At our February 7th meeting, the members heard from Isla, who volunteers with Street Child, while studying fulltime at university in Glasgow.
Street Child’s urban programmes work with street-connected children and their families. The social workers identify children working or living on the street, and help them return home.
They also work with the family to help the children go back to school. With Street Child’s support and an educational grant children can return to school immediately and then work with the family to set up a sustainable business so that the family can stay in their local area. Families receive an initial start-up grant for the business and are given training and financial advice by Street Child’s business officers.
The families are encouraged to save money in an incentivised saving scheme to provide for their children’s education long-term. Over 85% of businesses started by Street Child beneficiaries are still profitable after two years.
