The kids on the street

I don't know where to start, there are so many things to tell you all about the children and there stories. Last week was great, we saw all sorts of different health problems that the kids face. Most are relatively minor things that you could sort out at home in the UK, ie. dressing wounds, giving paracetamol, but some of the children need antibiotics or referral to hospital or the STI clinic. There are two main big groups of kids that are rivals and really don't get on so I quite often see kids that have gotten into fights and attacked each other with bottles and knives. Most of these children are teenagers but some are as young as 8 or 10.
Last week I went on a couple of trips out of Durban to the rural areas to take some children back home. This was a great feeling to feel that the children want to go home and are being reunited with their families. I was very surprised at the reactions of the kids and the families though, there does not seem to be many signs of emotion when they return - no hugging or kissing! These families have not seen the children for months and they don't appear to be overjoyed or relieved. Maybe it's a cultural thing and behind closed doors it's different, I cannot judge. It seems that with most of the kids their parents are dead, I think mostly due to HIV/ AIDS, so they go back to live with grandparents or aunts and uncles. It is so sad to hear what these children have been through.
On friday I went to the hospital with one girl who is now 21, she has been living on the streets since she was 7 or 8. She went to get stitches taken out of the many stab wounds she has suffered on her face. The boy that stabbed her has been arrested and she has to go to court to testify later this month.
As a girl on the street it is likely that you will be raped at some point. Sexual abuse is a real problem for both the girls and boys. If you are a new girl on the streets or you do not have a boyfriend then you are likely to get raped. Many of the boys have more than one girlfriend, but the girls rather that the other options. It's not just the girls, the older boys abuse the younger boys. I couldn't belive the stories when I heard them, and there is nothing that can be done to stop what goes on.
Many of the girls get pregnant and, although not forced, give their babies away so that they are safe as they realise the streets are no place to have a baby. After speaking to one girl it seems that they don't realise that they won't ever get their children back, let alone see them again. They don't use condoms as their boyfriends tell them that they can't love them if they use one. I am in the process of trying to organise condoms to be available in the toilets at the drop-in centre - I think this is a basic necessity that could easily be made available. Also, hopefully this week I am going to have a picnic with the girls and talk to them about HIV.
These children amaze me, they are laugh and smile a lot but nobody can even begin to imagine what they have been through. Due to their lack of ID books (essential for anything in SA) they are non-existent. Providing medical care is a great thing to be able to do and helps a lot but I think more importantly it is that extra bit of care and attention that they receive that probably has a bigger impact.