The Young Professionals Committee of Street Kids International hosted their inaugural social event at Baker & McKenzie LLP. This after-work event allowed individuals from various backgrounds to network while learning about this good cause. The event was held to coincide with the International Day for Street Children, a day which serves as a voice for the millions of street children.
Photograph by Ingrid Goh. Krishna Nikhil, Chair, Patty Stuchberry, Fundraising Manager, Shaheen Karolia, Young Professional Committee, Ye Xia, Young Professional Committee, Alison Bier, Young Professional Committee & Prea Grover, Interim Executive Director, Street Kids International.
The Young Professionals Committee of Street Kids International was formed in November 2013 with the purpose of hosting interesting and entertaining events while raising awareness about the organization. The committee plans to host social events on a quarterly basis. The next event will be the Street Kids International signature poker event entitled Mumbai Hold’Em. This event will be held at the upscale nightclub, Maison Mercer. A skills workshop will be held prior to the tournament so that all interested individuals can play.
We spoke to two of the six committee’s executive members. Shaheen Karolia indicated that he was both excited and nervous to host this first event. He informed us that the committee wanted to provide unique opportunities and social events while providing a platform for support and brand awareness. Another committee member, Sahil Zaman, said that Street Kids International is a unique organization because the end user does not receive direct funding. “We don’t give hand outs, we give hand ups,” he said. He explained that the money, which is received by the organization, is used to train the trainers. The training programs will provide the sustainable skills to empower youth to start their own venture.
Established in Canada in 1988, Street Kids International have been empowerimg youth in over 60 developing countries to break the cycle of poverty and change their future in a positive manner. Street Kids International provides practical, hands-on business skills that at-risk youth can use to obtain entrepreneurial opportunities or entry-level jobs. Street Kids International uses a unique Train-the-Trainer model, which provides educational workshops on relevant business skills to Master Trainers and Youth Workers based in developing countries. These trainers then adapt the tools to make them culturally relevant and educate at-risk youth in their communities. Street Work™ is an entrepreneurship program that targets youth 15-30 years of age and provides them with the tools to start a small business. Street Source™ is a job readiness program that serves youth between 18-22 years of age and provides them with basic job skills to gain full-time employment.
The history of Street Kids International began with a young lawyer, Peter Dalglish, who witnessed a street kid breaking into his vehicle. Instead of contacting the police to press charges, he started a bicycle courier service and recruited this street kid as well as other street kids to make deliveries. In addition to running a delivery service, he opened a technical training school, which enabled them to receive technical training in different professions in the evening after they have completed their deliveries. Upon returning to Canada, he started Street Kids International, which provides vulnerable youth the tools to rise above poverty and become successfully employed. The organization has since grown to open a British office.
Street Kids International partners with local community organizations to deliver training to developing countries. It worked with front line organizations around the world including Frontline Partners with Youth Network, Canada; YMCA Colombia, Colombia; Emmanuel Development Association, Ethiopia; Ayala Foundation, Philippines; and Hands Empowering the Less Privileged in Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone. The accomplishments of Street Kids International have been recognized by organizations such as United Nations and UNICEF. In addition, they were the recipient of the Peter F. Drucker Award for Canadian Non-Profit Innovation.
At the first social event Prea Grover, interim executive director of Street Kids International, delivered a short presentation on how she became involved with the organization and informing guests about the goals of the organization. She indicated that to date, the program has helped over 2 million youth with a 93% success rate. The impacts of the program are not only felt by its youth, but also by their families and local communities.
The presentation closed with an inspirational video featuring recipients of Street Kids International’s benefits. The video demonstrates how the program has positively empowered these individuals to succeed. The effects of the program are succinctly summarized by Nestor from Columbia who says, “If it’s possible to dream, then it’s possible to do it.”
