In Kinshasa, Louvain Coopération supports a project for the ‘Reintegration of street children into their families’. After two years of hard work, more than 1,000 young people have been rescued from the dangers of the streets. These are encouraging results, even if the challenge remains enormous.
Three years ago, Louvain Coopération, with the help of the Monsengwo Foundation and Entrepreneurs pour Entrepreneurs, decided to take on a major challenge: to support and reintegrate street children in Kinshasa. Behind these three common words, ‘street children’, lies a reality that is beyond comprehension: an estimated 25,000 children live on the streets of the Congolese capital. They have fled their families due to abuse or have been driven out after being accused of witchcraft.
Some can barely walk. Others, who are older, can fend for themselves and make a living from odd jobs or petty theft. All around them, the dangers of the street are ever-present: drugs, prostitution and violence of all kinds can become part of their daily lives. To help them, Louvain Coopération first joined forces with the OEuvre de Reclassement et de Protection pour les Enfants de la Rue (ORPER), which has extensive experience in this field.
‘A pilot phase was first set up in April 2015,’ says Antoine Ketikila, a Louvain Coopération consultant based in Kinshasa. ‘Our initial goal was to help 250 children, but we ended up taking care of 311!’ Following these results, Louvain Coopération decided to continue the project until 2019 and to include two other local socio-educational structures: Don Bosco Maison Papy and Ndako Ya Biso from the Chemin Neuf Community.