Salaam Baalak Trust

“Give a person a fish and you have fed him for a day. Teach a person to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime.”

Our last site visit was with the Salaam Balaak Trust (SBT). When we got off the bus two tour guides greeted us. We split into two groups to visit one of their shelters. As we made our way through the narrow alleyways, our guide explained to us the mission and purpose of SBT. Street children rescued by SBT often run away from home to avoid unfortunate family situations. They have no where to go but can’t bear staying at home so they run in hopes of finding a better life. SBT seeks to ensure that all children can partake in education regardless of their position or station in life. It gives students that would otherwise not have the opportunity a chance to meet their basic needs. They also seek to teach them the values of independence, decision-making, education, and social values so that they will ultimately become self-dependent, contributing members in society. Street children are taken into one of the 5 shelters run by SBT and given the opportunity to lead a normal life. After arriving at the shelter, we had a chance to visit with a group of young boys in the classroom. Several of them got up and sang and dance with us, and were really excited to have their picture taken. A lot of the class interacted with the students and we all cheered them on. I thought they had incredible talent and it was incredible to see them all still have such huge smiles on their faces. At the same time, I was somewhat heartbroken thinking about all of their stories and how they were all there alone with no family. I can only imagine how isolated and scared some of them must feel being so young. It was evident that a lot of them just wanted attention and to feel like someone was interested in them.

Later, our tour guide took us into a small room to explain his runaway story and how he got to where he is today. His father was abusive and he watched him abuse his mother to the point where it took her life. Unable to bear his home situation, he fled and ended up on the streets. He couldn’t find food or shelter and he got to the point where he thought his life wasn’t worth living anymore. That’s when SBT took him in. Now he is a tour guide, he is educated, and is living independently while making a living with SBT. In this sense, I think SBT is a remarkable organization. Of all the organizations we visited, this was my favorite model. Their system is truly sustainable as they help street children to have a better life and then some of them go on to become tour guides with the organization. This self generating cycle of producing tour guides is a great way to ensure the program is empower the children that are benefiting from the services. The famous adage quoted above seems like the perfect description of what SBT does for street children. I really learned a lot from learning about their model and am definitely more optimistic about the ability for social enterprises to have a lasting social impact that is sustainable over time.