Meet Leydi - she is 12 years old and has been working on the streets since she was 6. After participating in the Street Business Toolkit training, Leydi convinced her parents to add sodas to their grocery kiosk and to let her manage that aspect of the business on her own. She developed a pricing model, marketing ideas, and a plan to retain customers. As a result of the workshop, Leydi keeps a careful register of her income and costs. She makes $ 0.20 per bottle – she saves 25% and contributes the balance to her family.
street work
Our street
work program seeks to empower street kids to develop safe
and more productive ways to earn a living working in the street.
We recognize that many kids need to generate income to support
themselves and their families and therefore need business training
that is tangible, easy to understand, leverages their skills and
guides their development business ideas. Similarly, front-line
workers require straightforward materials and a support in developing
a methodology that is effective and locally relevant to access
these kids.
Street Work addresses these requirements through its Street Business and Street Banking Toolkits which are:
- Entrepreneurship courses designed for front-line workers to use directly with street kids.
- Financial education and personal development curriculums using visual aids including an animated story called Speed’s Choice introducing five case studies of street kids facing challenges and opportunities associated with earning an income.
- Practical, interactive and participatory, the kids submit their own business plan, and receive a micro credit loan to get them started.
These programs depend on the creativity and resilience of the youth we work with and the youth workers that they support. These programs create a sustainable answer to systemic poverty.
