Future of Street Children ...?

For them education is an unattainable luxury, or an irrelevance.......Most street children have some family links but spend most of their lives on the streets. They beg, sell trinkets, shine shoes or wash cars to supplement their families income. The remaining children live on the streets, often in groups with other children. Known as “street children “ they sleep in abandoned buildings, under bridges, in doorways or in public parks. Children live and work on the street because their parents are poor, they are orphans, or they have run away from home, often to escape abuse. They are invariably malnourished, receive scant education and medical treatment, and are involved in child labour from an early age. They represent one of the neediest peoples on the planet.Abandoned on city streets by parents too poor to feed them, or forced to flee political instability or oppression, they face a future of begging, stealing, prostitution, teenage pregnancy, chronic illness and early and often violent death.Before developing a plan for street education, it is important to determine what the street children need to learn. Training should only be given on the knowledge and skills that they lack. Educating street children involves helping them acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes in specific areas of need.In order to be effective, the teaching of street children should be planned. One has to understand the needs of street children the local situation before one embarks on any teaching. The common and effective teaching methods that one can use for street children are: group discussions, demonstrations, field visits, games, role play, and brainstorming.Education should also aim at minimizing or avoiding the consequences of substance use and problems related to reproductive health among street children. Substance use, violence and involvement in risky sexual behaviour are some of the ways in which street children cope with the harsh reality of their lives. Street children need to develop healthier, more constructive coping strategies that help them to deal with their difficult circumstances.When information is shared with street children, they gain knowledge on the subject which helps in bringing about changes in behaviour and can become the foundation for taking appropriate measures for protecting oneself. Street children are not a new phenomenon. There have always been children who have turned to the street as a means of survival. Some street children are highly visible, and the subject of public concern because they are 'out of place'. Some see such children as victims; others see them more as small criminals. Very often, we choose not to see them at all. Life moves at its regular pace for most of us. But, deserts do exist beyond our green pastures. It's just that they are overlooked by our money-blinded eyes.

Students' Oxygen movement view

24/06/2012