- > Street and Vulnerable Children
Street & vulnerable children in Bangui and the South East
We're supporting street children in the capital Bangui,
and vulnerable young people in the remote and LRA affected south.
Since independence in 1960, Central African Republic (CAR) has experienced almost constant conflict and upheaval, contributing to extreme poverty, economic decline, instability and continued human rights violations. It's one of the few countries where life expectancy is actually declining (from 49 in 1990 to 47 in 2009).
The consequences for children are catastrophic in a country where 50% of the population are under 18. They represent the most vulnerable group and are often exposed to abuse and neglect including sexual exploitation, forced marriage, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and recruitment by armed groups such as Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army.
What we're doing
Our projects are just getting up and running at the moment but here's what we're planning:
Drop-in centre for street children in Bangui
There are estimated to be more than 3,000 children living on the streets of the capital Bangui. We'll be helping to provide children's basic needs (health, hygiene, nutrition etc) and helping get them into a formal or vocational education.
Supporting kids' education in Rafai and Zemio
These two towns in the south-east of the country are in a remote area that is still plagued by the Lord's Resistance Army. It's a very insecure area where the population live within the confines of the protected towns but it's too dangerous for us or them to travel between the towns or to farm their land.
The Central African Army is supposed to protect the towns but this comes at a cost - many of the young women are involved in the sex trade as the soldiers are their biggest customers. A quarter of the people we're supporting back to school in this project will be girls who were formerly child prostitutes. We'll be providing school materials and funding apprenticeships for young people so they can learn vital vocational skills.
Photos from the project
It costs just £30 to send a street child in Bangui to school for a year.
