After our submission on 30th March we will continue with the project with the aim of building contact, friendship and greater understanding of each other's lives. This should develop as the children work together and get to know each other and is vital if they really are to empathise with each other and gain an insight into the state of the world.

Working on the Songa Mbele project encourages the children from ISM and Mkombozi to think about and appreciate the following things:
 
The lives street children live and the dangers they face on the streets. Understanding of the reasons they have left home.
Developing a greater insight into the meaning of family; what does it involve? Is it just mother & father, or is what it teaches the important thing... self respect and respect for others, trust, love, dignity?

The street children will learn to interact with their peers in a different social setting. Development of socialising skills for the street kids. Not to think of other people merely as a source of money, but as individuals with their own lives and concerns.

Thinking global - this will be difficult for the Mkombozi boys. They literally have no conception of life outside Tanzania. The issue of homeless and abused youth is world-wide and is largely a product of socio-economic factors. Understanding this will help children appreciate that it is not their fault, and will encourage them to develop increased self esteem. The children could start to think about what can be done to address this issue on a global basis; what causes it and what approaches could be used to prevent children abandoning their homes and what to do to help them once they're on the streets.

Songa Mbele's goal is to raise awareness in the local community about children's rights. This can be done on a number of levels:

Songa Mbele can be the first step for  children to think about the rights and responsibilities they have at home and in the community. What do children think is important and is this determined by their experiences? Do the street children think that the right to food is more pressing than the right to express themselves freely and to be heard? What do the ISM kids think? Again this comes back to discussing these things among all the kids and hopefully to a development of greater understanding.

Children can change the perceptions of others about street children, particularly among their friends and families. "I've made a great friend... he lives on the street and is completely normal!"

If eventually anything comes of the Summit and projects are implemented by children its a great way to show them that you can achieve great things without money being thrown at an issue. Commitment and motivation can achieve as much, if not more.
We hope that the children from Mkombozi and ISM will eventually form a drama troupe together which will perform in public. Their work will demonstrate firstly that all children have a right to voice their opinions and to be listened to. Secondly all children have talents, whether living on the streets or attending school, they just need to be supported and encouraged. Thirdly the results of the children's discussions and activities about family, how they think conflict should be resolved and how they think children should participate in determining the direction of their lives can be dramatised and used as a learning tool for the wider public.

 With regard to the Digital Revolution the children can look more closely at the following:

Investigate how in one community the digital revolution can have such a profound effect on one group and completely bypass another. We all live together and yet the majority of people in this society would not know what a computer was, why it was needed, let alone about the InterNet and it's relevance. As far as they're concerned it's irrelevant. This could be an interesting area to explore for the kids. Is the digital revolution necessary when you can't even guarantee that your harvest will feed your family?
 

  Kate McAlpine - Mkombozi Director