Street Life as Labour: The Working Lives of Street Children in Accra

Yaw Ofosu-Kusi and Phil Mizen, Winneba, Ghana

 Yaw Ofosu-Kusi and myself undertook over three years fieldwork examining 'street life as labour', in which we explored the lives of street children in Ghana's capital city Accra, and the labour this involves. We have done so by considering children's own accounts of the work and labour necessary to live and work on the streets of Accra, where we have observed the children, engaged them in conversation, conducted interviews and group discussions, and elicited accounts of street life through photography. We have explored their migration from home to city, their attempts at paid work and the generation of incomes, the work required to keep on living a life on the streets, their friendships, cooperation and sources of reciprocity. Some of the children's photographs can be viewed here and reference to our writings can be found here.