    Street Kids and the people who care for them
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May 2000  While on a visit to our home in the winter of 1999 the Father of our local church told me that a Charitable Health Clinic for the treatment of Street Kids in Romania were desperate for someone to stand in for a regular volunteer unable to make his usual trip. I offered to go, and 8 days later arrived in the capital Bucharest. Despite having heard of the terrible conditions the kids lived in, I was still totally unprepared for what I found. During the three months I was there I saw childrens bodies lying behind fences where they'd been thrown out of sight, I saw young children suffering from severe burns where methane gas and the fumes from glue or paint thinners had exploded as they sheltered or slept in underground sewers. At the Clinic, young kids were often turned out into the street without shoes, simply because "they would sell them for glue" - this, in temperatures of -15 degrees! My duties at the Clinic were to help with the provision of medical care, hard work but very rewarding. Once settled in I began to work outside the clinic, walking the streets at night with a suitcase full of sandwiches for the younger and more vunerable street kids. Apart from this I was unable to give them anything other than my time and a few words of encouragement. The experience affected me deeply, not just the hardships endured by the children, but the friendship and gratitude they gave in return for such a small amount of help. They took the food quickly of course, but never failed to thank me and give me a huge smile in return. Long after my return the things I'd seen during that terrible winter continued to haunt me, the vision of horribly burned childrens bodies being dragged from the sewers, seeing kids wandering barefoot in freezing temperatures, wearing just a dirty T-shirt and jeans - or in some cases only a vest and a pair of shorts. Knowing that they have no future, they have little or no respect for their own lives, and are fully aware that no one else does. It's hardly surprising that they ruin their heath by using glue and solvents. Handouts, however well-intentioned, are not the answer. Primarily these children need a place to call their own, where they can receive encouragement and support. They need education, and skills training for future employment. Many well-wishers have opened shelters providing basics such as food, clothes, hygiene and medical facilities but, without any knowledge or understanding of the street kids culture, their efforts are largely ineffective in making any long term changes. By any standards Street Kids are a hardy bunch, proud and independant by nature, existing in conditions which most western children could not tolerate. There is great abuse but also great kindness among them, and with the right leadership and purposeful guidance they are more than capable of improving their own lives and the lives of their friends. They can be led, on their own terms, and can be taught by example. When pushed or bribed, they take what they can and return to the streets. It's not surprising that they are reluctant to accept the religious and moral idioms of alien cultures that all too often are offered in exchange for food and clothing. Thus, the first thing one needs before offering help to Street kids is their respect. They will never belong to you, but you must at least belong among them. They need a place they can go to because it is their own, not simply an outpost of some little understood foreign charity. That said, any worthwhile and long term project along these lines also requires funding! The "Universal Archives" Art Gallery Website is the first of several sites planned to help raise support for street kids. A new "School Achievement"site was given a trial run in 2001, and will be on line later this year, providing a Showcase for the achievements of Schools, Staff and Students from all over the world. In addition, work has been underway for several months in the building of "The Internet Guide to Britain", a Global Website aimed at visitors and tourists both British and from virtually every country worldwide. With information on interests from Canal cruising to Roman roads, from Castles to Cities, and from Lakes to Camp sites, the new guide will also have up to date information on accommodation from four star Hotels through to B&B and Youth Hostels. These sites will eventually support advertising, the income from which will be used not only in funding the Street Kid Project, but in helping those individuals and smaller organisations already operating such projects. My father is the Webmaster, constructor and operator of these sites, but a great deal of help and support in the building and running of "Universal Archives" has come from my younger brother Christopher, and other help from our many friends and colleagues. Without this help the site would not exist, and our thanks go to all of them. Everyone may help simply by using our web sites, just visiting or displaying helps to increase our hits, and makes the sites more attractive to advertisers. If you have questions about Romanian Street Kids, or about the Street Kid Project, contact us and we'll be happy to help. Thanks for your time, and thanks for using our site. Steven. |
Steve died on 22 May 2003
The work Steven began will continue.
Meanwhile, his family and friends mourn his loss, and thank him for
the happiness and goodness he brought to so many people, children and adults.
