Resources - Values Education for Children and Young Adults

Unfolding the potential of street children ?
A resource to develop values, protective social skills and receptivity to education

The Need

A tragic consequence of today?s world is the rapidly growing number of street children. The United Nations estimates the population of street children worldwide at 150 million. These children are sometimes abandoned; they are also AIDS orphans or offspring of impoverished parents who have them live and work in the streets. As the AIDS pandemic grows, children are on the street at an increasingly younger age.

Street children are in special need of education. These most underserved and vulnerable children would benefit immensely by attainment of the educational targets set forth by states in Education for All. Education is a fundamental human right that allows all children to develop toward their potential. A lack of education has dire consequences for the child and negative consequences for the society as a whole. In healthy family relationships, children acquire healthy intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Street children often develop behaviors that interfere not only with their own intrapersonal and interpersonal well-being, but also negatively affect later adaptation and contribution to a healthy, productive society. They learn behaviors on the streets that inflict damage on the self; the likelihood of treating others the same way is increased. These children have many needs and offer special challenges. Some of these can be addressed through education with a values-based educational approach.

LVASC Materials and Training

Three Living Values Activities for Street Children (LVASC) books were created in 2002 and 2003, for children ages 3?6, 7?10 and 11?14, as part of Living Values Education Program. These materials are offered with the aim of providing street children with care, an opportunity to build a relationship of trust with a nurturing adult, and protective social skills to help them be safe on the streets. The activities give children tools to release and deal with some of their pain while developing positive adaptive and protective social and emotional skills. The program also builds social and attitudinal skills to increase their chance for success if provided the opportunity to learn in other educational settings. Suggestions are included for community involvement, general education, vocational training and further values education. Suggestions for cooperation between agencies using LVASC are made for areas where sex trafficking is prevalent. Our hope is to create a world of care and education in which these most vulnerable children can develop their potential.

The first LVASC Training for street educators and agencies caring for street children took place in Vietnam in October 2002. This was followed by a training in Indonesia in November 2002. In 2003, LVASC Trainings with simultaneous Train-the-Trainer sessions took place in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Turkey. In April of 2004, Living Values Education and UNESCO BRINDA co-sponsored an LVASC training in Senegal.

Participants engage in a conflict resolution role-play during an LVASC Training in Indonesia, Nov 2002.

Participants engage in a conflict resolution role-play during an LVASC
Training in Indonesia, November 2002.

The LVASC lessons are sometimes offered by street educators on the streets, but more often in community centers, shelters, and street-children schools or facilities. Initial feedback is encouraging.

Feedback from Street Educators in Vietnam

Street educators in Vietnam implementing LVASC report positive results:

Street-children educator Mrs. Tyuet reports a dramatic change in the students and atmosphere in her class of street children after implementing LVASC. The children now love being in the classroom: they work harder, have developed a lot of love for the teachers and conflict has dramatically reduced. They are also sharing and helping each other ? this is something new as before they used to fight over toys, etc. An example of this involved a girl who had to sell 100 lottery tickets each day before her parents would allow her to attend school. This was practically impossible, so she was rarely able to attend school even though she wanted very much to attend. In an act of cooperation and love, three of her classmates chose to support her and help sell the tickets so she could attend school more regularly.

Teachers at a centre for sexually abused girls shared that students have developed their own values by participating in the LVASC lessons and have greater respect for their friends and teachers. The students? attitudes towards each other have also changed and they have developed greater harmony amongst themselves. They now study much harder and enjoy their classes more. The previously frequent conflicts have decreased considerably.

Mrs. My Hien, a teacher from the Bien Trieu Centre, shared that LVEP helps the students to develop a purpose in life and to move towards creating a peaceful, lovely and happy world. The teachers also felt that LVEP enables them, as teachers, to develop the values. They noted their much-more positive attitude towards the students. The quality of their relationships with them has increased.

Teachers from the Street Children Programme at Le Minh Xuan Developing Centre contributed their experiences with LVASC:

Mrs. Kim Phung shared that the students love the characters Fred and Katie from LVASC?s Street Children Family Stories. ?It was as if Fred and Katie became part of our classroom. If I even forgot to bring them up in class the students would remind me.?

Through the reflection and focusing exercises, where they imagined a peaceful world and became respectful stars, the students? faces became brighter, they developed more respect, became calmer and shared with each other more.

When the teacher asked for volunteers to take students to school the students with bicycles eagerly replied, ?I have a bicycle, I?ll take him to school!?

The students also want to cooperate more with their families when they see them: One boy commented, ?I love my Dad a lot! I [want] to help him more.?

Mrs. Kim Loan shared that through attending the LVEP course, she was touched deeply. She realized she had to become an example of the values and only then could she teach them.

When teaching the programme to her students they especially enjoy the relaxation exercises which were a new experience for them but very effective in increasing self confidence, inner peace and happiness in life.

The students also have started to share with each other much more. One day Mrs. Loan had some food for a student and when the teacher asked the students, ?Should I give this food to Kiet or Lan?? Lan answered, ?To Kiet. Yesterday I had soup to eat, but he didn?t, so give it to him.? Mrs. Loan commented that such scenes are becoming much more frequent in the class since teaching LVASC.

When Mrs. Loan taught the lessons on love, both the students and teacher were so touched by them that they were in tears.

One of the ground rules that everyone agreed on was: ?To be on time in every situation ? even rain or flood!? One student who was regularly late realized the impact of his behavior and said to the teacher, ?Are you sad when I am late so often? My house is near and I go by bike while yours is far and you walk. But we can?t let all the class wait for us. I will try to respect the others!? From that day on, the student has never been late!

Ms. Kim Anh found the lessons on love most special and is so grateful to be able to use LVEP with her students. One day, a boy said in class, ?I?m so hungry.? He said this in slow words, with a white face, because of hunger. A small boy standing near him replied sweetly and shared some bread with him. It seems the students have adopted one of the main concepts from LVASC?s Street Children Family Stories: A street-children family is a family that loves and cares for each other.

Feedback from South Africa

Children helping each other Child with a sign

Children doing LVASC Activities near Durban

The street educator participants were surprised at the results that this different approach could produce with street children, even within a couple days. Several months later, however, the results were even better. One of the Living Values Education LVASC Trainers, Lalitha Sharanund, reports: "The street children workshop definitely had an impact on all of us. More volunteers are prepared to change their attitude towards these children and assist in a positive way. The volunteers and counsellors are able to handle the pandemic more positively, especially after having attended the workshops and so being able to create a positive outlook on all the negative behaviour they are facing. Positive changes in the children are already being observed; some of them have quit glue sniffing. At the Durban Alice Street Shelter, the children enjoy the imagining and focusing exercises and the importance of being peaceful and non-violent. In Pietermaritzburg, nine street children were taken on a two-day retreat with the Values Club members of five schools. The street children thanked us for the love we shared with them and friends they made. The team and staff of our local museum are teaching street children some skills to earn an income. Two schools invited some street children with their co-ordinator to their schools. The street children sat in classrooms with other children and felt what it is like to be in school as they played, sang and ate with the pupils. We in Pietermaritzburg over the few months have noticed more children wanting to go to school and back to their homes because the street team has become more values-based. Also, the Living Values team has created a friendship with the children. They are so delighted and happy when they see us in our cars and share their thank-you?s from their hearts and call us mum."

Feedback from Brazil

In Brazil, over 500 street educators have been through the training since September of 2003, serving over 10,000 street children. Rodrigo Brito, LVE Coordinator for the trainings for street educators reported: ?Educators of institutions caring for at-risk children and street children, with a strong history of violence in their lives, were trained. As initial results, educators report a significant improvement in almost all behavior items included in the evaluation: groups of teens with a history of permanent conflict have achieved for the first time being able to discuss their differences, cooperate with each other and love each other. The youth are interested in continuing the program. The improvement in self-esteem of the children and a new attitude in the educators is very much visible.?

Verqu?ia Greg?io shared her experience working with some of the most aggressive and violent street youth, 16 to 20 years old, in Sao Vicente, Brazil, at FEBEM, an institution for delinquent minors. ?Just after the first lesson we could feel a lighter atmosphere at the place. And since that moment, the young men always asked for the continuity of the program, saying, in their way of expressing themselves: ?? these classes came to bring us some peace??, ??after you, mistress, began with these lessons, the prison became lighter ?? As the boys were taking contact with the activities of the program, one could notice better cooperation and understanding among them and between them and the professionals. The feeling of revolt, previously always present, began to extinguish and one could see clearly the boys feeling safer and more self-confident. The other people working with these young men (psychologists, social workers, educators, directors and even security agents) said that the boys were experiencing real transformation. Although we have worked with the program only for two months, applying three lessons per week, the progress of the boys showed evidence of how much the Program brings effective results.?

Marilda Fonseca, Coordinator for Obra Social de Par?uia S? Mateus Ap?tolo reports: ?In March 2004, another educator and I were looking for training possibilities to help teenagers in the street situation. It was then we made contact with the Living Values Education, and went to the presentation workshop. During the training program we have the opportunity to look inside ourselves and realize that the first change would have to be our change, to feel that we were valuable, and so, equipped with this powerful ?weapon? that is the educational presence in the students life, we accepted the challenge of applying the Living Values Activities with the children and teenagers. Each one in his unit has reproduced what he or she had lived and felt in the training program. In one group of young girls with a history of very intense violence, the group stopped beating each other, before that we were obliged everyday to stop a struggle among them. In the Cr?hes we implemented the Peace Corner. When the children were not well they were invited to go there and receive love. This has changed the feeling of punishment and the educators changed to see the child as a being in process of developing as he/she really is; we saw that all the educators became involved in the perception that the children need love and that we can transform them through love. In 2005 the Living Values Program for Street Children and Children at Risk has been incorporated to the planning of Obra Social with the goal of implementing it in all unit of the organization; each unit has advanced in its own rhythm, ones more, others less, but all of them with fantastic experiences of change. In all of our meetings we are now using the songs and some dynamics of LVEP, and the results are surprising. We find that the educators changed their view in relation to their own lives and also in relation to their students, they are now more receptive and nurturing. We are meeting every month, all the educators already trained in LVEP, 26 new educators, 9 of our organization and the others from others NGO?s in our region has been trained. We, from the Obra Social de S? Mateus, define the LVEP Program as a proposal characterized by simplicity, inexpensive to applied, only demanding good will from whom applies it. Those who receive it gain peace, love and the possibility of recognizing him or herself as a very important being for our humanity.?

A Description of LVASC 3?6 Materials

Living Values Activities for Street Children Ages 3?6 contains 70 lessons. Some of the lessons are adapted from the values units of peace, respect, love and cooperation in Living Values Activities for Children Ages 3?7. These activities develop the children's positive feelings, ideas, and experiences of the values as well as build personal social and emotional skills, problem-solving skills, and conflict resolution skills. The values-based activities incorporate a variety of ways to explore values. Sharing, thinking, creating, and learning cooperative social skills are combined with playing, art, singing, dancing, and imagining exercises.

In addition, there is a series of 30 stories about a street-children family. The Street-Children Family stories relate the tale of two children, Fred and Katie, who initially live on a farm with their parents. The father and mother serve as voices to value children, and the mother?s voice continues as a nurturing force even after Fred and Katie lose both parents and live on the streets. Fred and Katie are befriended by a slightly older boy, Mohammed, and together they become a street-children family. (Note: Translators are asked to substitute names used in their country for the characters in the stories.)

?Fred and Katie began walking toward

the big tree in the alley. Fred held Katie?s

hand.? Illustration by Joanne Corcoran

The stories serve as a medium to educate about and discuss issues related to domestic violence, death, AIDS, drug sellers, drugs, sexual abuse and physical abuse. The issues of poverty, lack of food, being scared when adults argue, safety, caring for ill parents, sex, being scared at night, the effects of drugs, begging, wanting to learn and hitting siblings are also addressed. The stories offer healthy perspectives. For example, children are told that they are naturally lovable and valuable, that it is never their fault when adults argue and that it is wrong for adults to hurt children. The stories introduce ways of thinking and positive methods of coping. For example, the mother helps Fred and Katie deal with the father?s death by teaching them to send love; both Mama and Mohammed help Fred learn to be safer and help him learn the importance of keeping Katie safe from unsafe men.

The stories are combined with discussions in which parallels are drawn from the stories to the possible realities the children may encounter. The discussions allow the children to talk about their feelings and experiences in a supportive environment. Their feelings in response to difficult and painful events are accepted as normal reactions. Some of the follow-up activities allow the children the opportunity to express their feelings artistically. Some activities give them the opportunity to develop a voice against violence while others help them develop positive adaptive social and emotional skills.

Three puppets join the teacher for these lessons. At the beginning of every ?safe and caring lesson,? Rocco, the raccoon, teaches hygiene and Miss Dragon teaches manners. Miss Dragon helps the children build a Peace Tent. The Peace Star puppet leads the children in filling themselves with peace, respect and love.

A Description of LVASC 7?10 Materials

Living Values Activities for Street Children Ages 7?10 contains 77 lessons. Some of the lessons are adapted from the values units of peace, respect, love and cooperation in Living Values Activities for Children Ages 3?7 and Living Values Activities for Children Ages 8?14. These activities develop the children?s positive feelings, ideas, and experiences of the values as well as build personal social and emotional skills, problem solving skills, and conflict resolution skills. The values-based activities incorporate a variety of ways to explore values. Sharing, thinking, creating, and learning cooperative social skills are combined with playing, art, singing, dancing, and imagining exercises.

In addition, there is a series of 32 stories about a street-children family. The Street-Children Family stories relate the tale of three children, Nelson, Marian and Joe, who initially live with their parents. The father and mother serve as voices to value children, and the mother?s sister, Aunt Lonnie, continues as a nurturing force after both parents die. Nelson, Marian and Joe become a street-children family who are befriended by Fred and Mohammed, other street children who live in an alley by a big tree. Fred and Mohammed are characters from the Fred and Katie Series of Street-Children Family Stories for children three- to six-years old. Celia and her little brother, Sammy, later become part of this family.

?And then,? continued Mama, ?when you want

to get out of the ball you can?t, because your

body and mind only want the drug.?

The stories serve as a medium to educate about and to discuss issues related to domestic violence, death, AIDS, drug sellers, drugs, sexual abuse, physical abuse, eating in a healthy way and cleanliness. The issues of poverty, lack of food, being scared when adults argue, safety, sex, being scared at night, the effects of drugs, begging, stealing, wanting to learn, and hitting and caring for siblings are also addressed.

The stories offer healthy perspectives. For example, children are told that they are naturally lovable and valuable and that it is wrong for adults to hurt children. The stories introduce ways of thinking and positive methods of coping. For example, ?Mama? helps Nelson and Marian deal with the father?s death by teaching them to send love; Aunt Lonnie, Fred and Mohammed help them learn the importance of staying away from unsafe men; and Fred shares how he learned to play and explain things to his little sister. The children create strategies to help them be safe from drug sellers. Issues of grief, illness, and sexual abuse again arise as Celia joins the family.

Two puppets join the teacher for these lessons. The children help create a Peace Tent in class and fill themselves with peace, respect and love.

A Description of LVASC 11?14 Materials

Living Values Activities for Street Children Ages 11?14 contains 80 lessons. Some of the lessons are adapted from the values units of peace, respect, love, cooperation and honesty in Living Values Activities for Children Ages 3?7 and Living Values Activities for Children Ages 8?14. These activities develop the children?s positive feelings, ideas, and experiences of the values as well as build personal social and emotional skills, cognitive understanding of the effects of values and anti-values, problem-solving skills and conflict-resolution skills. The values-based activities incorporate a variety of ways to explore values. Sharing, thinking, creating, mind mapping and learning cooperative social skills are combined with playing, art, singing, dancing, dramas and imagining exercises.

In addition, there is a series of 35 stories about a street-children family. The Street-Children Family Stories for children 11 to 14 years old bring into life the same cast of characters from the previous stories. The children are older and deal with problems many street children their age encounter. Fred, Mohammed, Nelson, Marion and Joe continue to live on the streets while Celia and Sammy live in a street-children home. In the stories, these characters remember scenes from their past in order to introduce nurturing adults who value children and offer healthy perspectives. Tony and Keeman emerge as characters to illustrate the effects of eating rotten food, how to treat diarrhea, cycles of violence, and alternative ways to deal with difficult situations with non-violence. Alisha becomes part of the group as the street-children family goes to a street-children school and puts on a drama about AIDS for the community. When she is entrapped in a brothel, the street children family become involved. That is an opportunity to develop empathy for entrapped youngsters, become more aware of the tricks of predators, to learn about the rights of children, and to explore the effects of honesty and corruption and the factors that contribute to that.

The stories serve as a medium to educate about and discuss issues related to domestic violence, death, HIV/AIDS, drugs, drug sellers, female and male maturation, sexual abuse, physical abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, corruption, caring for younger siblings, eating in a healthy way and hygiene. The issues of being scared at night, the effects of drugs, poverty, begging, stealing, the risk of dying quickly from diarrhea, being scared when adults argue, being safe from unsafe adults, non-violence, the right to education, child rights, making a difference and wanting to learn are also addressed.

The stories introduce ways of thinking and positive methods of coping. They are combined with discussions in which parallels are drawn from the stories to the possible realities the children may encounter. The discussions allow the children to talk about their feelings and experiences in a supportive environment. Their feelings in response to difficult and painful events are accepted as normal reactions. Some of the follow-up activities allow the children the opportunity to express their feelings artistically. Some activities give them the opportunity to develop a voice against violence while others help them develop protective social skills and positive adaptive social and emotional skills. Creating dramas to educate the wider community about HIV/AIDS and trafficking of children is encouraged ? to empower the children, to engage the wider community in an activity in which they benefit from the street children, and to raise the awareness level in the community of other children and adults so that the percentage of people being harmed by HIV/AIDS and child trafficking reduces.

LVASC 11?14 materials suggest a wider level of community involvement than the earlier age levels. It is important for the community perception of street children to change. In addition to contributing through educational dramas, students could contribute to the street children agency and the neighborhood or area in which it is located. One possibility is to be involved in learning about the environment and developing vocational skills. Businesses in the community could help by providing knowledge or materials. It is important to provide vocational workshops on skills and trades needed locally. It is our hope that once the community is benefiting from street children, adults and businesspersons in the community will offer classes, expertise and opportunities. And, youth will develop skills that enable them to get off the streets, should they choose to do so.

A Multifaceted Approach

The approach taken in LVEP?s Living Values Activities for Street Children is multifaceted. In the process described below, specifically for LVASC 11?14, each process continues as the next begins.

LVASC Process

Process 1: Build a feeling of safety, trust and well-being ? through values-based

relationships and psychosocial elements

Process 2: Build personal resources ? intrapersonal and interpersonal skills

Process 3: Begin the healing process in relation to negative life experiences

Process 4: Develop protective social skills

Process 5: Learn about human rights and the workings of the real world; begin to

contribute to the community

Process 6: Develop skills in relationship to the real world; interact beneficially with

the environment and learn vocational skills

A Safe Values-based Atmosphere

Many street children have suffered the loss of parents, come from abusive homes and/or undergone multiple traumas while on the street. The establishment of a safe and caring environment and relationships of trust are especially important for children who have experienced trauma. This environment is crucial if they are to learn all they can, be comfortable in expressing themselves and begin to heal and grow in a healthy direction. Children function at their best in a nurturing environment of respect, caring, understanding, patience, and clear rules rather than of blame, shame, and anger. The opportunity for them to share their thoughts and feelings in a respectful, safe atmosphere and be acknowledged is invaluable. Their vocabulary, ability to think constructively, and critical thinking skills will develop along with their emotional growth, relationships of trust and self-esteem. For these reasons, training prior to the use of the LVASC materials is required.

Psychosocial and Protective Elements

Psychosocial elements in the program are designed to increase mental and emotional well-being as well as foster well-being in relationships with others. Children have the opportunity to express their feelings about death, violence and abuse, and a multitude of other issues through drawings, mime and words. Their feelings are accepted as normal reactions to horrible events. Students are not made to participate, but can express what they wish. A sense of well-being is also nurtured through establishing a routine, being listened to, interaction with the puppets, playing and singing.

Children need to make sense of their own experience; this is vital in increasing the sense of well-being. Understanding is developed in several ways: young children are offered a simple explanation of why adults sell drugs to children or sexually abuse children. When the topic of people who have died arises in a lesson, it is suggested that the teacher, or someone knowledgeable about the students' religion(s), explain death in terms appropriate for their age.

LVASC also contains several methods to increase the "protective factors" associated with resilience. These are important in increasing a child's ability to cope and hence facilitate recovery from traumatic experiences (Tolfree, 1996). A key element is building good, emotionally supportive relationships with teachers. Teacher training is a critical factor to successfully implement LVASC.

LVASC does provide another protective factor, "an educational climate which is emotionally positive, open, guiding and norm-oriented." Living values activities are participatory and child-centered. The values-based atmosphere is positive, open, supportive, and nurturing. The teachers are taught how to establish clear norms collaboratively with the students and help them apply skills to new concerns and conflicts.

It is intended that teachers from the culture of the students do these activities with the street children. This provides several positive factors and safeguards when the teachers have been through an LVASC training. One, the manner in which the program is carried out will naturally be more within the interpersonal norms of the culture. Two, local teachers will be aware of the dangers the children face, the methods usually used to trick them, and local resources. Three, teachers will be familiar with cultural traditions, songs, games, and dances, and will be able to add those traditions to the program. Four, ongoing relationships with supportive teachers will increase the trust and resilience of students.

LVASC Training

It is essential for educators to participate in LVEP's LVASC Educator Training prior to doing this program with street children. While many of the LVASC activities teach simple lessons about values, hygiene and protective social skills, this is also a program that can touch deep emotions as it deals with death, feelings about parents, and abuse. Training in active listening and creating a values-based atmosphere is important; when children are opening up it is essential to accept and honor their emotions. The LVASC lessons contain many healing activities. The program design includes a careful sequencing of emotional issues and discussion questions. More difficult issues are approached gradually with the belief that educators can implement methods that honor emotions. Children begin to open up once a trusting relationship is formed. Creating a space in which there can be the deepening of trust is essential to the healing process. LVEP offers training to agencies caring for street children and those who wish to become trainers for this program.

LVASC Training begins with a welcome, the purposes of the program, and introductory activities. Teachers are asked about their concerns and special circumstances. Teachers then participate in values awareness sessions. They are asked to reflect on their own values, share those in small groups, and offer their ideas on elements within a values-based atmosphere. Sessions on active listening take place early in the training, and continue almost every day. This is a fundamental skill in order to carry out the LVASC activities most beneficially.

There is a session on imagining an optimal educational environment. The educators discuss the teaching methods and attitudes that create an optimal environment. While the educators benefit from these activities, and explore what intra- and interpersonal elements are important in the learning process, the trainers are listening carefully for cultural norms, common teaching methods, and areas in which educators would like to learn more.

Educators are then engaged in several activities that are both in the LVASC materials and the regular LVEP values activities for children. LVEP?s theoretical model and the rationale behind the variety of values activities are presented. The goals of the LVASC program are read together. Teachers have the opportunity to question and discuss any aspects they wish.

Educators are engaged in the activities in small groups. They participate in some of the activities, are told about others, and teach the activities by the end of the training. It is important for the educators to go through some of the lessons to understand how the process works, not just intellectually but emotionally. The activities themselves are designed with supportive elements, and participants engage in expressive activities through drawing, puppets, sharing, quietly being exercises, and traditional songs.

The training provides additional sessions to develop skills for creating a values-based environment. This includes acknowledgement, encouragement, and positively building behaviors, active listening, conflict resolution, collaborative rule making, and values-based discipline.

LVASC Training with a Simultaneous TTT

The LVASC training is six days for Street Educators or other educators who wish to use the LVASC materials with street children. Those who wish to be LVASC Trainers receive an additional two days of training, and are asked to help while attending another LVASC Training.

Training is offered to agencies that care for street children and other educational organizations involved in educating street children, either in formal or non-formal settings. Each agency or organization that sends educators must commit to teaching at least three LVASC lessons a week to street children. This will allow, for example, children from 7 to 10 years of age to complete all 77 LVASC lessons in six months. The LVASC lessons are considered of utmost importance as street children are in dire need of protective social skills. The agency or organization must also commit to allowing only educators who have been trained to teach the LVASC lessons.

It is recommended that each agency involved send several street educators/educators who actively work with street children as well as two people who have the educational qualifications and facilitation skills to be LVASC Trainers. It is suggested that potential trainers be psychologists, social workers, or educators with a background in psychology. Excellent group process skills are important. After these educators attend their second LVASC Training, they may participate in small group sessions as co-trainers.

For more information, contact your LVE Country Coordinator, listed on the Support Near You pages on the left bar of www.livingvalues.net home page, or e-mail training@livingvalues.net.