The Lived Experience of Homeless Street Mothers in Jimma City, Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the parenting related lived experiences of homeless street mothers in Jimma City. Constructivism paradigm and hermeneutic phenomenological research method were employed. I used Judgmental/ purposive sampling to select 11 participants of the study. Data was collected through in-depth interview and supplemented by non-participant observation to explore the lived experience of mothers within their complex setting. The data analysis technique was a thematic analysis. The ethical issues in this study include confidentiality, anonymity, refraining from committing harm on participants and requiring the consent of participants. The findings of this study demonstrate that factors that drive mothers to the street include divorce, death of significant others, health complications, and economic problems; and mothers after they have gone out to the street, they experience loneliness, uncertainty about the future, resentment towards God, people and their own fortune. The finding also showed that mothers struggle to balance their responsibility of caring and disciplining their children .Finally, the finding showed that, mothers cope up with their parenting related challenges through utilizing their resources such as their social support and their faith in God. In conclusion, recommendations based on the findings of this study were forwarded and implications to social work policy, education, practice and research were indicated.