Street and Working Children: a Guide to Planning

THIS BOOK IS a manual for project workers involved with homeless and working children, and draws on 15 years experience to offer ideas and examples of methods employed in a variety of child development contexts. Each of the seven chapters contains information boxes and finishes with a concise checklist that summarizes key points and relates them to the rest of the book. After a short introduction, chapter two begins by asking the reader to confront their own attitudes to street and working children. “Childhood” itself is a cultural construct which has prejudiced much of the work done with children, their treatment, and the legislation relating to this field. Distinctions between children of the streets and children on the streets are discussed in a review of current attempts to define street children. Child labour, the work actually done by children, and their participation in projects are described in this part of the book which establishes a basic framework for understanding the situation and daily existence of such children, as well as their prospects for the future. The third and fourth chapters are methodological in scope. They explain how to find and use existing information and outline some of the primary sources available, including key articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Practical aspects of the research process and methods are discussed, as well as issues of monitoring and assessment.
The fifth and longest chapter in the manual explores various project options in the light of the prevailing institutional conditions. There are widespread tendencies to try and rescue the children or to provide quick and tidy, instead of durable, solutions. The author asserts that there is only one rule that should guide project work; namely that “...the emphasis should not be on making children leave the streets or stop work, but on increasing the range of choices available to them and helping them to make their own decisions.” The provision of basic services such as shelter, food, healthcare, education and recreation are discussed, along with development work, advocacy and campaigning, networking and evaluation. Chapter six deals with issues of human resources and management, and specifies the characteristics of the groups a child development worker is likely to encounter, and ways in which to deal with them. The final chapter raises common problems likely to be encountered and suggests ways in which they may be resolved. The book itself is completed by a comprehensive bibliography that is followed by four appendices. These suggest further reading and other available resources, including more than twenty addresses of related organizations and groups around the world. There are also checklists, pro forma observation charts for monitoring, and flow charts that bring together all the key points of the manual.