Street-children educator Mrs. Tyuet reports a dramatic change in the students and atmosphere in her class of street children after implementing LVASC. The children now love being in the classroom: they work harder, have developed a lot of love for the teachers and conflict has dramatically reduced. They are also sharing and helping each other this is something new as before they used to fight over toys, etc. An example of this involved a girl who had to sell 100 lottery tickets each day before her parents would allow her to attend school. This was practically impossible, so she was rarely able to attend school even though she wanted very much to attend. In an act of cooperation and love, three of her classmates chose to support her and help sell the tickets so she could attend school more regularly.

Teachers at a centre for sexually abused girls shared that students have developed their own values by participating in the LVASC lessons and have greater respect for their friends and teachers. The students attitudes towards each other have also changed and they have developed greater harmony amongst themselves. They now study much harder and enjoy their classes more. The previously frequent conflicts have decreased considerably.

Mrs. My Hien, a teacher from the Bien Trieu Centre, shared that LVEP helps the students to develop a purpose in life and to move towards creating a peaceful, lovely and happy world. The teachers also felt that LVEP enables them, as teachers, to develop the values. They noted their much-more positive attitude towards the students. The quality of their relationships with them has increased.

Teachers from the Street Children Programme at Le Minh Xuan Developing Centre contributed their experiences with LVASC:

• Mrs. Kim Phung shared that the students love the characters Fred and Katie from LVASC?s Street Children Family Stories. It was as if Fred and Katie became part of our classroom. If I even forgot to bring them up in class the students would remind me.?
  

• Through the reflection and focusing exercises, where they imagined a peaceful world and became respectful stars, the students faces became brighter, they developed more respect, became calmer and shared with each other more.
  

• When the teacher asked for volunteers to take students to school the students with bicycles eagerly replied, I have a bicycle, I?ll take him to school!?
  

• The students also want to cooperate more with their families when they see them: One boy commented, I love my Dad a lot! I [want] to help him more.?
  

• Mrs. Kim Loan shared that through attending the LVEP course, she was touched deeply. She realized she had to become an example of the values and only then could she teach them.
  

• When teaching the programme to her students they especially enjoy the relaxation exercises which were a new experience for them but very effective in increasing self confidence, inner peace and happiness in life.
  

• The students also have started to share with each other much more. One day Mrs. Loan had some food for a student and when the teacher asked the students, Should I give this food to Kiet or Lan Lan answered, To Kiet. Yesterday I had soup to eat, but he didn't, so give it to him.Mrs. Loan commented that such scenes are becoming much more frequent in the class since teaching LVASC.
  

• When Mrs. Loan taught the lessons on love, both the students and teacher were so touched by them that they were in tears.
  

• One of the ground rules that everyone agreed on was: To be on time in every situation even rain or flood! One student who was regularly late realized the impact of his behavior and said to the teacher, Are you sad when I am late so often My house is near and I go by bike while yours is far and you walk. But we can't let all the class wait for us. I will try to respect the others! From that day on, the student has never been late!
  

• Ms. Kim Anh found the lessons on love most special and is so grateful to be able to use LVEP with her students. One day, a boy said in class, I'm so hungry. He said this in slow words, with a white face, because of hunger. A small boy standing near him replied sweetly and shared some bread with him. It seems the students have adopted one of the main concepts from LVASC's Street Children Family Stories: A street-children family is a family that loves and cares for each other.

            

Children doing LVASC Activities near Durban

The street educator participants were surprised at the results that this different approach could produce with street children, even within a couple days. Several months later, however, the results were even better. One of the Living Values Education LVASC Trainers, Lalitha Sharanund, reports: "The street children workshop definitely had an impact on all of us. More volunteers are prepared to change their attitude towards these children and assist in a positive way. The volunteers and counsellors are able to handle the pandemic more positively, especially after having attended the workshops and so being able to create a positive outlook on all the negative behaviour they are facing. Positive changes in the children are already being observed; some of them have quit glue sniffing. At the Durban Alice Street Shelter, the children enjoy the imagining and focusing exercises and the importance of being peaceful and non-violent. In Pietermaritzburg, nine street children were taken on a two-day retreat with the Values Club members of five schools. The street children thanked us for the love we shared with them and friends they made. The team and staff of our local museum are teaching street children some skills to earn an income. Two schools invited some street children with their co-ordinator to their schools. The street children sat in classrooms with other children and felt what it is like to be in school as they played, sang and ate with the pupils. We in Pietermaritzburg over the few months have noticed more children wanting to go to school and back to their homes because the street team has become more values-based. Also, the Living Values team has created a friendship with the children. They are so delighted and happy when they see us in our cars and share their thank-you?s from their hearts and call us mum."

In Brazil, over 500 street educators have been through the training since September of 2003, serving over 10,000 street children. Rodrigo Brito, LVE Coordinator for the trainings for street educators reported: Educators of institutions caring for at-risk children and street children, with a strong history of violence in their lives, were trained. As initial results, educators report a significant improvement in almost all behavior items included in the evaluation: groups of teens with a history of permanent conflict have achieved for the first time being able to discuss their differences, cooperate with each other and love each other. The youth are interested in continuing the program. The improvement in self-esteem of the children and a new attitude in the educators is very much visible.

Verquia Gregio shared her experience working with some of the most aggressive and violent street youth, 16 to 20 years old, in Sao Vicente, Brazil, at FEBEM, an institution for delinquent minors. Just after the first lesson we could feel a lighter atmosphere at the place. And since that moment, the young men always asked for the continuity of the program, saying, in their way of expressing themselves: these classes came to bring us some peace, after you, mistress, began with these lessons, the prison became lighter. As the boys were taking contact with the activities of the program, one could notice better cooperation and understanding among them and between them and the professionals. The feeling of revolt, previously always present, began to extinguish and one could see clearly the boys feeling safer and more self-confident. The other people working with these young men (psychologists, social workers, educators, directors and even security agents) said that the boys were experiencing real transformation. Although we have worked with the program only for two months, applying three lessons per week, the progress of the boys showed evidence of how much the Program brings effective results.

Marilda Fonseca, Coordinator for Obra Social de Paruia S Mateus Aptolo reports: In March 2004, another educator and I were looking for training possibilities to help teenagers in the street situation. It was then we made contact with the Living Values Education, and went to the presentation workshop. During the training program we have the opportunity to look inside ourselves and realize that the first change would have to be our change, to feel that we were valuable, and so, equipped with this powerful weapon that is the educational presence in the students life, we accepted the challenge of applying the Living Values Activities with the children and teenagers. Each one in his unit has reproduced what he or she had lived and felt in the training program. In one group of young girls with a history of very intense violence, the group stopped beating each other, before that we were obliged everyday to stop a struggle among them. In the Crhes we implemented the Peace Corner. When the children were not well they were invited to go there and receive love. This has changed the feeling of punishment and the educators changed to see the child as a being in process of developing as he/she really is; we saw that all the educators became involved in the perception that the children need love and that we can transform them through love. In 2005 the Living Values Program for Street Children and Children at Risk has been incorporated to the planning of Obra Social with the goal of implementing it in all unit of the organization; each unit has advanced in its own rhythm, ones more, others less, but all of them with fantastic experiences of change. In all of our meetings we are now using the songs and some dynamics of LVEP, and the results are surprising. We find that the educators changed their view in relation to their own lives and also in relation to their students, they are now more receptive and nurturing. We are meeting every month, all the educators already trained in LVEP, 26 new educators, 9 of our organization and the others from others NGO's in our region has been trained. We, from the Obra Social de S Mateus, define the LVEP Program as a proposal characterized by simplicity, inexpensive to applied, only demanding good will from whom applies it. Those who receive it gain peace, love and the possibility of recognizing him or herself as a very important being for our humanity.