The increasing number of street children, including abandoned ones, is one of the most serious urban social problems facing Ethiopia today. It has been estimated that as many as one hundred thousand children are engaged, to varying degrees, in street-life activ- ities. A large proportion of Ethiopia’s children live in conditions which are widely rec- ognised as pre-disposing factors to street life involvement; these include: poverty, lack of education, displacement due to war, drought, and disintegration of families. Out of a total population of about 55 million (1992), Ethiopia has 23.5 million children under the age of 16. About 60 percent of its 6.2 million urban poor live below the absolute poverty line; moreover, some 1.1 million urban children are victims of debilitating poverty. Similarly, in the rural areas, it is estimated that 65 percent of the children live below the poverty line. In effect, nearly two thirds of Ethiopian families live on in- comes which fail to meet minimum basic needs. Throughout Ethiopia, only 38 percent of the school-age children are actually enrolled in school, though this figure is probabl