Protection for the street children of Kinshasa

Background information

The number of street children in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is estimated at 60,000 to 70,000. Around 40 percent of them are girls. The living conditions of these young people are extreme in every respect: they live under constant threat and try to survive by doing odd jobs, stealing, drug dealing or prostitution. The backgrounds are complex. Some children and young people have run away from home because they hoped for opportunities and income in the big city. Others have lost their families who were displaced during the war. Or they were abandoned by their parents because they could no longer feed them. State institutions hardly offer any help and usually only take violent action against the youth gangs known as "Kuluna", who recruit children from the streets and threaten entire neighborhoods.

Project goals

Street children in disadvantaged areas of Ngaliema, a district of Kinshasa, receive help and can take part in a reintegration program. This improves their chances of finding a place in society and their families again. The project focuses in particular on education and vocational training, which give the children and young people prospects for the future and the opportunity to find a job. Psychological counseling is part of all other project activities to ensure that the children and young people receive support.

Target group

The target group includes street children in disadvantaged neighborhoods of Ngaliema. These are children and young people up to the age of 18 who have run away from home for reasons such as violence or extreme poverty, have been abandoned by their families or because they no longer have any relatives.

Activities

Care for 240 children and adolescents per year:

• Identification of 240 children and young people growing up in difficult family circumstances, living on the streets and/or in conflict with the law
• Supporting children and adolescents with food, health care, clothing, and medical assistance.
• Psychological and spiritual support.
• Search for the families, mediation and reintegration
• Organization of sports and socio-cultural activities

Reintegration into the school system and support for vocational training:

• Reintegration of children into school.
• Placement of young people in training centers and support for vocational training.
• Follow-up of 240 children after inclusion (schools and vocational training centers).

Project progress

• 69 young adults (29 of them women) trained in tailoring, IT, carpentry, driving, pottery, bead bag making and electronics in 2023. The training centers were also supplied with materials and equipment.
• 300 parents of children living on the street were made aware of gender-specific violence through a project theater.
• 95 children and teenagers participated in the sports and employment activities such as karate, football and theater.
• In 2023, 50 families were visited and in 25 of these families the children were reintegrated through psychological and social support.