Every child deserves to feel safe, loved and able to play.
Every purchase you make helps children living on the streets in Malawi to have this, most for the first time.
The problem
Thousands of children end up on the streets in Malawi, leaving home due to desperate poverty or violence, but find themselves in an even worse situation. The streets are not safe. They have no access to education or healthcare. They face violence from adults on the streets as well as from police; and the general public see them as criminals. Frequently, they are summarily arrested and kept in prison without trial, where they face further abuse.
The plan:
King’s Kids exists to help street-connected children in Blantyre reintegrate with their families or find a sustainable livelihood if they are older. While this programme is a partnership of three local churches, King’s Kids supports children and families of all faiths and none. The team of staff and volunteers includes social workers, pastors, lawyers and child rights specialists.
The main activities undertaken by King’s Kids are:
1. Child Protection:
The foundation of every activity, the King’s Kids team upholds the highest standards of child protection, while also equipping children to protect themselves.
2. Street outreach & mediation
Social workers go into the streets of Blantyre to identify children in need of help, building relationships of trust. They also work with children who are in conflict with the law, focusing on victim-offender mediation and advocating for better treatment by the police.
3. Life skills sessions
Twice a week, children attend interactive life-skills lessons sessions, covering topics like identity, livelihoods and health. Social workers also make time for 1-2-1 counselling. Most of all, children have fun together, become hopeful about the future and build secure relationships that give them confidence to decide to return to their families.
4. Family reintegration
When the child is ready, they map their family network and identify who they feel safe to live with. A social worker takes them home and works with the family on whatever issue caused the child to run away. Follow up visits ensure that the child is fully accepted in the community, including engaging schools, chiefs and faith leaders.
5. Education support
Accustomed to life on the streets, many street-connected children find it difficult to participate in the classroom: adjusting to mandatory school discipline proves difficult and many have a very short concentration span. King’s Kids enrolls children back into school when they are ready, works with teachers to support their integration and follows up regularly.
6. Family strengthening
To support families to care for their children after reintegration, parents/guardians are encouraged to join already existing saving groups in their vicinity, or helped to form one. Loans and further income generation support will be given where needed.