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URBANIZATION, POVERTY, AND CHILDREN IN LATIN AMERICA

El Salvador: Case Study 1999 

Andres Suster
 
 

CASE STUDY 

COUNTRY: El Salvador

PROGRAM: Proyecto Nino de la Calle de la Secretaria Nacional de la Familia (S.N.F.) 

LOCATION: San Salvador

SPONSORSHIP OF PROGRAM: 

The program is sponsored by UNICEF (United Nations’ Children’s Fund), the Salvadoran government by the use of foreign aid, and donations from the private sector of El Salvador. HISTORY OF PROGRAM:  After a twelve-year civil conflict, San Salvador’s streets were flooded by children that had either been left homeless because of the conflict or had left their homes because of parental abuse. These children were in urgent need of help. Thus, the S.N.F. started working in various projects to help them, and their families (in case they have one) reintegrate.  APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF CHILDREN SERVED:  Around 25 children live in the house provided by the program, and a total of 152 visit the home daily or regularly to receive a meal, shower and clothing. CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN SERVED:  The program is targeted towards helping "children of the street" (those who have lost all type of link to their families and sleep on the streets), who are the ones that are more prone to abuse and other problems, such as drug addiction and prostitution. At a psychological level, the repercussions of living on the streets without an effective link makes these children more vulnerable to all problems.  HOW CHILDREN ARE RECRUITED/SELECTED:  The program only takes care of males, as they constitute more than 90% of the population of minors living on the streets. First, the areas where the "children of the street" live and work are identified. Then, street educators are used to build friendship and trust between the children and the program. After trust and friendship are built, the children are invited to the house for food, clothing and cleansing; after some visits, the children are offered a home at the house, however, all of them are free to leave and come back whenever they want. The children that stay and live at the house are the ones that receive full benefits from the program, and are still allowed to go back to the streets if they don’t like it.  PROGRAM SERVICES:  The children that visit the house on a daily of frequent basis are given food, clothing and are allowed to shower in the house. Furthermore, the children that live in the house receive the previously mentioned benefits and others, such as education and medical and psychological care.

When a child joins the house, medical exams are carried out with the intention to detect any diseases or problems that he might have or carry. The exams done are: urinalysis, electroencephalograph, and a dental evaluation. All the exams and a psychological evaluation are carried out in a nearby medical care center run by professional doctors and psychologists. All medical services are paid for by the program through donations and the help of the Ministry of Health.

If a child is detected to have problems or a disease, the appropriate care is provided. For instance, if they suffer from drug addiction, they are sent to rehabilitation programs, where they are helped to overcome their addiction. The rehabilitation program then takes care for the social reintegration of the child through the Instituto Salvadoreno de Proteccion al Menor (Salvadorean Institute for the Protection of Minors, I.S.P.M.). 

For the children that stay in the house, a series of activities are organized by the house manager to keep the children away from the streets. For example:

    1. Various sports
    2. The creation and care of vegetable gardens in the house’s backyard for the children to sell to the neighbors and for them to consume
    3. Some children go to schools, through sponsorship by the Ministry of Education
    4. Most are also taught skilled labor, such as mechanics or carpentry
After some time of living in the house, contact is made with the families of the children that have them. Communication between the child and his family is established. The quality of their relationship is evaluated regularly to decide on whether the child should be reintegrated to his family by providing them with aid to support him (i.e. clothing, food, free education). Around 50% of the children establish positive relationships with their families. However, most of these children don’t’ wan to go back to their homes, only about 10-15% of all children are successfully reinserted into their homes.

Those who have no families, or those for whom the reintegration into their family is not the best option, are kept in the house until they are 18, or are sent to the I.S.P.M., where they are interned in homes and are provided with education, health care and food. When a child turns 18, they are no longer considered minors, so most programs cannot provide help for them. However, many programs like this one try to help them get jobs where they can perform a trade they have been taught. Also, they are encouraged and helped to become independent and to try to find a decent place to live. 

FINANCIAL BASIS OF PROGRAM:  The following list provides information of who provides donations and financial help for the program and how they are used: 
    1. UNICEF provides the money needed to rent the house the children live in (US $3,000 per year).
    2. Salvadoran government, through the S.N.F., provides the salaries of all personnel (US $12,000 per year).
    3. Donations from the private sector provide for feeding the children (US $6,000 per year). 
    4. Donations of clothing from other organizations are used for the children. 
Total costs of the program per year: US $21,000 (estimated from 1994) PHILOSOPHY OR APPROACH:  A full social, and family, reinsertion of the "children of the street," through education and nurturing.  SPECIAL FEATURES:  The program consists of the following resources:
    1. A house located in the downtown of San Salvador in a central area, very accessible for the children.
    2. A psychologist, who is the house manager and director of the program. She provides affection and help for the children. 
    3. Four street educators (psychologists/teachers) that do the recruiting and selection of the children. They also take turns in running the house and staying over for the night to take care of the kids. 
OBSERVATIONS:
    1. Most children that are helped by the program have experienced some type of parental abuse. 
    2. Most of the children come from outside San Salvador, and are mostly from poor and numerous families.
    3. A major percentage of the children have used drugs at some stage of their lives.
    4. After the electroencephalograph, a substantial percentage of the children reveal abnormalities.
    5. Anemia, along with skin and venereal diseases, are the most common alteration in the health of the children. 

     

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