Andy in South America

As many of you know in August 2005 I spent some time in Sao Paulo, Brasil working amongst children living in the Penha favela (slum). Both prior to this and also since then I have felt a very strong pull to go back to South America to work amongst street children in some of the worst living conditions known to man. The year 2005 was a key year for drawing attention to the needs of many of the poorest people in the world with the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign, however the plight of many children in South America went unnoticed, and continues to go unnoticed.

Since returning I have constantly toyed with the idea of returning for a longer period of time, and in the past few months I have been considering this more seriously. In late January, with the encouragement and support of many of my friends in Bristol, I sent off an application to Toybox, through Latin Link, to finally test this calling by applying to do two more years working in Bolivia. Within the space of three weeks I was interviewed and accepted onto the scheme, to the extent that I had been offered the opportunity to be interviewed eighteen months into the placement to decide if I wish to stay in the country for a considerably longer length of time.

Child poverty across the world

Poverty is a highly debated topic, and a definition of child poverty is even harder to come by. A report written in 2005 of behalf of UNICEF suggested that ‘children living in poverty [are those who] experience deprivation of the material, spiritual and emotional resources needed to survive, develop and thrive, leaving them unable to enjoy their rights, achieve their full potential or participate as full and equal members of society.’ (UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 2005). As to measuring how many children globally live in poverty, this turns out to be a significantly challenging task. One UNICEF report in 2000 suggested that roughly half of those children in the developing world are living in poverty. In other words, based on internationally recognised measures of child poverty, about half of the children in the developing world face one or more of the following: severe food deprivation, severe water deprivation, severe deprivation of sanitation facilities, severe health deprivation, severe shelter deprivation, severe educational deprivation or severe information deprivation. (UNICEF, Children Living in Poverty: Overview of Definitions, Measurements and Policy, June 2006). 

The picture is stark on child poverty alone, without moving onto the subject of street children. If it is hard to measure the number of children living in poverty and to define the term ‘child poverty’, then the task of applying this to the problem of street children is nigh on impossible. A UN report in 1993 defined street children as ‘boys and girls for whom ‘the street’ has become their home and/or source of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected or supervised by responsible adults.’ (UNICEF, Street and Working Children: Global Seminar Report, 1993). Based on this definition the number of street children across the world has been estimated as anywhere between 100-150 million, with roughly half of them being in Latin America. The problem is huge, yet widely unrecognised.

Street Children in Latin America

The important thing to realise is that for many children across Latin America street life is a reality that they must live with and deal with as they grow up. For many the realities of life on the streets begin as early as the age of ten. Living on the streets is hard, and for many the pressure becomes too much and they resort to sniffing glue, and for some taking harder drugs to deal with the emotional and physical hardships such a lifestyle entails. Cardboard boxes, shop doorways and even sewers become ‘home’. Many children are drawn into a gang lifestyle as they provide the young children with a sense of identity and belonging that they would normally find within a family, however in doing so they open the door to violence and other types of abuse.

If this wasn’t bad enough for many, child prostitution becomes a reality they have to face up to. In the battle to find money to survive they sell their bodies to buy food. In some parts of Brasil 12 year old girls are selling their bodies for 5 reals (less than £2) to truckers and also foreign tourists. In his book ‘Remember Me, Rescue Me’ Matt Roper uses the example of the Brasilian town of Belem, where there are 114 prostitution points. Of these 77 are exploiting children between the ages of 11 and 14, and 5 of them deal exclusively with underage girls.

With this lifestyle, health becomes a major issue. HIV and AIDS, so often associated purely with the African sub-continent spread rapidly through drug and sexual abuse. In the same book Matt Roper estimates that the number of street children suffering from AIDS or HIV in Brasil alone is greater than 540,00.

Unfortunately in much of South America this situation is worsened by the approach of police towards these children. For many people street children are seen as pests and treated as such. The majority of street children will at some point face police brutality of some kind. The rights of these children as individuals are ignored.

As to the cause of this situation, the reasons a child ends up on the street are varied and consist of both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. Push factors can include natural disasters such as the heavy flooding in many parts of Central South America over the past couple of years, family problems such as unemployment and also abuse, urbanisation as poorer families move in large numbers to the city causing overcrowding and homelessness. Then there are pull factors as for many the streets can seem a better place to live as it provides freedom from the many problems and struggles children face in these situations.

Toybox & Latin Link – a holistic approach

As some of you know, my undergraduate dissertation was based around the subject of holistic mission. In other words it was looking at the dichotomy between evangelism and social justice. As a Christian I cannot ignore either of these, and as the definition of child poverty above shows, poverty has a physical, emotional and spiritual side all of which need addressing. The solution to the problem is not to throw money at these children or to just go and feed and clothe them, in fact this often worsens the situation as it makes life on the street easier and therefore more appealing.

Therefore, Toybox and Latin Link take a multi-faceted approach to the problem. The aim of their work is to see the children where possible and suitable rejoin their family and become re-integrated into mainstream society. Where going back to their own family is not safe or possible the children are placed into a loving foster home. This is a lengthy process, which can take years. The work starts with contacting the children on the street and befriending them before they begin to attend a day club. As time goes on the children are given the opportunity to enter a home where they stay overnight as well, where issues can be dealt with more intensely. During this time the children are taught practical and educational skills, enabling them to become integral parts of society. They also taught about Jesus and the new identity and love they can find in Him. During this time counselling is available, and also any other issues that need addressing are addressed by relevant professionals. As the end aim is to hopefully re-introduce them to their family, support and counselling is offered to the family too. Also, once the child is back within their family, they are not just left but are given ongoing support and mentoring as required.

More information on their work can be found on their website: http://www.toybox.org

How you can help

When I returned from Brasil three years ago I struggled to come to terms with what has happened and what continues to happen to so many children in South America. Even three years later I can still picture many of the children I met over there. Diogo and Emerson, two seven-year-old children who stood little or no chance to escape the poverty they were born into. Neither of them had fathers and Emerson’s fourteen-year-old brother was already in prison for drug dealing. However, they were in some ways incredibly lucky. Both of them had loving mothers and lived with at least a roof over their head, even if it was in the middle of a slum alongside one of the largest open sewers in Brasil.

This time, as mentioned above, I am returning to South America, but going to Bolivia instead, to work for a minimum of two years with children who are living and working on the streets. Without a doubt, this work will be challenging and also at times incredibly difficult, however I am really looking forward to this opportunity. Throughout the next two years there are various ways you can help to support both myself and also the work I will be helping with. This support can be split into three areas:

Financial support

The overall costs of the two years amount to just short of £16,000. This covers the obvious costs of going such as flights, immunisations, visas, etc. but also the monthly costs of living and also insurance and travel whilst over there. The former of these is due before I go, the latter can be paid in monthly installments over the two years. A detailed breakdown of all these costs can be provided if this would be helpful. The various ways you can help financially are listed below:

1. Straight forward donation – it is possible to claim tax back on donations which are towards the general costs, so please contact me if you would like a form for this. Tax cannot be claimed on costs for things such as immunisations and also passport renewal, etc.
2. Monthly standing order – you can set up a monthly standing order both prior and during the time I am over there. If you wish to do this please let me know and I will send a form out to you. Once again tax can be claimed back on this gift through the gift aid scheme.
3. Concert – I will be holding a classical concert at Christ Church Clifton on 10th May 2008, at which there will also be a short presentation on the work that I will be doing out there. All money raised will be going towards my time out there.
4. Sponsored bike ride – in My/June I will be doing a long distance sponsored bike ride with a couple of work colleagues to help raise money towards the trip.