Why street kids may not go to school, even if you pay for it
- AH : So I met this little boy the other day who fishes every morning in Lake Kivu [eastern Democratic Republic of Congo] with his little brother. I really admire them because they work very early and long, and the little brother strings little talapia and sardines they catch onto a reed of grass through the fish's gills. I think they give the fish to their family because their father is unemployed and extremely poor. Last weekend the oldest brother, who is probably 12, invited me to his house. It's a shack on the lot of a large house currently in construction, on a bed of hard lava rock. They are squatters. The boy is amazingly smart, and speaks French perfectly, some English, Kiswahili, and his tribal language probably. He asked me for money to pay for school, because he said it was too expensive at $10 per term. But then the father indicated to me that he pays for the boy to go to school, $6 a month. I don't know if I should give him tuition -- I mean I would be happy to help, but will it really go to the school or will the boy just take it and keep fishing to feed his family? He has five siblings.
- Franc: If he speaks those languages it means he has probably spoken with a lot of tourists to get money. He knows what stories to tell to get people's sympathy and money. Those children are very difficult cases, because usually if you pay for them to go to school they will not even go, they don't want to. Because they want to spend the money on themselves and keep fishing.
- AH: So is there any way to help them?
- Franc: What we usually do with those cases is to help the children make more money. Maybe to change from fishing to some other business and better organize themselves.
- AH: What!? So, like, you just accept that they are determined to be little business people and help them to become more successful at it?
- Franc: Yes.
