A petite figure with a smiling face, easy mannerism and pleasant voice hiding within, is a giant personality with a strong will and a benevolent heart.
“Each street child in my life is very important as to why I am the person I am today. They all have different characteristics of inspiration that they have given me. One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learnt from these beautiful little children is to be fearless. They’ve inspired me more than they’ll ever know,” says Razni Razick. An early childhood educator and counsel turned social worker and activist she is passionate about serving children, especially those living on the streets.
“I had a very pampered life and think I was shielded from reality,” Razni explains how she was brought up at home. Her life-changing moment was when she visited a friend who was working at a Centre for Street Children. It had been an eye opener. “I decided to quit my job at that time, and volunteer with the same organization,” she recalls. However, fearing that her parents would not allow her move of volunteering she kept it a secret from her family for a long time. “I would pretend that I was continuing my job. I would get down near the Kandy Hospital, and then go to the Centre where I worked. In the evening I would come back again to the same place, where I was picked up.” However, the fact could not be kept a secret for long, “Kandy is a small place. Sometimes, when I was going shopping or somewhere with my family, someone from the streets would recognize me. So, later I told my mother.”
Helping children living on the streets is a long term process, says Razni. It is a task requiring commitment and perseverance. Each child’s situation is different and needs to be taken into consideration in providing assistance. Helping street children doesn’t need money but time and an understanding of their lives. They need direction. You only have to direct them in the right way.”
Many people living on the streets, “have no hopes for the future,” Razni laments. Their travails are many. Most of them don’t have birth certificates (BC) or National Identity Cards (NIC) for the very reason they don’t have a fixed address. These two documents are essential to access services in Sri Lanka. To admit a child to a school or to get a loan from a bank, and even to get some services from a hospital these are needed. Therefore, these people don’t see a future. It is a vicious cycle that leaves their lives crippled. They have accepted their meagre existence on the streets. “I believe that these people and children have the strength to make positive changes in their lives, but they cannot do it alone. People who live on the streets rarely have a voice to speak about their experiences, living situations and rights. Their stories remain unheard.”
However, Razni’s efforts in collaboration with other interested parties and government institutions had lead some families living on the streets to resume normal family lives. “They live for the day. Have no money management skills. What they earn throughout the day is spent on that day itself”.
However much they earn, in the end there’s nothing left. Razni and the rest of the group had helped some families to break the cycle and start new lives. “We provided them with the key money and rent for three months, until such time they have a stable income in hand,” she reiterates. The group provided counseling, encouragement and support with the regular follow-up visits they conducted. “It was only one family which returned to the streets, all the others have come away.”
“Though institutionalizing children living on the streets had been the common practice in Sri Lanka, it contributes to the cycle of homelessness as the children within care-home confines are sent out as they mark their 18th birthday. They have nowhere to go, they go back again to street life,” comments Razni. Though young men could battle it out, young women lose easily and fall-in to the trap of street life. “Care-homes do not offer a long-term sustainable response to the situation of vulnerable children. By investing in families and communities we can lay the foundation for better conditions for children. Care-homes should be a last resort for children in need,” she reiterates.
A family which provides love, care, and firm direction to children would be the best atmosphere in re-building the lives of children living on the streets, is what Razni believes. This is the goal that she works towards, together with other likeminded souls.