WORKING WITH STREET CHILDREN

Ambulance, van, moped, or even on-foot. Doctor’s surgery is held in slum neighbourhoods so that local street children receive check ups, treatment and hospital referral. The children also receive tips on personal hygiene and wellbeing to reduce the risk of their becoming seriously ill.

Manned by volunteer teachers out of a converted bus, truck or even a blackboard in a box, the school is setup everyday in the most accessible place to give local street children the opportunity to go to school where they can learn, play and make new friends, and just be themselves for a short while.

Children can come and find refuge from the harsh realities of the street for a while. Whilst here a child can get a nutritious snack, safe clean water to drink and/or wash with, and basic health care. A child can also find a friend to share their problems with or provide another a shoulder to cry on.

All of these services provide a conduit to proactively find affected children, collect data on them, and ultimately help them to overcome the barrier(s) they’re facing to lift themselves out of poverty. Trained specialists are able to identify children at risk and can take the relevant action needed swiftly.

Children who have runaway from home are repatriated with their families where there is no risk of abuse. In cases where they cannot go back home, appropriate foster families are sought to enable a safe, stable and loving environment for the child to develop a sense of belonging.

Children can sleep the night in a place that is secure from the elements and guarded from predators. While safety and security is paramount, comfort is intentionally kept secondary to ensure the children continue to work towards lifting themselves out of poverty.