Joseph's story
Joseph was nine years old when his parents died of HIV/AIDS. This is a disease that is still not well understood by many people here in Congo. Joseph became an additional mouth to feed within an already overstretched extended family. A local fetish pastor accused Joseph of bewitching his parents and causing their deaths. His extended family could not afford to pay the fees needed to perform the “exorcism” and so responded by beating him, and actively spurning him, until he was finally pushed out onto the streets.
Joseph would sleep at the local market, scavenging for food, and earning pennies by carrying heavy bags and sacks of produce for people. The police would regularly seek him out, also accusing him of witchcraft, telling him that he could not stay at the market, and taking the money he had earned. On one occasion he was kicked so hard by a police officer that two of his ribs were broken.
Fortunately War Child's work with the local community has set up listening posts to identify children at risk on the streets on Kinshasa and it was through one of these that Joseph was discovered. We have finally been able to take Joseph into one of our centres for street children, where he is now being well cared for.