Emerging dynamics of substance abuse among street children in Zimbabwe. A case of Harare Central Business District

Abstract

The study explored the emerging dynamics of substance abuse amongst street children in Harare. The broader aim of the study was to assess the emerging trends of substance abuse among street children in Zimbabwe. The study used qualitative interviews for data collection. The study employed the principle of data saturation to sample the 15 street children who were interviewed and participated in this study. The study findings revealed that street children have now moved from abusing glue as a substance to the use of emerging hard-core substances such as mangemba, bronclee, maragadu, musombodia, codeine, high alcohol liquors such as blue diamond and cane-spirit. The study also revealed that drug dealers and syndicate leaders are now employing street children to sell drugs and substances thereby increasing the vulnerability of street children to abusing substances. The study concludes that drug abuse was a culture on the streets, as it is difficult for the children to survive in the streets without abusing drugs.

Keywords: drug abuse, substance abuse, street children, Zimbabwe