Editorial»
Home street home
JUN 26 -
Street children are an impossible feature to miss in daily life in Kathmandu: they are the conductors on your tempo to work, they are washing the dishes in the back of your favourite restaurant, and it is all too common to see these street urchins carrying plastic bags filled with dendrite held tight to their lips. Though it may seem as though they are left with little option, the truth it is quite the opposite. With many organisations dedicated to their cause, it is hard to imagine why so many of these children are still on the street. But there are clear deficiencies in both the services provided by NGOs working with street children and, more importantly, the legislation designed to protect needy children.
While NGOs work hard to offer children alternatives to life on the street—they provide night shelters, non-formal education, medical support, offer daily meals, provide legal protection when they are illegally arrested or mistreated by the authorities, and some even offer longer-term institutional options—unfortunately, many of the options offered have not lived up to their long-term potential. Given the choice, some children prefer to remain on the street, only playing the roulette of programmes provided by NGOs at their convenience. Some experts blame NGOs for the lack of long-term psychological counselling and drug rehabilitation. And while more programmes increasing the conscientisation of street children rather than encouraging passive acceptance of aid and addressing the psychological problems that develop during life on the street are necessary, the NGOs ability to perform these tasks remains constrained. As children living on the street, most have no visible legal guardian, and without established guardianship, these children are left to make choices on their own-often resulting in a return to the street after taking the necessary or wanted services from NGOs.
But there is some hope brewing as the government is in the process of drafting an improved Education Act, set to include a provision to enhance the existing law related to children in adherence with its commitment to the International Convention on the Rights of Children (ICRC). This legislation will give the government the responsibility to look after the education and healthy development needs of underprivileged children: namely the handicapped, orphans and children living on the streets. For the first time, there may be a clear party to take legal responsibility for the children living on the street. But it is unclear how this will be implemented in regards to street children. In order for legislation to be effective, it must clearly delineate responsibility and caretakers for street children, who differ greatly from other underprivileged groups of children who have clearly defined guardians. The children on the street are no longer under the supervision of their parents, with only a small minority actually orphaned, and not yet under the care of the state. As experience shows, the task of managing children who have been out on the street for any length of time is difficult. But as far as practicable, children must be returned to a safe home environment, or where that is unavailable, into the care of a programme that provides them with the rights guaranteed by the ICRC.
Posted on: 2010-06-27 08:07
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