Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online) Vol.4, No.12, 2014 104 Demonstrating Agency and Resilience amidst Recurrent Health Challenges: A Case of Street Children in Kumasi Metropolitan Area Padmore Adusei Amoah 1 and Joseph Edusei 2 1. B.Sc. Development Planning, M.Phil. in Development Studies. Centre for Settlements Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Email: padmoreamoah@yahoo.com 2. B.Sc. Planning, M.Sc. Rural and Urban Planning. Centre for Settlements Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Email: joeedus@yahoo.com Abstract A substantial number of people across the globe live in extreme poverty and deprivation. With regards to children, a significant number of them especially those in the developing countries are entrapped in a cycle of poverty which has extensively limited their development. One of such groups of children includes street children who often live on the margins of major cities. Their poor living conditions constantly expose them to diverse health related risks and problems. A number of these children have however thrived on streets amidst the prevailing health related challenges. According to research, this is attributed to skills and attitude which enables them to thrive adequately. These peculiar skills and attitudes are summed up in the concepts of agency and resilience. Emphasis has lately been placed on the ingenuity these group of children exhibit in dealing with their everyday challenges such as health problems. The paper finds that, despite their poverty levels and hardships, these children showed traits of self motivation, creativity, flexibility and adaptability which demonstrated their agency. Moreover, they were able take advantage of meagre opportunities such as their limited social capital, little erratic incomes and experience on the streets to address some of their health problems by themselves. The paper thus argues that, it is pertinent for these special skills and coping mechanisms to be critically incorporated into efforts geared at the health related wellbeing of poor and vulnerable groups. This could be done through the application of appropriate participatory methods in the initiation and implementation of relevant policies and strategies to give people the opportunity to demonstrate their inherent capabilities as human beings. Key Words and Phrases: Agency, Resilience, Health, Street Children, poor and vulnerable, participation, 1.0 Background A significant number of people across the globe live in extreme poverty and deprivation. Poverty is an issue that bears down across generations and affects the quality of life of young and old alike (James & James, 2012). With regards to children, a substantial number of them especially those in the developing countries are entrapped in a cycle of poverty which has extensively limited their development. An increasing number of children around the world find themselves with no choice but to make a living for their own survival and sometimes that of their families (Kobayashi, 2004). One of such groups of children includes street children. Although argumentative, these children constitute one of the groups of people who come from families that have only 60% of the median national income before housing costs are met (James & James, 2012, p. 93). The phenomenon of street children is thus basically propagated by poverty as well as factors such as family unrest and disintegration and natural disasters (Kwankye, Anarfi, Tagoe, & Castald, 2007; Thomas de Benitez, 2003, 2011). With regards to health, it is argued that every aspect of children's health are affected by poverty in terms of rates of sickness and mortality; incidence of mental health problems; quality of housing and education; involvement in crime and delinquency and employment prospects (James & James, 2012, p. 93). Inadequate access to basic needs such as health, education, potable water and adequate sanitation as well as financial constrains has led to a state of weakness at the wake of constant exposure to risk among some poor children. Street children refer to children who live and/or work on the street (James & James, 2012, p. 126). Broadly, the term connotes "....any girl or boy who is under the age of eighteen and who has left his/her home environment part time or permanently (because of problems at home and/or in school, or try to alleviate those problems) and who spends most of his/her time unsupervised on the street as part of a subculture of children who live an unprotected communal life and who depend on themselves and each other, and/or not on an adult, for the provision of physical and emotional needs, such as food, clothing, nurturance, direction and socialization" (Schurink, 1993 cited in Grundling & Grundling, 2005, p. 175; see also Thomas de Benitez, 2011, p. 7). Street children often live in the margins of major cities. In most developing countries, these places include public areas