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From the ALCS it becomes clear that change is a gradual process which requires patience and resilience on the part of both the staff and children, and all stakeholders involved and will not be reached by individual measures.

The situation is complex, and cannot be solved by quick-fix one-size-fits-all approaches. Once a child is living in the streets, a gradual change of the situation becomes ever more difficult, the longerthe child has been living away from home. Interventions on the street children problem should hence emphasise on preventive measures and community-based support structures for detection of vulnerability and abuse cases.

A holistic, systemic approach is important in addressing the street children phenomena. It is crucial to identify stakeholders, analyse their roles, and involve them in the rehabilitation process,  thereby strengthening and building new partnerships. Rehabilitation of street children is a multi-stakeholder intervention. Child participation is also very important in the change process. Role models, as for instance former street children can be an effective tool for communicating with street children.

As the boy's story and the stories of many other children show clearly, street children have the potential to excel in life. The character of a child is a significant factor in the rehabilitation process. It is important to appreciate the strengths of individual children and build on them during the restoration process.

Constant efforts are crucial in supporting the children, as only when they have trust they can open up and take on advice. The fact that, for instance, the social worker of the organisation is working with the children for almost 10 years and that they know him well for that reason helps a lot in CRO’s efforts to reach the children. Continuity is hence a crucial factor. Approaches to reach the children require a certain level of flexibility, to make sure that no child falls through the roaster and that the approach or support reaches the child, and, equally important, keeps them durably away from the street.

Some ideas for concrete intervention

 Drawing from the boy’s story some first ideas were developed by the workshop participants, which are here presented as recommendations for potential interventions to stimulate positive change:

-          A comprehensive advocacy campaign for community involvement and participation could be established, to prevent labelling and stigmatisation and sensitise all stakeholders for the problem of street children and make them aware of their potential role for positive change.

-          Counselling should be tailored to the specific needs of the children. This requires strengthening of the capacity of the counsellors/ social workers in the form of constant supervision and training.

-          A detailed baseline study could be conducted to further elaborate on the situation and identify the needs of all stakeholders involved. This could help in shaping interventions accordingly, thereby making them more systemic and powerful.

-          The government should review the policies, strategies, law on juvenile offenders, and put structures in place and build the capacity of law enforcers to counsel and handle street children. Harsh punishment does not lead to an improvement of their situation, but in contrary further stimulates their exclusion from society.

-          CRO should review its intervention model and seek for a holistic approach that addresses all stakeholders involved.

-          The experiences of street children should be used to design programmes and interventions.