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A new 'solution' for street children

By A Special Correspondent in Bangalore

A corporate response to drug abuse among street children is rare, particularly in these days of high growth targets and profitability. But, this is what Nagpur-based Soni Chemicals, manufacturers of 'Erazex', a typewriter correction fluid, has done.

'Erazex', better known as 'solution', is a popular intoxicant that is inhaled by street children in many Indian metros. The company now proposes to add a denaturing agent to the solvent which will induce a vomiting sensation in anybody who inhales it.

The company's decision came in response to a letter written by street children who were part of a unique study conducted by the Bangalore-based NGO, Forum for Street and Working Children, in collaboration with the de-addiction unit and child psychiatry unit of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences.

The company's letter was read out by Fr Varghese Pallipuram of BOSCO, an NGO working with street children in Bangalore, at a seminar held at NIMHANS on Saturday. "We hope it will prevent misuse of the product,'' said the company letter.

The one-year study of drug abuse among street children, sponsored by CRY, and a pioneering, low cost "intervention '' programme, has confirmed the basic premise that 'solution', along with petrol, paints and thinners, were the most popular intoxicants that street children inhaled.

The study covered 321 street children, 197 of whom said they consumed drugs at the end of a tiring day as "survival becomes the all-consuming daily task". Replying to a set of questions prepared by two psychiatrists of the country's premier mental health institute, street and working children have confirmed that they spend Rs 41 of their earnings daily to inhale 'solution'.

"It may sound strange, but today those very reluctant children who did not trust establishments like ours, and were treated for drug abuse, are now bringing in hordes of their other friends, convincing them that drug abuse should be stopped. This is the most remarkable aspect of our intervention. We never expected it,'' says Dr Vivek Benegal, assistant professor, de-addiction unit, department of psychiatry, NIMHANS.

Dr Benegal, along with Dr Shekhar Seshadri, additional professor of psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry unit, NIMHANS, and Dr Kul Bhushan, senior resident, de-addiction unit, formulated the action research module and the "intervention'' in collaboration with Brother Mani Karott, coordinator of drug abuse prevention programme, Bangalore forum for street and working children.

The study showed that inhaling of 'solution' made 48.6 per cent of the children feel "numb'' while 28.2 per cent reported that they "felt happy or it decreased pain". Drug abuse was high among those who slept in unprotected environment like footpaths etc, but not high among those children who worked in supervisory jobs.

The study is significant because current estimates put the street children population in the fastest growing metropolis in the country, Bangalore, at 80,000, with about 60 or more arriving every single day at the India's Silicon Valley.

The numbers are estimates made by various organisations working among street children because no census covers this section of society, the hidden population. Nearly 25 per cent of them come to the city due to economic problems and 19 per cent due to family problems .

But, the most shocking aspect of the study is that drug abuse begins at around 10 years of age, starting with tobacco smoking. By the time they are11years old, the children start inhaling 'solution' mainly because it is freely available across the counter of stationery shops.

"That shopkeeper there, he gives us solution in loose when we don't have money,'' says 12 year old Seenu who works at the Bangalore railway station when the police is not looking out for him on behalf of the state remand home. The study shows that the use of alcohol and opioids comes in at a later stage (around 13 years of age) as it is costlier than solution and petrol, the inhalants.

Information regarding girl children is sketchy. This is partly because boys outnumber girls, though a significant number land up on the streets. But they move around either in gangs of their own or they get into informal "marriages'' with older boys. A large number of them are known to join the ranks of the commercial sex workers.

Interestingly, none of the street children trusts the establishment because they have been abused or exploited by policemen and hospitals ask too many questions about parentage etc. In other words, access to resources that would help the children learn skills, change attitudes and perceptions which would decrease their stress, even if it is to a small extent, is absent.

In fact, the study says that 72 per cent of the children assessed wanted to stop drug use, but 51.9 per cent "wanted nothing to do with establishment structures.''

It is in this context that the intervention by the forum of street children and NIMHANS helped. The intervention by street educators (who underwent a couple of workshops before the intervention) involved viewing of an animated video film (Gold-Tooth made by Street Kids International) and two or three workbook sessions.

"In fact, theatre as a medium was used to educate these children. Today's excellent skit by these children is an indication of how effective a tool theatre is. The most interesting aspect is that it is a totally low-cost system,'' said Dr Seshadri. This helped the children to implement adaptive coping strategies.

"Many of the children reported that instead of their earlier maladaptive responses (beating others up, slashing themselves, using drugs, gambling etc) to specific stressors (frustration, anger, boredom, sadness), they had begun using more pro-social solutions (discussing problems with a friend or street educator, play with friends etc),'' the study says.

"The most effective aspect is that children themselves are playing the role of educators and taking other children to NIMHANS. We now have children who have re-built their rapport with their families and forced the father to stop alcohol. Even the difficult children are responding to our street educators,'' says Brother Mani Karott.

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