By Molly Slothower
25 April 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: If you can’t get street children into schools, bring the schools out to the streets.
Non-formal, structured ‘street education’ reaches children who are often considered inaccessible to education systems or who have dropped out of school. In this form of education, street children can attend basic education and life skills sessions that are held regularly at designated locations when they have free time.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that around 100 million to 150 million children worldwide live and work in the streets. While some have homes and families to return to, many do not. The lessons provided by street education programs are often the most accessible option for street children to learn essential skills, such as reading, writing, math, hygiene, and disease prevention.
“Often street children are victims of trafficking, drugs, abuse, and need support beyond what a traditional classroom could provide. The main goal of [street education] programs are to reduce the vulnerability of children, since street children are the most vulnerable for trafficking, commercial and sexual exploitation, and HIV/AIDS,” Janella Nelson, an Education Specialist for Plan International, told MediaGlobal. Plan supports street education programs in nations such as Egypt, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.
Street education empowers children with the skills to protect themselves from exploitation by creating fun lessons and by being flexible and supportive, according to UNICEF, with respect to the realities with which street children are faced. Street education is also a powerful tool for fostering confidence in those who traditionally have very low self-esteem and often carry heavy emotional and psychological burdens.
“Exploited, defenseless, and extremely vulnerable children living on the streets have the right to their dignity,” said Sanjay Gupta, Executive Director of Childhood Enhancement through Training and Action (CHETNA), a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in New Delhi, India.
CHETNA provides lessons and educational activities at about 65 contact points throughout India. The thousands of children that that have benefited from its programming are placed at three levels within each contact point: children who do not know the alphabet, children who can read and write words, and children who can read and write full sentences.
“It is important to create interest among street children towards education,” Gupta told MediaGlobal. CHETNA’s lessons are fun and innovative, using games and real examples for children’s workplaces and lives. Children become excited about the activities and often grow to view their instructors as mentors.
Children are free to come and go as they please at CHETNA without questions being asked about their absence, or being embarrassed in front of their peers. This is an important aspect of the program for many youth who have to work to survive, to support their younger siblings, or to feed their families. The humiliation of falling behind in classes is a reason for many street children not returning to formal school.
“The children’s illiteracy [makes them] prone to exploitation by their employers and society at large,” Gupta said. “Many times, due to lack of mathematical skills, rag-collecting children are not given the right amount for a particular weight of rags. Not being able to read or write also makes them an easy victim at the hands of the police. They can be made to sign any document by lying to them.”
The youth reached by CHETNA grow to identify strongly with the program and feel very connected to the teachers and other students. The positive environment and the encouragement they receive play major roles in building self-confidence. Participants also become stronger candidates for jobs with the skills they learn and certifications they receive.
In 2008 alone, CHETNA connected 380 children to formal schooling after street education brought them up to speed on the basics of reading, writing, and math.
For many who receive street education, the environment may meet their social needs better than formal schools would.
“Non-formal education is often a better fit because of the age of the children. Thirteen-year-olds are not at the same cognitive and emotional level as six-year-olds, even when they are at the same academic level,” said Nelson.
When students turn 18, they age out of CHETNA’s services. Now that the organization has been operating for five years, those who have spent the majority of their teenage years under the care of CHETNA’s teachers and coordinators are reaching the age limit, and many have fallen back into old habits without the support they had grown accustomed to.
CHENTA has recently begun networking with other NGOs near its contact points to connect these young adults, who know first hand the power of street education, with jobs. Many go on to work as passionate and knowledgeable mentors and educators, and in other positions with children and youth.
Street education programs promote the rights of children to survive, to develop to the fullest, to be protected from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation, and to participate fully in cultural and social life, all of which are laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.