Education for street-connected children

S.A.L.V.E. International helps us learn

My name is Richard and I am 15 years old. When I left school and began living on the streets, I was in primary five in the Tororo district of Uganda. Since joining S.A.L.V.E. (Safety and Love Via Education) I have been able to live in a safe environment as well as getting an education again.

My favourite peer at S.A.L.V.E. is Tiff because he advises me to not run away when I am resettled to my family, and he tells me that I should go back to school. Tiff also stops the other children from fighting, and he always shares his things with me as well as involving me whilst he is revising his coursework. I have two favourite adults at S.A.L.V.E., Uncle Solomon and Uncle Faisal. If it wasn’t for Solomon, I would not be at S.A.L.V.E. I didn’t have any hope of joining S.A.L.V.E. but through building a relationship with me on the streets, Solomon encouraged me to join. Also, Solomon didn’t mind when I lied about where my home was, he just gave me some time. However, when I did decide to tell him the truth, he had already found my home and had spoken to my parents, but he did not accuse me of lying to him. Uncle Faisal is my other favourite adult at S.A.L.V.E. because I really like the way he teaches. He does not teach the way school teachers teach, Faisal’s lessons are much more fun and he always involves me. I also like that he doesn’t force children to study, he just advises us on the benefits of education.
In the future, I want to be a doctor or a dance teacher. However, I need to continue studying hard to be a doctor because I will have to improve in science. Also, I would need to train hard and be able to communicate well to be a dance teacher, which S.A.L.V.E. can help me with. Being at S.A.L.V.E. also helps me to be knowledgeable about what I can do with my future. There is no way that I will be able to achieve my hopes and dreams for the future without education.
Richard, age 15, Uganda

My name is Dennis and I am 16 years old. When I left school to go on the streets I was in primary 6 in the Kamuli district.

S.A.L.V.E. makes me feel happy, safe and welcome for lots of reasons. Being at S.A.L.V.E. means that I can sleep safely in good shelter, and we always get good food every day. I’m also happy at S.A.L.V.E. because we get to play together with both the children and the staff, and we can also participate in sports competitions. I also feel so safe and welcome at S.A.L.V.E. because even if we make mistakes, we are not beaten, uncles and aunts counsel us instead. I feel so comfortable at S.A.L.V.E. because there is no one here to make you feel tense. S.A.L.V.E. provides us with clothes and an education, and they also try to resettle us at our family homes and encourage us to go back to school. At S.A.L.V.E. we are taught to express ourselves, work together and love each other.

I love participating in sports competitions and events. I am so proud of the time I took part in the S.A.L.V.E. volleyball competition, and also when I scored the winning goal at the football competition. I am also proud because I have never missed one of Faisal’s lessons whilst I have been at S.A.L.V.E. And I once won the end of holiday exams by scoring the highest grade, even though some of the other children that participated were in schools and I was not, which shows that I should be proud of the studying I have been doing whilst at S.A.L.V.E.
Dennis, age 16, Uganda