Don Bosco Buterere Youth Center has a special commitment to work with and reintegrate street children.
Street children are found throughout the third world and pose variety of psychological and social challenges. To successfully re educate and re introduce a street child into society requires a multi disciplined approach. These children face many complex issues, such as;drugs, physical and sexual abuse, abandonment, lack of basic education, medical needs... Despite the difficulties of life in the street, many reintegration program encounter a high rate of relapse and return to the street life. Don Bosco Buterere employs a highly skilled team of social workers, psychologist and educators. The center has established a multi step plan to reach out to these children, in order to maximize the chances of successful reintegration.
The steps are:
1. Night visits into the street by social workers, to identify and make contact with street children. These nocturnal outing average 40 individual contacts per night.
2. Follow up daytime visits During these visits social workers gain the children's trust and invite them to begin participating in various activities and agree to weekly follow up visits. Social worker get to know each child's individual case through games and recreation activities, and basic literacy and educational classes, and meals. On average 120 children are followed by the social workers at a time. After 4 months on continuous interaction, social workers identify children whom they feel would be good candidates for rehabilitation and reintegration into family and social life. These children will then be selected either for Direct Reintegration or Indirect Reintegration
3. Direct Reintegration- These children still have living family and efforts are made to reintroduce them back into their respective families or foster families. This takes intensive work by social workers and psychologist with both the children and families to ensure success. At the same time the children must continue their basic education and begin vocational training at the center. They continue to participate in various recreational and social activities offered by the center.
4. Indirect Reintegration- These children have no remaining or stable family and no prospective foster family. They often suffer from intense psychologiacal trauma. These children are offered the chance to live at the center. Although this is no substitute for true family life, the center attempt to create a communal spirit. Children are feed and lodged and receive medical care, as well as, intensive educational and psychological support. The center currently houses 50 former street children.
Literacy Programs Street children are usually quite far behind academically. The center offers intensive classes in basic literacy and mathematic skills to bring the children up to grade level before re introducing them into regular classes. For children remaining in the street, these take place as two hour sessions, five days a week. Children living at the center are placed in remediation classes until they are able to be placed in the regular class rooms. Continuous tutoring is offered to ensure that students remain academically on track.
Children living in the street before reintegration
Basic literacy class, working with children still living in the streets. Some will be selected to participate in family reintegration or placed as fulltime student/boarders at the center
First day of Primary School for these street children recruited to live and attend school at the Center
A group of children who is being prepared for reentry into family life. They are pictured with four of their teachers
