What SSSK does

Students Supporting Street Kids aims to make people aware about the issues affecting street-connected children. We raise money for projects that work with such children and which help them realise their potential.  SSSK was founded by two students. Our branches are run by students, and 100% of all monies raised and donated go to street child NGOs.

Take a look at our SSSK leaflet 2016 which describes ‘what we are about’ and has a map showing where the NGOs we support are.

SSSK News

See Balaknama April 2017 which gives street children a voice. Also note the volunteering opportunity in May 2018 in Moscow with the Street Child World Cup. Highly recommended.  Use the link and get involved.

In addition, see our latest publications, such as the Dec 2016 Newsletter with its report on the Oxford Conference.  You will find that these have updated information about our NGOs, and news of what is happening in branches.

SSSK on Social Media

You will find us on facebook.com/studentssupportingstreetkids

and at twitter.com/sssksocialmedia

where you will encounter up-to-the-minute information about events and issues.

The UN CRC General Comment

We are delighted to share the news that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has published General Comment 21 on Children in Street Situations.

For the first time ever, street children are the focus of authoritative United Nations guidance to Member Countries on how to uphold the rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC).  Importantly, the General Comment acknowledges the role of “trustworthy adult street workers” in ensuring these children enjoy the respect, dignity and acceptance they deserve.

We congratulate the Consortium for Street Children (CSC), of which we are a member, for persistently pursuing this outcome, since without them this would never have happened. We particularly recognise the contribution of Kate Bretherton, a SSSK Trustee for many years, now working for StreetInvest, who played a prominent role as one of the 12 members of the Consortium’s Advocacy Forum.

The Street Child Games in Rio 2016

See: www.streetchildunited.org where using the power of sport, teams of former street children showed the world what they can achieve when they can access their rights. Each sport was themed, raising awareness of the challenges street children face and celebrating their potential. The sports included:  100m: Identity  Hurdles: Overcoming challenges  800m: Perseverance  Long jump: Potential  Shot Put: Future  Relay: Community  Football: United Nations  Cricket: New Horizons

Two SSSK members were there as volunteers to help at the Games and at the all-important Congress.

See the Street Child Games 2016 Report  and the 2016 The Rio Resolution.  There’s an overview of the participants in the nine teams in 2016 Rio Congress

Usha Elumalai’s address to the Rio General Assembley packs a powerful message. Take a look.

Fundraising

If you are planning or undertaking an event to raise funds for SSSK you can now use BTmydonate to set up a fundraising page. Go to https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/sssk

BTmydonate operates with minimal charges (paid for by the Trustees) and all the monies donated go to our NGOs.

Grant applications

Please note that we are only able to support NGO’s that members have visited.

Have a look at what it’s like to live on the streets in Colombia or in Ethiopia:

www.letthechildrenlive.org/street-children/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nEcl4E17S0

Have a look at how NGOs work to help street children:

http://www.voiceofchildren.org.np/ under VOC programmes and Street Children Project. Other NGOs work in similar ways, and there is much more information here (on the SSSK website) under both Links and NGOs we support.

A wide ranging source of information

There’s a website http://www.gvnet.com/streetchildren/ which has been set up by Professor Martin Patt from the University of Massachusetts in the USA. It is intended as an educational tool, and includes articles about the prevalence, abuse and exploitation of street children in more than 150 countries. It provides a huge resource, including some specifically for teachers and some for parents. It consists mainly of press reports and articles, but there is other material as well.