he twenty-first century presents a hostile face to millions of children in every\ud
African country. Firstly, this thesis examines the response of Scripture Union\ud
Zimbabwe (SUZ) to the growing problem of street children. Taking Zimbabwe as a\ud
case study, empirical research was conducted in its four major cities of Harare,\ud
Bulawayo, Mutare and Masvingo. Since SUZ does not operate a street youth project\ud
in Harare, the capital city, StreetsAhead (SA), a long established Non-Faith based\ud
street youth project in Harare was included to paint a more holistic picture of the\ud
street children situation in the country. Secondly, the thesis reveals that street children\ud
experience untold suffering in their families and when they try to seek refuge on the\ud
streets, their plight is exacerbated by some of those who purport to help them. Thirdly\ud
the thesis explores the challenges and lessons learnt by SUZ and SA in their work\ud
with street children. It further proposes some Christian basis for street children work,\ud
in the hope of provoking further debate. Jesus' words in Luke 18: 16 continue to\ud
challenge all those who are involved in shaping the future of nations by nurturing\ud
eternal values in children. Within the context of this Christian principle, street\ud
children are presented as the poor, who because of their poverty become more\ud
vulnerable, making them dependent upon God's protection. Therefore, those involved\ud
with children's wellbeing should view them `as fragile creatures of God who need to\ud
be both safeguarded and reformed, ' primarily within the family context. Thus the\ud
child's future and very existence are of great concern. Lastly, further avenues of\ud
development in the field are explored, focusing on the importance of family\ud
environment, vocational skills training and employment creation, thereby empowering\ud
children to own the intervention and preventive programmes implemented as a means\ud
of finding a permanent and sustainable solution to this problem