Foundational Statement

In 1996, as a gap-year volunteer, Joe Walker worked alongside street children activists in East London, South Africa. The experience would shape the next ten years of his life and beyond in which he would find himself back in South Africa connected to a number of different projects serving street children.

During his time in South Africa and other Southern African countries he has been inspired by many local street children activists who were standing in solidarity with vulnerable and often oppressed street children. Living in a constant state of hope and despair, the highs and lows of the mixed emotions when working alongside street children left a deep impression on him. Ultimately it was a group of former street children in Durban, speaking of a process they called “conscientization” and a philosophy they termed street-child consciousness that left the most lasting imprint on his mind. Street children consciousness has sought to recondition the minds of street children to believe that their lives can be changed and that they can have a voice in changing the way that society perceives and treats them. By 2005 they had started leading a revolution in the ways that street children were perceived and treated in Durban. An alternative way of being led by street children and former street children was emerging, perhaps the beginning of a new movement.

Working with projects such as Umthombo in Durban that are led by former street children and has developed this philosophy convinced Joe that more needed to be done to support such projects and that greater awareness need to be raised about the street children crisis across sub-Saharan Africa in light of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. With over 6000 children living on the streets of Durban today, it became clear that the present crisis and constant rising number’s arriving to the streets can not be matched by the level of funding projects like Umthombo were receiving.

In 2005, with an idea to set up an organisation to support street children projects, Joe approached Nick Turner (Watering Can Media) who had spent time in Bujumbura, Burundi working with a project called New Generation that was also led by former street children. Nick’s experiences in Burundi and witnessing the crisis of former child soldiers and orphans from ethnic conflict surviving on the city streets also persuaded him that more could be done to support those working with these children. Together, they began working together to devise the idea of Street Action. It’s aim is to support pioneering projects with street children where they and former street children not only participate in decision making but are active leaders at both grass-roots level and policy development. Presently Street Action is supporting two organisations – New Generation in Burundi and Umthombo in South Africa.

With a strong commitment to working in partnership with these projects Street Action’s values and ethos as an organisation are driven by those it supports and serves on the grassroots. Building partnerships with initiatives that are predominately led by former street children enables Street Action to support and promote informed strategies and models of working with street children that we believe will offer hope and lasting change to the lives of millions caught up in a cycle of poverty, abuse and violence. Through this we aim to support real voices from the streets. Street Action is an organisation that aims to be driven by our partners, to support and assist this revolution, and to see lasting change and hope to children living on the street.

Joe Walker and Nick Turner - Co-Directors of Street Action