On the streets of Kinshasa

• Financiers: Tavola Valdese
• Start year: 2013
• Duration: 4 years (completed in 2017)
• Financing: € 50.000
• People helped: 120

Description

The overall objective of the project, whose duration is envisaged to be 12 months, is represented by the affirmation of fundamental rights of street children in Kinshasa.

Its specific objective is to guarantee a response to the requests of hospitality, health care, education, reintegration into the family, job opportunities that characterize the guests of CHERO centre (a homeless shelter for street children and orphans).

The direct beneficiaries are: 100 street children (of which at least 50% of female sex), who are orphans due to the HIV or the dramatic consequences (5 million deaths) of the war of 1998/2003 and conflict (not yet completed) in the eastern part of the country, or disowned by their families as “sorcerers”, the belief that the extreme poverty in which the family live is determined by the negative influence caused by the presence of the same child.

The intervention was defined on the basis of a series of meetings that GSI Italia, Mangrovia and CHERO have had in the course of 2012; the center has seen, in recent months, a significant increase in the number of guests and – considering the continuous worsening of the socio-economic conditions of the entire country and the recent incidents of guerrilla that took place in the eastern territories and culminated with the occupation of Goma and other cities in North Kivu by rebel groups – this phenomenon will tend to intensify, requiring an improvement in reception facilities and a consolidation of health care services/ education/ family reintegration currently provided.

GSI Italia, Mangrovia and CHERO have identified a series of activities that respond to the objectives of the project; to ensure the fulfillment of basic needs (food and lodging) of the children and to enable the promotion of literacy, vocational training, employment for themselves, three areas of intervention are identified – corresponding to the three expected results – that will involve partners based on their previous experiences and the skills consequently gained. Regarding the implementation of activities, the program provides a preliminary period (1 month) that will allow the selection of the professionals and a first logistics organization.

What has been done

• renovation of a part of the centre, which is currently unusable;
• arrangement of outdoor spaces and creation of a garden.
• creation of a dispensary and consolidation of the skills of volunteers who are concerned with the health of children;
• reinforcement of capacity building of trainers involved in the activities of the centre and the establishment of a training offer differentiated.
• entourage in the research phase of the work;
• support for entrepreneurial activities through a microcredit program.

Achieved results

• Center facilities are expanded and improved.
• The hospital’s health needs were met and training paths, based on the specific needs of the same, have been identified and implemented.
• The job placement of the guests has been facilitated.