Former street children, under Stairway Foundation, Inc. in collaboration with professional artists and musicians have produced a musical sensation called "Goldtooth, A Street Children's Musical". Goldtooth was inspired by a cartoon video, under the same name, produced by Street Kids International, a Canadian NGO. It is a story about a young street kid named Karate, who gets caught in the exploits of Goldtooth, a pimp and a pusher. Goldtooth ruthlessly uses Karate and other street kids for his own personal gain.

Street Theatre with a Difference

1999 marked the 10^th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. To commemorate this historical undertaking, Stairway Foundation Inc. devised and produced "Goldtooth, A Street Children's Musical" in a collaborative effort with former street children and professional artists and musicians.

The musical is contemporary, authentic and provocative, directly confronting the street children problem. Grim and starkly told, it is a personal account of the performers' lives on the streets. In an exciting and daring display of raw talent and emotions, they take the audience through a unique cultural experience, which penetrates the world of street children, of pimps, pushers, prostitution, drugs, gangs, violence, and death. Yet, it is also a story of optimism, revitalization, healing and hope.

Street Theatre with a Mission (The Voice of a Silent Minority)

Though strides are being made to improve the life conditions of children world wide, there are still millions of homeless children living and working under extreme and dangerous conditions. They make up a huge silent minority neglected by their families and governments. "Goldtooth, A Street Children's Musical" is their voice. The young performers, who themselves once lived and worked on the city streets, form a contingent, called Talented Ambitious Street Kids (TASK).  Through the musical, TASK has a mission to sensitize and to inform large audiences around the world to the gravity and urgency of the street children problem, and to be a vehicle for the prevention of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.

Street Theatre on the Go

"Goldtooth, A Street Children's Musical" has played successfully to wide audiences in Metro Manila, rendering rave reviews and standing ovations from street children and theatre-goers alike. In August 1999, the troupe traveled to various countries in Europe, to inform, to entertain and to educate. The tour began in Helsinki at the World Forum '99 Conference for Child Welfare and continued with performances in five major cities in Denmark. On September 30^th, "Goldtooth" played at the UN Palais in Geneva in celebration of the 10^th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Media Attention

In an artistic display of talent, a strong message and performed by the children themselves, the musical took the media by storm. Through extensive media coverage, the campaign reached thousands of people in the Philippines and abroad. Since the launching, the musical was featured in ten major newspapers and six television programs. The latest media coverage was the excerpt performance given at the opening of the 32^nd annual meeting of governors at the Asian Development Bank. It was well attended by over 1500 guests, dignitaries and President Estrada. In Europe newspapers, magazines, and television stations covered the length of the tour. Materials, such as a video of the musical with accompanying manual and a soundtrack were produced in Denmark for educational purposes.

Every child whom we touch is a unique diamond in the rough

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