Blog

In our latest blog Zambian social worker Edward Kambole, who works at the Mthunzi Children’s Programme, reflects on his work with street children in Lusaka. Although the Zambian economy has improved, over 60 per cent of the population lives in poverty on less than £2 a day.

It is not always easy to work with street children. They often become hardened victims of a society that feels threatened by them. Peer pressure, as well as cultural and working conditions on the street are difficult issues that we have to deal with. A major task therefore is to establish a working relationship with the children. For this, we have to spend time on the street to know their world, so that a trusting relationship can be established.

Many groups of street children have their own special language, which is not known by outsiders. This special language helps to unite them.

Here in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, we have three areas where the street children are found - namely Intercity bus station, North-mead market, and Town centre. It’s in these three places that they spend their nights, and under the railway bridges during the day.

One of the biggest problems that street children face is gender discrimination. The children are kicked out from their houses due to the problem of gender discrimination. Then the children are often abused by people on the streets because they don't understand the real situation these street children pass through.

The problem of begging is increasing day by day, and there is no proper solution.  Begging is considered a cure, as it is another name of poverty. The street children are hated in the entire world as they block the roads and traffic lights while begging. Some parents force their children onto the street to beg from people. The life of a street child is all about begging, selling, robbery or snatching the purse and wallet of the people in the streets.

However, mainly children on the streets are double orphans (both parents are dead) while others are single orphans (one parent still living) and there are both girls and boys.

Child labour is one of the most disturbing problems that the street children face. The life of a street child is very complicated and no one ever can understand it. Some of the ways a street child can make a living are to the pick the plastic bags from the streets and sell them on, wash cars, beg or shine shoes. The child has to work to get some coins for food in the morning, afternoon and evening. This life becomes more difficult to survive and some end up dying without help.

Weak health is another big problem that street children face because of the drugs they take. Sniffing solvents to prevent feeling hungry and cold mainly leads them to death, but young girls also become pregnant and have abortions or lose the baby because of ill health. As street educators, we don't give the children money or take medication to them but simply provide them with some food. It is the smallest virtue if we can bring them to the Mthunzi Children’s Programme and provide them with a roof over their heads and an education, provided by the Scottish charity ZamScotEd. The sadness is that people always call these children ‘hungry dogs’.

The children are kicked out to the streets due to different circumstances in different homes. They mainly come from the poorest areas like Misisi, Kanyama, Chibolya and Lilanda compounds.  They then spend their whole life on the street. As they grow up, they work in small hotels, sell newspapers and they normally go into prostitution to earn their living. They don’t blame anyone for their present condition as they are not mature enough to understand.

The numbers of street children are increasing because of the neglect of the parents or issues such as violence or psychological abuse. The life of a street child starts when he or she is forced to leave home for a range of reasons.

Our proposal for the future is to find funding for a drop-in centre in town as a place of safety for the street children.

This week in our blog, John Seenan, the Catholic representative on the board of Eco-Congregation reflects on the work of Eco-Congregation and how the call to be involved reaches out to everyone.

I’m sure you share with me the anxiety that climate chaos is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind. We have only to look at the devastating impact of dramatic weather patterns across large areas of the globe: extreme temperatures, resulting in extensive flooding or lack of rainfall, with consequent crop failures, and the complete destruction of settlements that lead to the break-up and displacement of entire communities. 

Yet despite its awesome scale and impact, we as individuals can do something about it. Our faith tells us we have responsibility for the stewardship of the planet God has entrusted to us – that’s a useful starting point.  And Pope Francis’ papal encyclical Laudato Si is an invaluable guide - a landmark work on the subject, underpinned by the words of scripture and held in high esteem by a wide cross section of those directly involved in trying to manage the problem. 

The Holy Father lays out the responsibilities placed on us all as we face this great challenge, and points to the role we, as individuals, are called to play.  That has helped to put our task into perspective and informs a number of bodies that now provide practical assistance and guidance.

Eco-Congregation is one of those bodies. It was dedicated on 19th September 2000 at a service in St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and Eco-Congregation Scotland (E-CS) was officially dedicated at Dunblane Cathedral on 28th March 2001.

Representatives of all the major denominations signed a pledge committing the churches to the E-CS programme. Today, over 400 congregations of different denominations are Eco-Congregation Scotland members.

Eco-Congregation Scotland is a registered charity that enthuses and equips churches to weave environmental issues into their life, worship, and mission in an enjoyable and stimulating way. There are twenty local networks, run by volunteers, who encourage each other to do more to help the environment locally and globally. One full time and three part time members of staff administer the programme and provide resources, regular contact, regional networks, talks and workshops, a monthly newsletter and a web page. They also arrange to have churches assessed for an E-CS Award. 

The programme has three strands:

• Spiritual living - making the link between environmental issues and Christian faith.

• Practical living - taking action in the church and in the home to reduce our environmental impact.

• Global living - influencing attitudes and taking action in local or global communities on issues affecting climate change.

The Scottish Government has funded E-CS since 2003, along with a number of other church bodies and development charities such as SCIAF. The Scottish Government has a vested interest in continuing support, as E-CS can help achieve the government’s own ambitious ‘green’ targets. But Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, would like the membership of E-CS to reflect more closely the denominational structure of churches in Scotland – and so would I.

There are around 3,800 Christian churches and assemblies in Scotland and 405 are registered as eco-congregations. Of those, only 24 (5%) are Roman Catholic. The Church of Scotland has 282 eco-congregations (20%), and the Scottish Episcopal Church has 59 (19%). Wouldn’t it be wonderful to increase the number of Catholic eco-congregations?

That’s a big challenge as there are around 452 Roman Catholic churches in Scotland. Along with a delegate from SCIAF, I represent the Catholic Church in Scotland on the E-CS board. I hope we can increase the number of Catholic Eco-Congregation churches and fulfil our faith’s responsibility to steward the planet responsibly.

Why not find out more about E-CS? Email manager@ecocongregationscotland.org, visit the website www.ecocongregationscotland.org, or call 0131 240 2274. 
And why not put this year’s Eco-Congregation Annual Gathering and AGM in your diary? Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL on Saturday 28th April 2018, 10:00am – 3:15pm.  The meeting will celebrate the International Year of Young People – and our aim is to leave this planet in a better state for the next generation.

On 22 April Earth Day, Catholics around the globe are invited to show mercy to our common home through acts of prayer, education, service, and advocacy. This is in support of Pope Francis’ call for renewed commitments to care for creation in his Laudato Si document, in which he asked us to ‘show mercy to our common home’.