(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian and international organizations around the globe in highlighting the plight of homeless children on the International Day for Street Children. The day provides organizations and the millions of street children in countries worldwide an opportunity to have their voices heard while ensuring that their rights are not ignored.

Celebrated each year on April 12, the day was established by the United Nations to raise awareness of issues affecting youth forced to live on the streets. The Consortium for Street Children founded the International Day for Street Children in 2011 and is the leading international network dedicated to realizing the rights of street children worldwide.

This year the focus is on “The Four Steps to Equality” and calls on governments to have equality for street children. The four steps are a commitment to equality, protection for every child, access to services, and creating new solutions through specialized services and new opportunities that are specific to the needs and challenges of street children.

“Youth who are able to access programs that help them come in off the streets where they face poverty and are at risk for exploitation have a chance at a better life,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “Salesian programs aim to help children live safely while getting the emotional support they need and the education that will help them live independently. It’s a second chance for these children to have hope for a better life.”

In honor of the International Day for Street Children 2021, Salesian Missions is proud to share some of its programs around the globe that provide shelter, nutrition, education and hope for a better life for street children.

ANGOLA

In Angola, Salesian VIS volunteers launched a new center to help support street children.

As Angola faces the coronavirus pandemic, the most vulnerable in society are street children who have nowhere to turn and no one to care for them. Among the street children most at risk and most exposed are those in Luanda, the capital and largest city in Angola. These youth are supported by the Salesian International Volunteering for Development (VIS) and Salesian missionaries in the region.

To address some of the challenges, the Salesian “Let’s go together” project, which has been supported by the European Union and other benefactors, has opened a new emergency center where street children are offered a place live far from the dangers of street life.

In the center, boys and girls receive protection, nutrition, hygiene products and the attention of many social educators and volunteers who dedicate themselves to helping youth organize their daily lives, learn and respect the rules, and take responsibility for their futures.

DR CONGO

At the Don Bosco Center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, street children have access to shelter, nutrition, education and a literacy program.

The Don Bosco Center, located in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo,* is changing the lives of street youth through education and social programs. One example is Daniel, who lived with his family in Goma. When M23 rebels occupied the city in November 2012, Daniel was just 10 years old. His family fled north, but when they were near the Virunga park, his parents decided to go back. Daniel lost contact with his family. He searched for them far and wide but did not find them.

Daniel ended up at the Don Bosco Center and was part of the first group of 20 young people welcomed into a family reunification project. The project, which started in April 2019, runs for three years and aims to reunify 20 street children with their families each year.

At the Don Bosco Center, Daniel had access to shelter, nutrition, education and a literacy program. Daniel adapted well and showed his desire to leave the street behind. A social worker from the Don Bosco Center searched for information about Daniel’s family. In time, they found people who knew of Daniel’s parents as well as a phone number. Daniel’s father had emigrated with his family to Nairobi, Kenya.

His father thought that Daniel was dead, but as soon as he learned he was alive, he asked Daniel to join them. After completing all of the paperwork, Daniel left for a long journey to Kenya, crossing Rwanda and Uganda. In Nairobi, he was warmly welcomed by his parents and brothers and sisters.

INDIA

Don Bosco Ashalayam in India has provided support and rehabilitation for more than 80,000 street children over the last 30 years.

Don Bosco Ashalayam provides support and rehabilitation for street children in India. More than 500 children currently reside in the 23 shelters in Ashalayam and benefit from educational and recreational opportunities. Through its presence on the streets and with courses and programs offered in slums and railway stations, Don Bosco Ashalayam assists thousands of street children every year. More than 80,000 children have benefited in three decades.

Don Bosco Ashalayam also provides the Childline hotline, a free telephone line that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Street children can call anonymously to seek support and ask for assistance. Bosco Delhi, through the Don Bosco Ashalayam Center, operates Childline.

Salesian staff members work tirelessly every day of the year to ensure the rights of the children in need and give them special care and protection. They work collaboratively with law enforcement, and health care, juvenile justice, transportation and legal providers, along with the media, to create awareness on child rights and provide child protection services.

NIGERIA

Salesian Missions provides funding to help support ongoing work at the Don Bosco Child Protection Center in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Don Bosco Child Protection Center in Lagos, Nigeria, is able to provide ongoing support for 25 boys thanks to funding received from Salesian Missions. The center provides care for boys, ages 7-15, who were living on the streets, had faced physical abuse in their homes or were rescued from child trafficking.

The funding from Salesian Missions provided tuition and skills training, counseling and psychological care, medical care, and clothing for the boys. Some funding also went to support the operational expenses of the center for such items as fuel, internet access, stationery and toiletries.

With the high rate of domestic violence, child abuse, poverty and negative environmental influences, many youth are living on the streets in Lagos and fighting to survive. Many have turned to crime, drug abuse and other risky behavior. These youth have been denied the opportunity of proper parental training, family love andeven education. The Don Bosco Child Protection Center supports these youth, bringing them off the streets, giving them access to education and skills training, and instilling hope for a brighter future.

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Sources:

ANGOLA: Salesian VIS volunteers launch new center to help support street children

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

DR CONGO: Don Bosco Center is working to reunify street children with their families

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

INDIA: Don Bosco Ashalayam has provided support and rehabilitation for more than 80,000 street children over the last 30 years

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

NIGERIA: Salesian Missions funds care for former street children

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

International Day for Street Children 2021

Salesian Missions

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.

The post INT’L DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN: Salesian programs focus on giving street children hope for a better life first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Celebrated each year on April 12, the day was established by the United Nations to raise awareness of issues affecting youth forced to live on the streets. The Consortium for Street Children founded the International Day for Street Children in 2011 and is the leading international network dedicated to realizing the rights of street children worldwide.

This year’s theme is #SafeSpacesforStreetChildren and calls on governments to ensure that children have access to safe spaces where they are sheltered and have their most basic needs met.

“Youth who are able to access programs that help them come in off the streets where they face poverty and are at risk for exploitation have a chance at a better life,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “Salesian programs aim to help children live safely while getting the emotional support they need and the education that will help them live independently. It’s a second chance for these children to have hope for a better life.”

In honor of the International Day for Street Children 2020, Salesian Missions is proud to share some of its programs around the globe that provide shelter, nutrition, education and hope for a better life for street children.

CHILE

The Don Bosco Foundation in Santiago, Chile, created the Registro Circuito de Calle (Register of Streets Circuit) app to help improve intervention for street children. The app was developed by the Don Bosco Foundation in collaboration with Fundación País Digital of Microsoft Chile and DonaTec, an online donation program for the nongovernmental agency, CDI Chile.

The app allows users to update mapping within a territory, providing intervention teams with online information that will increase their knowledge of the territories and enable support to reach street children more effectively.

It also helps teams better plan their actions and social operations on the road so they can choose the most effective strategies for intervening with youth who are living in even the most hidden areas. In addition, the app will characterize the territories to better show the transit of minors, as well as track what they do and what they are exposed to in those areas.

In the first four months of use, the app has helped Salesian staff reach and serve 10 percent more children. The app is being considered for use at the national level.

ETHIOPIA

Salesian missionaries in Mekanissa, an area on the outskirts of the capital city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, operate the Don Bosco Center, which provides access to education, nutrition and health services to 400 poor youth. Most of the youth, aged 2-15, are street children who have no place else to live or anyone to take care of them. Brother Donato Galetta, a Salesian missionary, has been welcoming these youth for 30 years.

All 400 children enjoy daily lunch and close to 40 children, mainly orphans, also have dinner at the center. Salesian missionaries are actively working to fight malnutrition and undernourishment. For the past two years to guarantee everyone a meal, Salesian missionaries have not purchased meat, which in Ethiopia has prohibitive costs. This allows missionaries to buy the food they require for their annual needs while keeping costs down.

The Don Bosco Center also offers a small medical dispensary, which is managed by a nurse. Youth receive first aid, routine health check-ups and medicine when needed. Youth can take a hot shower, and hygiene and sanitary supplies are available.

Youth also have assistance with their education at the Don Bosco Center, including a school uniform and school materials such as textbooks, notebooks, pens and pencils. For older children who attend vocational training courses, Salesian missionaries provide transportation to school. In addition, Salesian missionaries pay the school fees of all the center’s children and older youth.

INDIA

Don Bosco Ashalayam provides support and rehabilitation for street children in India. More than 500 children currently reside in the 23 shelters in Ashalayam and benefit from educational and recreational opportunities. Through its presence on the streets and with courses and programs offered in slums and railway stations, Don Bosco Ashalayam assists thousands of street children every year. More than 80,000 children have benefited in three decades.

Don Bosco Ashalayam also provides the Childline hotline, a free telephone line that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Street children can call anonymously to seek support and ask for assistance. Bosco Delhi, through the Don Bosco Ashalayam Center, operates Childline.

Salesian staff members work tirelessly every day of the year to ensure the rights of the children in need and give them special care and protection. They work collaboratively with law enforcement, healthcare, juvenile justice, transportation and legal providers, along with the media, to create awareness on child rights and provide child protection services.

SIERRA LEONE

Located in Sierra Leone’s capital city of Freetown, Don Bosco Fambul is one of the country’s leading child-welfare organizations and has been at the forefront of efforts to help rehabilitate street children and reunite them with their families. The organization is directed by Salesian Father Jorge Mario Crisafulli and has a staff of 120 including Salesian social workers who go out to the streets, slums and marketplaces to engage with vulnerable youth and encourage them to join Don Bosco Fambul’s successful program.

Many of the youth who are contacted during this time fill out the required questionnaire and those most at risk are admitted into the program. Salesian missionaries seek out youth who have few other options and are most in need. This includes orphans, victims of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and those who have spent longer on the street or who are sick and weak. After evaluation, participants are assigned to appropriate educational levels, and are given thorough medical exams, necessary treatment and housing. Participants also engage in listening sessions and counseling, group discussions, prayer, talks, sports and recreation, all of which are a part of the rehabilitation process.

The success of Don Bosco Fambul’s street children rehabilitation program is credited to its holistic approach which focuses on meeting basic needs (food, clothing, a safe place to sleep) in addition to personalized medical, psychological, pedagogical, social and spiritual care. Rehabilitation is a gradual process that includes formal classes, daily games, sports, music, singing, drama, dancing, counseling and prayer. The parents and extended families of participants are contacted several times by social workers before final reunification.

On reunification day, an agreement is signed between parents and Don Bosco Fambul to secure a safe environment for the children to continue along a path of personal growth, including ensuring they will have the food, clothing, shelter and education they need. Social workers continue to visit the children and their families until they finish secondary school.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

CHILE: The Don Bosco Foundation’s new app helps track movements of street children for more effective intervention

Consortium on Street Children

ETHIOPIA: The Don Bosco Center provides services to more than 400 street children in Mekanissa

INDIA: Don Bosco Ashalayam has provided support and rehabilitation for more than 80,000 street children over the last 30 years

Salesian Missions

SIERRA LEONE: Youth start reunification process with their families at successful Don Bosco Fambul street children program

The post INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN: Salesian Missions highlights education and social programs impacting street youth around the globe first appeared on MissionNewswire.