Working with the underpriviledged

'The growing gap between rich and poor'
Maybe it's a cliché... but it is certainly the truth, a reality!
Just ask that kid on the Latin American street or a street kid in one of the African slums.
Or go to Bucharest, London or Amsterdam,...or quickly go to Antwerp or Brussels for those who don't have a lot of time.
Street kids and homeless youngsters are a reality, a global one - more here, and less there, but they are there, everywhere.
It's a phenomenon that was caused by a worldwide tendency toward urbanisation: a direct consequence of this gap.
Almost everywhere in the world the cities are growing at incredible speeds. In countries that are less thriving, people go to the cities hoping for a better future.
Most of the time, however, their dreams are quickly shattered and they vanish into backstreets and slums pressed together with others of the same plight where they have to cope with a shack made of corrugated iron or cardboard... just a couple of kilometres from the city centre with all the superfluous stores, upper-class hotels and expensive cars. Teased as a dog on a chain, just slightly too short to reach what they need and desire, dreaming but at the same time fading away into economic and social poverty. Why them and not us?


Also working with the overpriviledged

Poverty is a consequence of the extreme inequality in this world. Mobile School vzw works together with people and children who have little or nothing at all, by using its mobile schools to bring basic education to the streets. But if we really want to contribute to a better balance between the poor and the rich, it's also our responsibility to work with those who have (too) much. Our Belgian standard of living and our consumption pattern have a strong hold on that gap between the poor and the rich. That's why Mobile School vzw started its Awareness Raising Program that aspires to make people aware of their role in the reality of this world with positive strategies.


Portraying a realistic image

We want to make people aware of the phenomenon of 'street kids'. We think it's important to show an image as realistic as possible and we don't only focus on the negative aspects of street life, but also on the positive ones. Similar to our work with our partners in the field, we emphasise the strengths of the street kids, rather than their problems. This immediately turns the phenomenon of 'street kids' into something less romantisized and more understandable or real. In this way we want to convey a feeling of connection and solidarity with the street kids.
Apart from that, we want to stimulate people here to make an effort for the street kids, by means of that connection. We want to make people aware of their ability to influence those unfair situations of inequality. If everyone does their fair share, we can realise a lot!


How to raise awareness

An important aspect of awareness-raising is done in schools. Moreover, we also organise lectures for all sorts of associations and service clubs. The Mobile School vzw is also present at many world events and other activities.
We also try to raise people's awareness by means of other media, for example the project Cyberstreet, that attempts to reach kids and adolescents through multimedia such as cd roms and dvd games. In the office in Leuven, we have a documentation centre with books, articles, dissertations, videos and dvd's on various topics related to street children and children's rights. And finally, we keep our public support en volunteers informed of the latest news and happenings related to the project with a quarterly newsletter.

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