Taking S2C to another level

By David Ngosa

Zambia is full of S2C flames. From the time we came back from Ethiopia, as ambassadors of change for the From Subject to Citizen initiative we have not rested and life has continued reminding us of our task as ambassadors.

So many things are happening in Zambia with the most exiting being the introduction of the S2C in schools, communities and now the streets. Zambia YMCS however realized that there is a group of young people who are likely to be forgotten in this fight.

If we remember the Kenya Burning documentary, it was evident that most of the fighting and violence in Kenya was happening on the streets. What does this mean then to the children and youth found working and begging on the streets? This is the question that Zambia YMCA is answering.

With the introduction of our street children support projects, which aim to support children and adults working and living on the streets, Zambia YMCA has introduced the concept behind the project to the project beneficiaries. We realized that this group of people needs to be loved and cared for. The project is therefore designed in such a way that the youth and children on the street be given the right to education and good health.  Zambia YMCA is providing meals, medical support, educational support for children, recreation activities and also skills development for the children, guardian and relatives of the children found on the streets. In addition to this, the Zambia YMCA is also providing health information, re-integration counseling and motivational talks.

Groups like street children are in most cases left out on issues of personal development because of the belief that this group is harmful to many people. This is one of the reasons why Zambia YMCA found it beneficial to introduce the S2C concept in order to trim down cases of violence on the streets. Since the motivational talks with children and adults, the discussions have centred on how violence can be reduced among young people found and working on the street.

Because of regular counseling, some children have since taken to school with some of the adults in vocational training centers. We believe that it’s only when the young person is empowered that they will have the power to use their voice to speak and be listened to. YMCA Zambia is now planning to train some of the adults from the streets who will be made role models and deliver the S2C information to fellow young adults on the streets.