Background

How CSC came to be:

In early 1992 Nic Fenton, Director of Childhope, and Trudy Davies, Research and Liaison officer to the all-Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, met to discuss the need for an umbrella organisation for the newly emerging small street children charities.

Such a network would assist in bringing charities together, encouraging co-operation and joint projects in order to meet potential donors' demand for a good track record, and to form one strong advocacy voice for street children in the world.

A best practice research centre and library were also needed. Trudy Davies met with the then President of UNICEF, Baroness Ewart-Biggs, which took place in the Lord's tearoom on 13th May '92. Lady Ewart-Biggs recognised the need and was enthusiastic and would make sure that UNICEF would be wholly supportive. She asked for a blueprint for such an organisation, which was produced and presented to her and Lady Chalker, the then Overseas Development Minister on 27th May '92.

Nic Fenton meanwhile had called a meeting of street children NGOs where he launched the idea of a network. This was received positively. A small group of founder members was formed, headed by Lady Ewart-Biggs, who sadly died not so many months later after a brave fight with cancer.

Her place was kindly taken by Baroness Sheela Flather. The group met on 29th May 1992 and formed a committee consisting of:

• Lady Ewart-Biggs, Chair
• Nic Fenton, Vice Chair
• Trudy Davies, Hon Secretary
• Bryan Wood, Hon Treasurer
• James Gardner
• Surina Narula
• Ana Capaldi
• Annabel Lloyd
• UNICEF
• Georgina Vestey

With no funding the administration of the organisation was carried out from Trudy Davies’ in the House of Commons, approved by the Chair of the APPG. Meetings took place either at the offices of UNICEF or in the cafeteria in Parliament. Eighteen months later, the Consortium for Street Children was officially launched at 10 Downing Street on November 18th,1993.

John Major made a moving speech in the presence of Ambassadors, Heads of Industry, Parliamentarians of both Houses, NGOs, celebrities and fieldworkers. Three street children, flown over from Brazil by Christian Aid, were also present and inseparable from the Prime Minister. They had met John Major at a project in Rio de Janeiro, had played football with him and had later survived the Cathedral steps massacre of street children.

Thereafter the Consortium never looked back and has grown steadily in membership. The Consortium achieved considerable profile in the earlier years on the Floor of both Houses and in the Press, and gradually placed the street children cause on the international agenda, making a strong impression during the UN Children's Summit in New York in May 2002.

Since 1992 much work has been carried out, a summary of which follows.