Street kids turned hockey champs to compete in Slovenia

The Gaziantep Police Force field hockey team will represent Turkey in the European Open Field Clubs Championship, to be held in Slovenia.

The Gaziantep Police Force Field Hockey Team — made up entirely of former street children — has been the nationwide field hockey champion three years running, and will represent Turkey in the European Open Field Clubs Championship to be held in Slovenia on May 8-11.

The team was established in 2003 and finished its first hockey season in its 14-team league in fourth place. Its success then and now is attributable to government-civilian cooperation, the combined efforts of Yusuf Kasım, the trainer of the national field hockey team and a physical education teacher, police officers from the Gaziantep Police Department, businessmen in Gaziantep and the young players. Of the team’s 15 players, 14 have played in national matches and four have been granted national player status; some have even begun studying at sports academies.

But the team got off to a rocky start. Kasım says that when they first began, they had to hold practices on streets and at parks. “They have been working with me since they were 13. When we were working at the park, some children watching would come and ask what we were doing. They soon developed interests in hockey and started to work with us. They are now playing national matches,” he notes. Kasım indicates that Asım Akçacı, a star on the team, used to sniff glue. “We’ve managed to create a hockey player out of him. Now, he’s the team captain. He has played in 19 national matches — we are proud of him,” he says.

Akçacı is very grateful to his coach, who he credits for saving him from the bad habit. “After meeting Kasım, I was saved from the streets and addiction. I call on all addicted children to engage in sports and thus escape,” he says.

26.04.2008

Street children becoming a new problem on Lebanon’s streets - Feature
Posted : Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:14:02 GMT

Beirut - Street children are becoming a common sight in Beirut, some begging at traffic intersections, others wiping off dirty car windows, and others just hanging around with searching eyes that clearly show the kind of life they are living. Zeina, 10, is one of the unfortunate ones, who due to family circumstances are forced to try to sell some chewing gum before nightfall so she can return home with something to feed her sister, brother and sick mother.

Zeina, with her green eyes, taps on a car window wither dirty little hands, begging to sell her chewing gum before nightfall. "So please buy one, I have to sell them all in order to buy bread for my family," Zeina pleads, with tears in her eyes.

The little blonde girl said she has mainly lived on the streets since she was eight to help her family survive.

"I have been begging, selling roses, chewing gum, or washing windows since I was eight," she said. "My father left us because my mother got sick."

Zeina is only one of thousands of children who try to eke out a living on the streets of Lebanon’s cities these days. A few of the street children are forced to beg by their parents, while the rest are victims of some notorious gangs who push them towards flesh trades and slavery.

According to Khawla Mattar of the International Labour Organization, "the number of children working on the streets is difficult to determine. Anyone who gives you a definite number would be fooling you."

One social affairs official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the ministry plays a limited role in combating the trend.

"Our role is preventive," the official said. "We try to mingle with the children and attract them to our centres for recreation and education, rather than leaving them on the streets where they are subject to drugs and crime."

He added: "When street children are caught by the police and taken to police stations, our representatives work on moving them to specialised institutes."

Although no official statistics exist on the number of street children in Lebanon, the Lebanese Evangelical Organization has more than 100 children under its protection, said the group’s head John Iter.

Iter said 15 per cent of street children in Lebanon are Lebanese, while 55 per cent are foreigners and the remaining 30 per cent are of mixed Lebanese-foreign parentage.

The phenomenon of street children "has become one of the most important mounting social problems in Lebanon," said Elie Mikhael, secretary general of the Higher Council for Childhood.

"According to UNICEF and the National Labour Organization, street children can be divided into two categories: those in the street still in full contact with their parents and street children who don’t have anyone and are totally dependent on themselves," he said.

"Certain parents send their children off to work to raise money. Extreme, violent measures ranging from beatings to sexual abuse are taken (if) the child refuses to go or deliver the earnings of the day," Mikhael said.

He added that parents’ pressure to make money was another reason for the increase in the number of street children during the hard economic times prevailing in Lebanon.

Mikhael said social organization cannot only work alone, but they need the help of the government with funds and centres in order to reduce the evolving problem.

But until a solution is found, small children like Zeina remain the sole bread-winners in their families, amid fears that one day they will fall in the hands of the wrong people.

Belgrade street children struggle to eke out living

Mar 17, 2008

BELGRADE (AFP) — The plight of Luja, a 16-year-old who stopped going to school because he couldn’t afford books, reflects that of the hundreds of homeless children in Belgrade.

Instead of getting an education, he guards a private car parking lot, scraping just enough together to be able to survive.

Luja’s story is similar to those of some of the estimated 500 homeless children and teenagers who, during the day, wander along the grimy streets of the Serbian capital.

Most of them are Roma, but of different backgrounds, some having run away from their biological or adoptive parents, and others having fled orphanages or youth centres.

Many are refugees. Those who fled the southern territory of Kosovo in recent years joined ones who left their homes during the wars in neighbouring Bosnia and Croatia in the early 1990s.

Social workers fear Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia on February 17 could still bring a new wave of refugees as many Serbs and ethnic minorities living there might decide to flee north.

"I left school four years ago because I could not buy books and school supplies," Luja told AFP.

"Watching the cars at the parking lot at least brings some money," he explained.

After a day spent begging in the streets, trying to attract the attention of indifferent passers-by, cleaning windshields at main crossroads or minding luxury cars, these children return to what they consider their homes: abandoned basements or even drainage holes.

Some 300,000 children in Serbia are affected by poverty, have no access to medical care, nor a proper education, according to Judita Reichenberg of the United Nations childrens’ fund in Serbia

Only recently, a non-governmental group, the Centre for the Integration of Youths (CIM), opened a daycare centre for street children, offering them a place to eat, medical and psychological check-ups and medication, if needed.

The daycare facility, housed in the Rex Cultural Centre in downtown Belgrade, is open for five hours every afternoon.

The bar in the centre, a popular site for alternative music concerts, art exhibitions and independent films, is during that time transformed into a movable kitchen and a dining hall.

But it soon became too small to accommodate all those needing help.

"I come here because there is food and drinks. There is also a nurse to check our health," said Denis, leaning on a ping-pong table covered with a linen cloth for meals.

As he spoke, a volunteer off-loaded a pile of clothes on the table, sparking a mad rush by the children to find trousers and jackets in their own size.

The CIM organisation says it has been taking care of more than 300 street children and teenagers for three years.

Each of them has their own history to tell. But it is mostly because of mistreatment and misery in their homes that the children decided to live on the streets.

Scorned and rejected, they often become victims of sexual abuse, volunteers say. As a result, many of them turn to prostitution or drugs.

"We know that some of them are drug addicts. Although drugs and alcohol are forbidden (here), we welcome these children here because we want them to feel safe," said the centre’s coordinator, Mila Muskinja.

But the hostile attitude of the general population towards the street children has complicated the group’s activities, as it had to close a similar centre since tenants complained of their presence.

"That centre was open around the clock, but we had to close it as the tenants considered it a threat to their security," said CIM official Milica Djordjevic.

In coordination with the Belgrade city government’s welfare department, the organisation is planning to open another 24-hour centre in the coming months.

Although some Belgraders offer aid to the centre, mostly second-hand clothes, there are not many of those giving away what children need most: compassion and affection.

"Every sweater is obviously appreciated, but a change of attitude would be even more," stressed Djordjevic.

Up to 20,000 street children living in Germany: Terres des Hommes

The children’s aid agency Terres des Hommes reported Tuesday that up to 20,000 runaway children, teenagers and young adults are at times living on the streets, news reports said.

Many of them are sick or left without a perspective. Every second homeless child or youth is being assisted by local aid projects, said Uwe Britten speaking on behalf of terres des hommes.

Half of those people taking part in the aid projects are under the age of 18 and three percent under 14. Around 35 percent of girls are also affected, he added.

Terres des Hommes and 25 other organizations and initiatives are planning to step up taking care of the growing number street children.

Homelessness is only a superficial problem, Britten pointed out.

He linked the reasons for children and teenagers to run away from homes to problems like violence in families, separation, alcoholism and drug abuse by parents.

According to Terres des Hommes, the health condition of street children and homeless teenagers is also dismal as many of them are grappling with depression, alcohol and drug problems as well as hepatitis.

Growing number of street children in Germany, report says
Posted : Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:54:00 GMT
Author : DPA

Berlin - Up to 20,000 children and juveniles are living on the streets of Germany, one of Europe’s wealthiest countries, the children’s relief group Terre des Hommes said Tuesday. Domestic violence, neglect or parental drug abuse are some of the reasons that lead to children running away and becoming homeless, according to a report prepared for the organization.

The report’s author, writer Uwe Britten, warned that street children were in danger of becoming outcasts in society and later passing on this status to their own children.

The study showed that not all those covered in the survey lived on the streets permanently. Some used this option as an escape when things at home become intolerable.

Many suffered from illness and had little prospect of obtaining regular employment, the study showed. About half received some form of help from relief projects.

Half of those living on the streets were under 18 and 3 per cent under 14. About one-third of those receiving help were girls.

Terre des Hommes said it had joined forces with 25 other relief organizations to form an Alliance for Street Children with the aim of pooling resources to get to grips with the problem.

While poverty is the main cause for social deprivation among young people, there are also cases of street children coming from wealthy backgrounds, according to Britten.

According to statistics released by the German Society for the Protection of Children, some 2.6 million children in Germany - one in six - live in poverty. Among children under 15, the percentage is one in four.

Albanian street children’s plight recognized by study

22 Feb 2008 13:09:20 GMT

Albanian girl begging in the streets of the capital city Tirana
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org

Some 293 of the estimated 800 children who work on the streets of Albania’s capital Tirana, according to the Child’s Rights Centre in Albania, realized their plight is not forgotten as they participated in a quantitative research study recently conducted by World Vision.

The study was part of World Vision’s Children in Crisis Laboratory of Learning global initiative implemented with the help of both John Hopkins and Tulane University in the United States.

‘The study shows Albania’s, street children face lots of challenges, so there is great need for help,’ said Dr. Paul Bolton, of John Hopkins University.

‘It has also helped bring to light the prevalence of economic challenges street children face within their homes as well as the widespread harassment and abuse they receive from the wider community,’ said Tonya Renee Thurman, MPH, PhD of Tulane University.

While working and living on the streets these children are exposed to harsh environmental elements (cold and rain) and psychosocial and physical violence. Based on World Vision’s quantitative study, 80% of the children reported to have experienced physical abuse on the street.’

‘Whether they are working or begging on the street we know that these children are exploited and internally trafficked. In some cases they are trafficked for forced labor outside of Albania,’ said Blerta Petrela World Vision Albania’s Child Protection Manager.

Of the street children interviewed, 94% were boys between 10 to 14 years old, and as many as half of them started to work before the age of 10. Some children belonged to ethnic minority groups such as Roma and Egyptian, while others were non-minority Albanian. In many cases the reasons the children are on the street were the same, regardless of whether or not they were a from minority group.

Family poverty is one of the main conditions that result in children begging or working on the street. Many of them labor an average of seven hours a day and others as much as 18 hours, with most of their earnings given to their families. More than 80% of street children work mostly during the day, hence school drop out is high among them. However, most of the children interviewed during the quantitative study reported that if they could they would be happy to attend school.

World Vision is in the process of developing holistic programs to address the needs of street children in Albania. The Children in Crisis Laboratory of Learning global initiative is enabling staff to have a better understanding of problems affecting street children, resulting in the design and implementation of locally appropriate interventions. Later, the impact of the interventions will be measured to identify best practices in the area.

‘World Vision works with the most vulnerable populations, focusing on alleviating their immediate needs as well as the root causes of their poverty. While children in crisis are a ’symptom’ of more fundamental issues, responding to this group is an imperative driven by our fundamental commitment to the most vulnerable,’ said Brett Gresham, World Vision’s regional director for strategic development, Middle East and Eastern Europe.

World Vision is working with civil society organizations and partner NGOs to advocate and lobby the Albanian government to start implementing child rights policies and legislation. World Vision has been organizing trainings with parents, children, teachers and communities where it operates to raise awareness on issues of child’s rights and child protection.

World Vision is also a member of the BKTF network, a network of local and international NGOs in Albania that works against child exploitation, trafficking and abuse. In the summer of 2007, World Vision, along with Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Save the Children and Terre des Hommes, financed an anti-begging national campaign.

February 21, 2008

February 19, 2008

February 8, 2008

Healing the lives of Georgia’s abandoned children through art

Filed under: Georgia Streetkid News

Healing the lives of Georgia’s abandoned children through art

By Tawnya Ferbiak and Irakli Gioshvili

Friday, February 8

Chronically ill in a decrepit orphanage with no electricity or running water, little food and thin walls that could not keep out the freezing Caucasian winter, Pavel Nefedov was facing a bleak future. But the timely revival of a traditional Georgian folk art and the charity of one of Georgia’s most famous artists and teachers helped transform Pavel’s life from one of hopeless poverty to one of dignity and hope.

Abandoned by his parents when Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1989, Pavel’s Russian parents returned to Moscow, leaving four sons behind in Tbilisi. Pavel and his twin brother were the oldest of the children at four years; their youngest brother was only eight months. They quickly found themselves in a state orphanage, where each of the Nefedov brothers lived until they turned 14, the age when the government turned orphans out. With little skills or education, most children leaving the orphanage faced a destitute life of begging on the streets.

In 2000 Nino Chubabria, formerly a geologist and horse trainer, received a call from the UK Department for International Development requesting she assist a project to found a nonprofit to help street children. The previous director had stolen a significant portion of the budget, putting the project at risk of being cancelled. Chubabria agreed to help for a short while, but when she met the children she was quickly hooked and committed herself to the cause. With Orthodox priest Father Giorgi serving as president, the Mkurnali (“Healer”) Association for disadvantaged youth was founded.

The Mkurnali Association began providing humanitarian aid and vocational training to needy children in its founding year, helping adolescents and young adults break a hopeless cycle of poverty and crime. The first workshop the association offered was in enamel jewelry making; seven years later, it is still the organization’s biggest success.

2000 was also a notable year for Georgia’s post-Soviet revival of the enamel arts because Tea Gurgenidze, one of Georgia’s most respected enamelists and teachers, decided to open the country’s first school for enamel arts, the Ornament Gallery near Tbilisi’s historic Chardeni Street. Volunteering her time over 20 months to instruct the Mkurnali Association’s needy children free of charge, the first workshop was a huge success. Almost all of the children Gurgenidze instructed are now supporting their families with their enamel work.

Thirteen-year-old Pavel was one of Gurgenidze’s first students. Now 21, Pavel has supported himself as an enamel artist since he left the orphanage. Both Pavel and his twin would later marry girls they met in the orphanage, and have children at age 19. Today the entire family, brothers and wives, work together in their own workshop, employing other former street children. Pavel now teaches as well, leading the enamel and jewelry workshops at the Mkurnali Association.

Typical of many youths who attend the Mkurnali Association’s workshops, the Nefedovs have stayed close to the organization. The organization’s strong family atmosphere is one of its greatest assets. This is due in part to Chubabria and Father Giorgi, who serve as parental figures for many of the children. But the children and young adults take the lead in helping each other as well, creating a strong community of peer leadership. Many of the young artists continue to work with street children long after they realize success as artists. Mirza Beruashvili, another successful young artist who studied with Gurgenidze, now teaches workshops for disadvantaged youth at Caritas International and works as a social worker for Save the Children. In addition to teaching, Pavel and Mirza are working to found a new young artists’ cooperative to help as many children find success as artists as possible.

More than just solving an immediate economic problem, the enamel arts provide much needed therapy for children who have had tragic experience and circumstances in their lives. Learning a traditional Georgian folk art and being empowered with a skill to make their own living gives many children the confidence they need to participate in society. A recent holiday show and sale at the US Embassy in Tbilisi for the Mkurnali Association’s young artists proved to be unforgettable experience for many children. More than the excitement over the success of the show, the children were most moved by the interest and respect they were given as artists by the embassy staff.

A group of American and Georgian volunteers recently founded a partner nonprofit to the Mkurnali Association in Colorado, Georgian Youth Rescue (GYR). GYR plans to offer a “Sponsor a Street Child” program by connecting donors to needy children waiting to attend vocational training. GYR is also soliciting donations for equipment to start an enamel jewelry making workshop at the Avchala juvenile prison, and is supporting the formation of Georgia’s first enamel artists’ cooperative.

When asked in what direction he would like to take his career as an artist, Pavel declines to answer. The most important thing, he tells us, is to help as many children as possible find a new life as artists, far away from the streets.

For more information about the Mkurnali Association’s programs for vulnerable youth, please contact Nino Chubabria at (+995 99) 18 17 08 or Tawnya Ferbiak at tawnya.ferbiak@gmail.com

Comments (0)

January 28, 2008

Get free blog up and running in minutes with Blogsome
Theme designed by Jay of onefinejay.com