Find your roots to grow well

This series of education articles that will be published on our website and this blog. They were written as part of “Everyone can learn if…” a seminar that took place in June 2018 at ATD Fourth World’s International Centre in France. These articles aim to support creativity and highlight the successes of our teams and all those working with children. Through this series, we will share the inspiring stories that emerged from the experiences of the seminar participants.

Story from Burkina Faso by Florent Bambara with Orna Shemer1 :

Florent Bambara is an ATD Fourth World Volunteer Corps member. In 2018, he was part of ATD’s team in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), working with the “Family Reconnection” project. This is a project that ATD Fourth World has been developing for many years with children living on the streets.

Florent explains:

Since the 1980s, ATD Fourth World has reached out to the children living on the streets of Ouagadougou to get to know them and to help them have a better future. This work includes reconnecting these children with their families.

The first step is to meet the children in the places where they congregate and gain their trust. We go and see the children on Wednesday nights, with books, in the places where they gather to sleep. We call this activity “Street Library under the Lampposts”. We spend time with them reading books, then before we leave, we tell them, ‘We’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning at the One Hundred Trades Courtyard!’

The following morning, we get ready at the One Hundred Trades Courtyard, close to the town centre, to welcome the children. Fifteen, twenty, thirty children who live on the streets can come here to wash their clothes, shower, play games with us, chat, draw…We call these mornings” Mo’ Cool” — “Cool Moments”.

One Wednesday evening, during a Street Library Under the Lamposts, Florent meets Moussa, a 13-year-old boy living on the street for two years. In an interview with Orna Shemer, professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Jerusalem, Florent recounts to the participants of the seminar “Everyone can Learn if…” the story of Moussa and the circumstances that led to his reunification with his family eight months after they met.

Before

Orna Shemer: What was the child’s situation before he had any relationship with you?

Florent Bambara: When I met Moussa, he was thirteen years old and had been living on the streets for two years. He didn’t go to school, and his mother was distraught. Unfortunately, Moussa had acquired some bad habits on the streets and had taken to glue sniffing — a drug children take to escape the feeling of being ashamed and to feel a little safer. Moussa was weakened, in pain, and always on guard. He had found some friends on the streets. I could say he had no education and was fending for himself.

After

How is he today?

Moussa is now with his grandfather’s family. He goes to school, and he’s learning about the cultural values in the village. He has learned to herd cattle and farm. His mother is now reassured because her child is safe and receiving an education. She is happy because she feels that her son has a future now.

Moussa’s maternal grandfather told us, ‘When the child wasn’t around, his mother couldn’t sleep, and in the evenings, she worried a lot, imagining all kinds of things. It made his mother suffer terribly to chase after him. She didn’t know what to do. Now that he’s back, she’s happy; she can sleep.’

Moussa is also happy with the change in his life.

The costs

Do you think that Moussa, you, his mother or anyone else in his circle paid any costs for the process he went through to return home?

Yes, the mother paid a price because traditionally, custody of the child falls to the father’s family or to the father himself, and it was out of the question for the child to move in with his mother. Moussa didn’t understand all this; it was very hard for him. The mother, seeing how much her child suffered, went beyond these traditions and asked her new husband to accept Moussa so that he could live with them after the birth of his half-brother. But Moussa did not feel like he fit in there and did not want to stay, so he ran away and found himself on the street again. That was a cost for the mother, and I would say it was also a cost for the aunt2, the mother’s sister, who took the risk to go with me to ask the maternal grandfather to accept the child at his home. Traditionally, the grandfather wouldn’t dare accept the child into his home because he knows that the child doesn’t belong with him; he belongs more with the father’s family.

Did you pay any costs yourself to help him?

Yes, because in our work to mend family ties, we usually first go to the child’s family to prepare for their return. That step was not taken with Moussa. Since the boy was eager to return to his family, we chose to be flexible and trust the child. The risk to the child would be that he would be rejected, or something harsh would be said in front of him, and he would be discouraged. Another difficulty: we didn’t know the grandfather’s address. The boy only knew the name of the village but not his grandfather’s last name. So we went on an ‘adventure trip’ of sorts, trusting that the child would lead us to the place. We drove around for a long time without success. It was disheartening for the boy; you could see in his eyes that he was disappointed and didn’t want to return to the street. So what were we to do? Finally, we went 40 kilometres further, at the boy’s request, to find his aunt whose name and place he recalled.

Defining success

Orna, [turning to the group] We heard the ‘before’ and the ‘after’ and the adverse effects or costs of the success. It is essential to balance the outcome and the costs. So what do you think? Is it a success story?

Participant: It’s a tough transition for children who have lived on the streets for a while and then return to a family structure and a rural community. After the experience of independence, albeit coupled with great insecurity, they may feel that the duties and obligations towards the family and community are constraints to their freedom. In this child’s case, the outcome was positive. This indicates that he was ready to change his life and that the risks and costs were well justified.

Participant: Except for some differences in culture and traditions, this story could have happened in my country. So, yes, I am eager to learn from this success.

Orna: It’s essential also to ask others — team members, colleagues, partners, including the parents and the child — if what seems a success to us is success for them. This story is clearly very relevant for you and for ATD Fourth World.

Actions that led to success

Where and when did you meet Moussa, and when you met him, how did you make a connection with him?

We met Moussa during the ‘Street Library under the Lampposts’ held once a week on Kwame nKrumah Avenue. Approximately twenty children who beg from the rich (those who frequent the luxury bars in the neighbourhood) meet on this avenue to sleep.

We saw that he was a newcomer, so we asked him, ‘What’s your name?’ he answered, ‘My name’s Moussa.’ And we invited him.

First, he participated in the activity, and at the end, we invited all the children, as usual, to the One Hundred Trades Courtyard the following day for the Mo’Cool, and Moussa accepted. But unfortunately, he didn’t show up.

So what did you do?

The Monday after, I went back to where the children slept to invite another child to spend the night in the courtyard so that I could take him home — early the following day — to his family. When I arrived at the place looking for this child, Moussa was there. He said ‘hello’ to me, and I said, ‘I didn’t see you Thursday; you didn’t come.’ And he answered, ‘I went to sleep late because in the street, well…’ In short, when he woke up, the others had already left.

When Moussa told you that he was asleep and everyone went off to the Mo’cool, what did you tell him?

Moussa asked what we do to help these children. I didn’t need to answer; an older man who lives on the street answered in my place. He told Moussa that we are escorting children back to their families and that he could trust us, that we are not going say negative things about him to his family. I told Moussa that if he is interested, he can come to us, and if he is ready to return to his family, we can accompany him. In our programme, we do not want to go too fast with the children; we try to support the children’s initiatives and follow their pace.

How did you end that conversation with Moussa, and how did you continue the relationship?

The following Wednesday, after Moussa asked if he could come on Thursday for the Mo’cool. ‘Yes, of course, you can come,’ I said, ‘no problem!’ Because he didn’t know ATD Fourth World’s location, one of his friends said he could bring Moussa the next day.

The next day, we saw Moussa coming with his friend, and he held a bag of glue to his mouth. I told him right away that here in the courtyard, there are rules; it’s not like on the street, you can’t sniff glue here. And the other kid, who is used to coming to the courtyard, explained the rest of the courtyard’s rules to him. Ever since then, Moussa participated in the Mo’cool. He particularly liked doing his laundry and washing up, but he also loved the puppet theatre and dancing. In the street, Moussa was shy, but at the Mo’cool, he was a different child; he opened up to the other kids.

Visiting him on the street was another important initiative. Every time I went to the crossroads, he was there to beg. If he didn’t beg, it was because he was not well. I usually stopped by to say hello and ask about his health and family. Had he heard from them? Moussa would only talk about himself, that he was fine, no word about his family.

What did you do when he would not answer questions about his family?

We would talk about something else, pretend everything in life is fine.… Actually, I used to talk about things that might interest him, either ask him about one of the other kids or speak to him about one of his friends that I had [ already] brought back home to his family, and I would give him some news about that child. Sometimes, I would talk about something that had happened in the city, ask if he knew a specific person, give a little bit of my point of view, listen to his point of view… But Moussa didn’t like talking too much; he would say two or three words, and then it was over; you were the only one talking.

So, I spoke about my life and how my day went. I told him about my children and my wife; it was a little like talking to a friend. For example, I would say to him that this morning I dropped my child off at school, and then I went to work, and on the road, I ran into this person, we talked about that… you see? And about my child, how every morning before getting her ready for school it’s always a hassle, she makes me run after her to take her to school… things like that.

Is there anything else you did to build such a good relationship with him?

Sometimes, when he was with the group, I invited him to talk to me on the side, in private. There, I found him more open. It gave him more confidence because he knew I would not repeat what he told me to others.

One day, Moussa told me he no longer wanted to stay on the street. He asked me to accompany him to his family, ‘But where do you want to stay?’ I asked. He said: ‘I want to stay with my maternal grandfather.’ ‘But what about your father and your mother?’ He didn’t say any more. So I said, ‘Okay, Moussa, I trust you. If you’ve really decided to go, we’ll leave next Tuesday.’

The following Monday, I picked him up and said, ‘If you still want to see your family, you can come and sleep at ATD so we can go together early in the morning, and he came. He slept in the courtyard, and in the morning, he showered and cleaned his clothes. Then we left. On the road, we stopped for breakfast. I also hoped to get his father and mother’s address. Accompanying a child without any information about the child’s family means taking a risk. But as usual, Moussa did not talk. We continued our ride and arrived at the grandfather’s village. Moussa didn’t remember where his grandfather lived. We looked around for over an hour but didn’t find the grandfather’s house. Finally, we sat down. ‘What do we do now?’ I could see in his eyes that Moussa was disappointed. But then he told me, ‘I have an aunt in another village; I can recognise her place.’ I said, ‘Will we be turning and turning there too?’ Moussa gave me some directions. It reassured me, and we continued. We actually found the aunt’s home. She welcomed us and then kindly accompanied us to the grandfather’s house, even though she said, ‘The grandfather is never going to accept to take him in.’ We went in and talked with the grandfather; the whole family was there and welcomed us warmly. I asked the family to trust Moussa. Indeed, he ran away several times, but now he has decided to stay with his grandfather. I also spoke about children who had had a more complicated life than Moussa and who stayed with their families because of the trust their families placed in them.

From then on, Moussa stayed with his family. They enrolled him in school. Moussa had previously been to school up to grade 3, but his mother couldn’t get the papers from his old school proving that he had completed the two years and was supposed to begin the 3rd year, so Moussa had to do the 1st year again. Moussa stayed during the winter; he helped his grandfather keep the herds and farmed. At one point, due to a misunderstanding, Moussa went back to town. But his mother called me this time, and I found Moussa in town that evening. I reassured the mother that I had seen Moussa and that we had to give him time because bringing him back by force was useless. I followed Moussa, who said he didn’t want to return but wanted to look for work in town and that a gentleman had offered him domestic work. I informed his mother, but she disagreed with this arrangement because Moussa could potentially be exploited and abused. The ATD team was also concerned, so I told this gentleman that the mother and the team disagreed with the situation and that he shouldn’t make Moussa work for him. Ultimately, Moussa stayed with the man for two weeks, and after that the gentleman brought him back to town. The following day, I took Moussa back to his grandfather’s. Since then, Moussa has stayed there. Occasionally, I visit him with other children I take in the same direction as Moussa’s village. Also, from time to time, I call the mother or the grandfather to ask for news; Moussa and I also talk.

At the end of Florent’s account, Orna Shemer asks the participants what they had learned from the session.

Deriving the ‘Principles of Action’ that underlay successful actions.

Orna: Now, each participant can try to formulate a Principle of Action — a sentence that regroups similar actions from this story. In other words, it includes initiatives that Florent carried out or discussions that determined that he acted in a particular manner. Find active sentences that gather four to five very close actions.

Magdalena: What I heard from the story is Trust the child.

Orna: Okay, and which actions make you recognise that he trusts the child?

Magdalena: Florent said that he told Moussa that he trusts him.

Mariana: He asked the child what he could do at different moments.

Caroline: To say to the child: ‘you didn’t come to the Mo’cool,’ makes the child aware that we expect something from him.

Orna: Can you say the principle of action behind that in one sentence?

Caroline: To be demanding, to have high expectations of the child.

Prisca: To involve other children to support Moussa in his plan to return to the family

Suzanna: When Florent asked the child about the family, he said nothing. But the conversation flowed when he talked about other things, his family and day-to-day issues. I would name it a principle of action: Keep talking to the child.

David: He rang the mother, went with Moussa to look for his grandfather’s house, and returned several times.

Orna: Ah! This is important. Because if an action happens once, it’s usually not a principle of action. It’s just an action. We should be able to give more than one example of an action for a principle of action. So this principle of action would be…?

David: To be very thorough when trying to mend family ties.

Bruno: I’m impressed that Florent decided to shortcut the usual procedure and go with the child without contacting the family first. He said this was a risk, but the team supported his decision. They didn’t even wait to find the proper address. Instead, they chose to be guided by the child’s strong desire to return to his family and understood that the child was ready for it. Even though there is a procedure based on solid experience, they are attentive to the child. When the child is ready, you don’t waste time. You decide: We’re going on Tuesday. I would call this principle of action: To seize the right moment.

Orna: This is the method of Learning from Success. To sum up what we just did: We understood the story and decided that this was a success after we heard the “before”, the “after” and the “costs”. We listened to the story through the actions. We discovered the principles of action behind the actions, and if we had more time, I’m sure we could still find more principles of action.

Florent, you know how to apply these principles from your experiences, and now we can learn from you how to build a relationship in this context, take it into our own context, and learn what we need to know from your story. We understand that for ATD Fourth World in Ouagadougou, each successful re-connection of family ties confirms the importance of each person’s roots in their family and community, and the bonds that are formed.

1 This story about Moussa, is an abridged version of the Learning from Success dialogue between Florent Bambara and the Learning Companion Orna Shemer. This dialogue demonstrates that through patient ‘digging’ with questions that ask to describe rather than to explain, reason or justify- tacit knowledge from practice can be ‘unearthed’. It demonstrates how principles of action is useful for further or similar action can be drawn from the successful experience without duplicating actions regardless of the context and circumstances. The subtitles in this chapter correspond to the steps from the Learning from Success Method (For more information, download the methodology sheet here)