos Chuta and Gina Crivell