Friday Street Kids

On Friday we left early from our hostel to go to visit a project that works with young people on the streets of Mumbai. This was something that I always wanted to gain some understanding of after three years of working with young people experiencing on street homelessness on the streets of Glasgow.

The organisation working on this takes an approach that would require about 12 organisations in Glasgow and this was more like the way that I think work with people coming from the streets could have success. If young people agree to work with the charity, which is a christian organisation they can take part in a training scheme for a year. There can be up to eight of the young people accommodated in the project's flat during this time and they also gain the opportunity to learn about managing a house and essential things like cooking.

Once they progress through the year they can sit exams to demonstrate that they are competent to enter the job market as either a tailor or a screenprinter. The journey there meant we had to get a taxi, a train and an autorickshaw (a vespa scooter taxi) as someone who drove scooters when I was younger, this was a personal delight. On the way back two of us failed to board the train successfully and had to wait on the next one - the train caper is so intimidating!