BUILDING RESILIENCE AMONG CHILDREN LIVING IN CHRONIC POVERTY
Chinta, 16 years old
I live in an urban slum area, where there are no roads, running water and little to do. It is not a nice place to be and it’s next to a landfill site so it smells. Until I was 15, I used to go to school regularly but stopped when I met a boy from a local gang. He was older than me [22 years old]. He had money and would take me out. So most days I would leave home in my uniform and then I would get changed and hang out in the streets with him and his friends. I thought it was fun. They would buy me lots of drinks, and sometimes I would get so drunk that I would wake up in strange places unable to remember what had happened.
It was only when I started the Life Skills course that I recognised the risks I was taking. I saw the difference between a good friend and a bad friend, between love and attraction. It was an important moment for me when I realised that my boyfriend and his friends were using me, and that I could already have an STI or be pregnant.
Now I’ve broken up with my boyfriend and am going to school regularly. This course changed my life and I’ve been sharing my experience in the hope that my classmates can learn from it too.
£20 IS ENOUGH FOR A YOUNG PERSON LIKE CHINTA TO TAKE PART IN A 9 MONTH LIFE SKILLS COURSE
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Over the last 5 years we have:
- Supported 3,600 children into schooling.
- Helped to improve the situations of over 700 families living in chronic poverty.
- Delivered comprehensive life skills education to 1,500 at-risk teenagers.
The number of children growing up in urban poverty is increasing every year. Children and young people living in slums are more likely to drop out of school, experience violence, abuse and exploitation, and child marriage or teenage pregnancy – all of which threaten their well-being and positive development.
Kidasha works with children and families in slums to improve their social and economic situations, to access government services and enable children to go to school. Our trained outreach workers provide individual and family counselling and set up peer support groups to improve parenting knowledge and skills.
We support teenagers to develop knowledge and skills to protect themselves from risk and harmful behaviours. In particular, we’ve developed a targeted Life Skills course which we deliver through local government schools to over 1,000 teenagers each year.
Parent Support Groups
“We look forward to the visits from our social worker as we can share problems and get advice. Their support has also helped improve my son’s behaviour so that he is more responsible and supportive in our family.”
– Parents’ Support Group Member