Project to build a centre for street children
Where: Kintanu, in the best of the Democratic Republico Congo (DRC), near the city of Kisantu, 120 km from the capital, Kinshasa.
Project Organisers: Centre ISAAC / FOCAK / Kintanu.
Project: Richard Mpimba Makindu, priest for the “Sainte Famille” parish, in Kintanu.
Beneficiaries: Street children in the Kintanu area.
Objectives: To provide protection for and the social integration of street children through the building of a centre which will provide accommodation and social support.
Background
In the city of Kintanu and its surrounding area the situation for children causes serious concern. Many have lost their parents or live in families who struggle to cater for their basic needs (food, clothing, education, health).
As a consequence there are growing numbers of groups of abandoned children left to their own devices to survive. They spend all day in the street, living from begging and stealing, and many are involved in drug taking. Many, especially girls, are also victims of sexual violence with the associated risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.
Most of these children sleep in the car park in Kintanu, and suffer ill health as a result of the insanitary conditions there. FOCAK has managed to register many of them at primary school. Some have also been taken back by their families or by generous people who, despite their own difficulties, have offered to care for them. For those who haven’t had such luck, the car park remains their home. This project aims to create a home for these children without a family of their own.
Budget for the construction of the centre: 13,694$.
Reagan, John,
Gloire and Blanchard
with their uniforms
and books bought
with donations
from Africat
2007
