Bujumbura’s street boys speak out: self-image, agency, development interventions

“I think it is somewhat arbitrary to try to dissociate the effective practice of freedom by people, the practice of social realities, and the spatial distributions in which they find themselves. If they are separated, they become impossible to understand. Each can only be understood through the other.” Foucault (cited in Rabinow, 1991:246) This study situates Burundian street boys within the context of participation, agency and development interventions’ debates. Through a participatory approach that takes into account street boys lived experiences in the streets of Bujumbura, this research seeks to identify key barriers that prevent street children’s full participation in the implementation of development programs aiming at their ‘rehabilitation’. While the mainstreaming of development programs presents a powerful mandate for addressing the issue of street children, the experiences and voices of Burundian street boys reveal problematic trends in its implementation. In identifying the discrepancy between NGOs interventions and street boys’ realities, this research suggests ways in which NGO programs for street children’ rehabilitation can become a truly transformative process.