Sixty street children have begun a six-day youth camp in Bangkok which it is hoped will change the course of their lives. Organized by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, instructors at this camp will attempt to guide the children to explore their alternatives that will allow them to stay off the streets. Activities over the first three or four days would encourage the children open up and speak up their minds, before going into group activities to teach them life skills. The idea of the camp is to give the children enough time to look at themselves, what they want to do in the future and then guide them with a road map to get there. Instructors at the camp will also be able to identify children who use drugs and provide them drug counselling and for those who do not want to return home, a shelter that will allow them to stay off the streets Though there can be no guarentee that each child attending this camp will return home to their parents or live in a shelter or remain off the streets, the organizers hope that atleast a few will be able to leave the streets and pursue their dreams. [Bangkok Post]