learning with street children

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The issue of street children has caught the international attention. Major questions confront us. Who are we working with? What do we know about these young people? What do we assume, perhaps wrongly, The need for systematically observing and deeply understanding the behaviour of street children must be emphasised. These children are not substandard ignorant kids. They have acquired the valuable knowledge, attitudes, emotions, abilities and skills that are necessary for their survial on the street. Though self-esteem is the answer to all childhod problems, street children have a weakly developed identity. This identity is derived from their interactions with theri peers on the street and with adults who often abuse or deceive them, instilling in them fear or rejection. Although each child has a different story to tell, most of them have irresponsible parents and expereince poverty and marginalisatin. Parents are models, whether they want it or not. It is in the give and take of the parent-child and other relationships that the child finds a sense of security and self-esteem and the ability to deal with complex inner problems. But in the context of street children, the parents behaviour is often so curel that the child makes a heroic descision to walk out on them into urban uncertainty. Thus the street children are a combination of different characteristics. In varying proportions they can be emotionally vulnerable, physically resilient, naive, wary and street-smart.