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Street Children
Worshipping God together is fun! Although no official statistics have been collated, it is estimated by various NGO’s that there are between 5000 and 10000 children who live on the streets in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. Most of these do not actually sleep on the streets at night-time, because there is a high risk that they will be killed, or beaten. Many live in underground big pipes, or share a small mud hut with some older street children. YWAM workers estimate that approximately 60% of the children they meet and work with have no choice about their situation. These are those who have no parents, and if they have any relatives they are unwilling or (more typically) unable to help them because of the extra cost involved in feeding another person. About 30% come from districts outside Kigali and were unhappy with family life, so they left home. This choice comes as a result of various reasons: family poverty, domestic violence of one form or another, a desire for the freedom of doing what they want, and when feeling alienated at home – i.e. they fled from home because home no longer feels like home.
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Playing sports together helps the children temporarily forget the circumstances they are in, and is good exercise! The team currently has two staff – Etienne, who got involved in 1998, and Serieux, who joined in January 2003. They meet on Tuesday afternoons/evenings with approximately sixty-five 10-15 year olds each week, and on Thursday afternoons/evenings with about thirty 16-19 year olds. They always go somewhere on the outskirts of Kigali and play sports with them (football and basketball being the favourite choices!), followed by a short gospel presentation. The younger group will go by public transport, paid for by YWAM, to the games field but the older group usually has to walk (or run!), which takes over an hour.
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They always listen to each other’s problems and difficulties, and provide simple first-aid treatment for those who need it. Once a month they provide a decent meal for everyone, which is immensely appreciated. For the majority it’s the only time they get to eat properly.
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Feeding the hungry – we give the street children we work with a substantial meal once a month, which for many is the only decent meal they get Serieux and Etienne continue to build relationships, based on trust, and this has in-turn helped the street children express themselves more freely. As the children learn how to pray, and open up to what’s going on in their lives, they appear to grow in maturity, and find more freedom in their lives, despite their current situation. Serieux has noted over the past few months that a number of the street children have grown stronger in their ability to resist the temptation to drink alcohol and take drugs, and this has obviously had a very positive impact on their lives. Some of the children Etienne and Serieux work with became tired of being on the streets, and were keen to develop their education. These are some of the children the Vocational Training School (VTS) are able to help.
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Encouraging our street children to express themselves in different ways. Challenges, difficulties, and future hopes The main problem the Street Kids Ministry currently faces is a desperate need for a couple to take care of the street children who will be selected for a live-in vocational/skills training course within the VTS buildings that are now completed. Most street children sniff solvents &/or drink alcohol, but despite the Christian witness and input YWAM is giving to these children, and the determination of the children themselves to overcome their bad habits, their environment is not changing. The peer pressure and temptation to conform to the street-culture is for some too great to resist, and YWAM therefore believes that the best way out of the cycle that they are caught up in is to provide them with accommodation away from this environment. With the help of a trust in Europe, buildings are currently being built to address this issue. It is envisaged that at the current rate of progress, accommodation can be provided for street children sometime in 2005, staff permitting. JEAN-PAUL'S TESTIMONY Click here for OPPORTUNITIES!
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