1. Central Child Welfare Board and Street Child of Nepal
Submission to the General Comment on Children in Street Situations
by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
The Central Child Welfare Board works towards the protection and realisation of child rights in Nepal, and
coordinates a network of governmental organisations, national non-governmental organisations and international
non-governmental organisations that support street connected children. The Board is leading a campaign to
address issues concerning street connected children in the Kathmandu Valley through a coordinated and
integrated approach. Formore information, click here: http://www.ccwb.gov.np
Street Child works with the Central Child Welfare Board and its network of organisations to support and strengthen
educational interventions for children in street situations. Since 2008, Street Child has worked with children in
street situations in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nepal towards reintroduction to education, reunification with families
and reintegration into society and has assisted more than 20 000 children to access education. For more
information, click here: http://www.street-child.co.uk.
This submission is focused on rights based, holistic strategies to support children in street situations. In particular, it
is concerned with accessible, adaptable educational interventions that fulfil the right to education proclaimed in
Article 28 of the 1948 UniversalDeclarationof HumanRightsto the 1989 ConventionontheRightsof the Child.
This submission is informed by consultations with children and staff from the following organisations leading
efforts towardschange for street children in Nepal -
 Child Watabaran Centre Nepal (CWCN) is working to reintegrate and rehabilitate street children by
providingeducation, vocationaltrainingand life skills for their long-termsocial security
 Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) is working to protect the rights of the child against child labour and other
forms of exploitation
 SathSath assists children and youth to develop the capacity to improve their situation and expand their life
choices
 Voice of Children (VOC) works to rescue, rehabilitate, and reintegrate children into their families and
communitiesby improvingtheir life skills andcapacity for self-sustainability
GeneralComments
The Central Child Welfare Board and Street Child applaud the efforts of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to
offer guidance on children in street situations.
Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child acknowledges that education should develop each child’s
abilities to the fullest. General Comment No.5 illustrates this as a ‘holistic concept, embracing the child’s physical,
mental, spiritual, moral, psychological and social development’ and further asserts that ‘implementation measures
should be aimed at achieving the optimal development of all children’1
. Whilst there are a range of educational
interventions for street children, these are varied in scope, scale and outcome. Thus, a General Comment on street
1
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5, General measures of implementation of the
Conventiononthe Rightsof the Child (arts. 4, 42 and44, para. 6), U.N. Doc. CRC/GC/2003/5 (2003).

2. 2
connected children stands to offer states and their partners a framework for coordinated and integrated
interventions thatcan enhance the impact of their efforts.
Adoptionof strengthsfocused approachestochildren in street situations
Interventions for children in street situations have tended to adopt correctional approaches, stressing problems,
vulnerabilities, and deficits, and resulting in interventions that have been clinical or reactive to the social forces
which force children to take to the streets. The Central Child Welfare Board and Street Child believe that
interventions should be informed instead by strengths focused approaches, a positive psychology perspective that
emphasises the capabilities and resources of children, leverages their strengths and develops these to their
potential2
.
Children in street situations often haveunique knowledge, skills anddispositionsrequiredfor survivalin insecure
anduncertain environments. Consultationsshowthatthesechildren exhibit strongself-sufficiency, ability to
overcomeadversity and resilience and grit beyondtheir years. Their greatest challenges often arise from
destructivestereotypesand appallingtreatment by authoritiesand communities, which threatentheir rights and
realisation of their potentialand force them to the fringes of society.
“Empathy is the most important thing lacking in the streets, in society, in people. When people just see their
present behaviour and accuse them and don’t know how they got there. When people see the positive, that is
the turningpoint.”
- Anita Prajapati (Psycho-SocialCounsellor, Voice of Children) on the need for positive perspectives
Educational interventions for children in street situations are critical in identifying and extending their strengths,
and in inculcating the habits and routines required for them to leverage these in stable home and school
environments. These interventions see each child as a rights holder and are child-centred, participatory and
empowering in nature.
“The kids are very street smart. They havestrongcommunicationskills. And they’realso muchmore mature. But
how to live in a roomis the biggest challenge – they’venever hadto do it before. It’sa socialization process.”
- Biso Bajracharya(Executive Director, SathSath)on the strengthsof street connected children
Recommendations
1. Design of a flexible, individualisedcurriculum asan avenue tomainstream schooling
Whilst conventional schools may lack the capacity to cater to street connected children initially, states must
transition them into a satellite system of small learning spaces that encourage confidence, esteem and ‘a lifelong
project that comes from within the individual’ (World Bank 2008) founded in acquired knowledge, skills, and
relationships, rather thanfrom insecurity and uncertainty.
This requires an agile curriculum that recognises the life and survival skills that they already have and their
connection to the national standards set by each state. It must be appropriately tailored to their interests and
preferences, and critically, must allow for learning through play, an essential element of early childhood
developmentoften denied to street connected children.
2
Lopez, Shane andMichelle C. Louis, "The Principles of Strength-Based Education," Journal of College & Character
(2009):1-6.

3. 3
2. Delivery of a strengthsfocusedteaching and learning approach groundinginstable relationships
States must train and support educators to adopt authentic, relevant and meaningful teaching and learning
practices that are child centred, and see the educator and the children working together to understand the world
around them.
Core to this approach is a grounding in strong, stable relationships between educators and children, as ‘human
relationships are the heart of schooling. The interactions that take place between students and teachers and
among students are more central to student success than any method of teaching literacy, or science, or math’3
.
Powerful relationships in turn transcend restrictive social structures and create conditions and opportunities for
children to identify and grow their strengthsandcapabilities.
“They treat youmore like a brotherand sister, rather thanteacher andstudent.”
- Anil, 15 on his relationshipswith teachers (Child WatabaranCentre Nepal)
States must also train and support educators to adopt differentiated and multigrade approaches for street
connected children who have grown and developed at varying paces. Whilst traditional schooling prepares children
for the real world, street connected children have already developed skills for survival; educators must therefore
encourage children to bring their prior knowledge and perceptions to the learning space, and work with them to
identify, interpret and extend these.
“The teachers push for you to understand the material, regardless of completing your homework. In formal
education, youget punishedfor not doingyourhomework.”
- Corong, 16 on the teaching and learning approach (Child WatabaranCentre Nepal)
3. Developmentof participatory approachesto implement educationalinterventions
States must promote participation, which is at the heart of a strengths focused approach. Successful peer
education models recognise and leverage the maturity, experience and role modelling offered by children formerly
from street situationsto supporttheirpeers.
“Our peer educators have a street background and act as a role model for other street children. They take pride
in helping others, andwhen they are appreciatedand recognized, they are so happy.”
- SumnimaTuladhar(Executive Director, CWIN)on participationthroughpeer education
States must also encourage participation and support from former and current street children and solicit their
ideas and opinions to inform policies, plans and interventions designed for them. Encouraging participation is a
critical step in preventing reintegrated children from returning to the street by offering them a social network,
emphasisingtheir worth andcontributiontosociety and strengtheningtheir senseof civic senseand identity.
“The facilitator is also a street child. They meet once a month and can provide emotional support or help each
other find new places tolive. The peer education program allows the children to still be family for each other.”
- RanjanaSharma (Executive Director, CWCN)on social networksfor formerly street connected children
3
Cummins, Jim, "Negotiating Intercultural Identities in the Multilingual Classroom," CATESOL Journal 12.1 (2000):
3.

4. 4
4. Coordinationof a UniformStrengths FocusedApproach
States play a critical role in creating a uniformly strengths focused approach amongst the actors who interface with
the lives of children in street situations and should ensure that all actors have the means and capacity for
implementation.
States must be closely involved in conceptualising the changes required to adopt a strengths focused approach and
must provide resources and support for governmental and non-governmental organisations to design curriculum,
deliver teaching and learning and develop opportunities for participation for street connected children. This stands
to optimise the impact of a strengths focus, andmaintains accountability and transparency for protecting the rights
of a child at all levels.
Conclusion
The Central Child Welfare Board and Street Child commend the Committee on the preparation of this General
Comment, and looks forward to its implementation. We would be pleased to respond to any questions or
commentsonthis submission, andtoprovideadditionalinformationto the Committee upon request.