A couple of days ago I watched a fantastic TV programme, “Where am I sleeping tonight?” (BBC Three), which tells the stories of homeless youngsters in Britain. Interestingly it was the first documentary made by director Martin Reed, who himself had been living on the streets aged just 16. For me, the programme provided a real insight into the many challenges faced by this population here in the UK and I would thoroughly recommend it.
Throughout the programme I found myself constantly reminded of the similarities between these British young people and the street kids in Bolivia: the hours walking the streets trying to find somewhere safe to sleep, the hunger, the hidden existence, the “community” aspect of life on the streets, the desperation and the pressure of drugs…
Two things said by the British youngsters that really struck me were:
“I feel safer on the streets than I do behind closed doors”
“We are like rats, you don’t realise it but you are never more than a few feet away from a homeless person, it’s just that we are so well hidden”
They could so easily have been said by a Bolivian child.
Homeless people the World over are a huge challenge for today’s society. I guess the key difference is that here in the UK there are systems in place – organisations like The Princes Trust which offer the possibility of getting back into college courses, places like The Wild Goose cafe and various soup runs for food, and a Government benefits system. As the programme shows these systems don’t always work how they should, but at least they exist.
The challenge in Bolivia is the numbers of young people turning to the streets, the society being so much poorer as a whole, and the lack of a Government welfare system to help these kids – leaving them to survive alone. However, even in Bolivia, places like Alalay do offer hope for these young people and the chance to change their lives. Our Alalay alumni: previously homeless children who are now in University, living in their own flats and bringing up their own families. These kids can achieve so much if just given the chance.
Please do take the time to watch the BBC Three documentary by clicking HERE.
Two of our “Alalay alumni” (image credit: Ben Ashmole Photography)
