5th August 2008 - Part 2

When I was in Addis in April 2007, Hanna told me of a street boy, A, who she had tried to help. In the past, Hanna has tried very hard to help the street children in Addis, but often they are so brutalised and entrenched in the street culture, that they are beyond the limited help that Hanna can give them. Many of them are addicted to alcohol and are sniffing petrol, and are involved in inappropriate sexual behaviour and a lot of petty crime.

When A was five, he was kidnapped from his family by a criminal gang and was taken to a neighbouring country to work as a beggar. As is apparently quite common in these situations, he was mutilated so that he would inspire more sympathy while begging. For years he worked during the day, begging for money and then having to hand over enough to his 'gang masters' or be beaten.

When he was older (10 or so) he was able to tell the police, and get some help. To their eternal credit, the police rescued him and some of the other boys and their captors were put in prison. As A is from Ethiopia, the local police gave him enough money for a few months, and then sent him back to Addis. Of course, by this point, A didn't have any idea where his family were, or who to go to for help, so he did the only thing he knew how to do – beg.

This is where Hanna came across him, begging on the street. She became friends with him and asked whether he would like to come and live at the orphanage and go to school. Of course, he did want to, and so he started living in the orphanage and going to school. However, he soon struggled. Not only to live in an orphanage and abide by someone else's rules after all those years of fending for himself, but also at school. As he was mutilated by those who took him, he faced particularly difficulty, but he had also never had any formal schooling, so he found it very, very hard.

He told Hanna he would stay if he stopped going to school and could go out and beg – but one of the rules of staying at the orphanage is that all children must go to school or be taught at home. So he ran away and went back onto the streets. Why follow someone else's rules and struggle with something you don't want to do, when you can earn 5 or 6 birr a day begging from money from faranji's like me?

Hanna told me this story to both illustrate how much specialist and focussed help most street children need, and also to show me how it's not always the right thing to do to give street children (or beggars in general) money.

But good news when I visited the orphanage today – A is back! He came back of his own accord (which is probably the best way for it to happen) about 6 months ago and is currently living at the orphanage and studying with the help of others. He wasn't there today as he was with some friends, but it was some great news to hear!

Maybe one by one, we can help the street children?