Lessons learned from the Chilean experience

In spite of an economy with better macro-economic figures than most Latin American countries, Chile is not immune to the existence of street children. In Santiago and Valparaíso, there are an increasing number of children in the streets, due in part to the economic crisis suffered by the poorest social strata. In many cases, these children maintain strong links with their family, handing them the money obtained from begging or selling.

Chilean people have learnt some lessons that may be valuable for NGOs working with street children in other countries.

1. Working with families allows to overcome financial and bureaucratic problems. Chilean NGOs suffer two hindrances. First, they have very little money, because they are not given enough by the Government, and because international foundations have left the country due to its economical “growth”. Second, Government money has an asistencialista undertone, as the National Minor Service (Sename) is regulated by traditional laws.
   
   Nevertheless, working with families can overcome this problem. Although a program can be sold to Sename as a charity project, reality shows that families manage to become the main actors. Equally important, working with families avoids the high costs of running a shelter. Of course, this does not mean that it is all plain sailing, because assisting street children’s families – although successful in the current juncture -- demands a particular level of training and empathy.
   
   Serpaj, NAIM, and Raices have achieved a great success through this emphasis.
   
   
2. Small organizations can suffer because of the success of large NGOs. Hogar de Cristo is a wonderful organization, which replaced the absence of a welfare state in several areas in Chile. Numerous children and families would not receive any attention if this Hogar did not exist.
   
   However, its enormous size (thousands of employees, millions of partners and 1500 volunteers in Santiago), makes other NGOs invisible to the public. Proposals with new and creative ideas have difficulty to make them known or procure donations from people, because Hogar de Cristo monopolizes press attention. Many NGOs feel alienated in this context.
   
   
3. A committed university can change the world… or, even better, it can change a neighborhood. The Universidad Santo Tomás and the Universidad del Mar have established links to NGOs or neighborhoods, where professors participate as advisors and students as volunteers. In particular, in Pudahuel, a neighborhood in Santiago, this experience has transformed many, many children’s lives.
   
   
4. Beware of bourgeois behavior! Social workers in Chile are well trained and badly paid. In many cases, in particular because of the hierarchy of prestige in Chile, they leave their calling to work for private companies or multinationals, where they can earn good salaries. When people working with street children consider their professional labor in isolation from social commitment, they will look for better paid positions.
   
   On the other hand, there is a worrying phenomenon in Chile at present: poor families in deprived neighborhood join right-wing parties and election campaigns, simply because they think it makes them look more wealthy and prestigious. Thus, solidarity and the social fabric are subverted, and the work of those NGOs wishing to help street children becomes more difficult.