Session 17/21

Several stress factors force more and more children to live in the streets. In this situation, staff in rehabilitation centres and foster parents must be able to provide adequate care for them. This work is often a challenge, because most street child have traumatic experiences, and no longer trust adults to love and care for them. In this session you will get inspiration and practical tools to understand, identify, and gain the trust of former street children. Some children can be re-united with relatives, but this session focuses on work with street children who have no contact with relatives at all, and need a family placement. We recommend that rehabilitation staff and foster parents participate together in this session, and work from a common ground.

You will be introduced to knowledge from African research in street child rehabilitation and foster care. For each step, we offer a suggestion for your joint discussions and planning.

In this session, please share your personal experiences and your knowledge about street children, and exchange and discuss your knowledge with others. The session is a common ground to further inspire your own local practices.