‘TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO’ (PROVERBS 22:6) : ASSESSING THE EXPERIENCES OF CHILDREN IN THE STREET HAWKING BUSINESS IN OBOLLO-AFOR, ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA, AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS
Children from the Old Testament perspectives are to be trained in a moral way for a better society; however, the increasing phenomenon of children hawking in the various streets in Obollo-Afor, Nigeria, This article provides an assessment of the experiences of children who are into street hawking in Obollo-Afor and its implications for faith-based organizations. There are various studies on street hawking in Nigeria; however, Obollo-Afor, where child street hawkers have received attention from the researchers, In this study, literature was extended into discovering their experiences and the impact of their experiences on themselves, their family, and the society at large. This study utilised a qualitative approach. The subjects of this study comprised child street hawkers in Obollo, spanning the period from 2023 to 2024. A purposeful sampling method was employed, with fifteen informants (n = 15) chosen for Key Informant Interviews (KII). The research utilised a semi-structured questionnaire. The findings were analysed using content analysis. The trustworthiness criteria established by Guba and Lincoln were satisfied to evaluate the quality of the findings. Emerged themes include: a) inability to afford school fees; b) conflict in home community; c) no background in literacy; d) long-term held beliefs and customs; e) physical and mental stress; f) sexual abuse; and g) child smoking. Recommendations are discussed.
Keywords: assessing, business, child, children, enugu, experiences, faith-based, go’, hawking, implications, nigeria, obollo-afor, organizations, proverbs, state, street, ‘train