A home for street children

Arrival of Angelo and Darock in the evening with the children from Kamituga after a tiring journey through mud and rain

Bonanné in the flour store (he had helped carry the sacks)

Darock with Justin and Neema. The look on Justin’s face has changed so much, he never smiled when he arrived

12 and 8 years old, they lived in Kamituga with an elderly and sick grandmother. The mother died of an illness attributed to witchcraft, the father in a mining accident due to a tunnel collapse.

8 years old, she lived in Mwenga with a mother who was paralysed in one leg. The two older sisters became pregnant at 14. The eldest left her daughter (now 5 years old) with her mother and went to look for work in the mines. The other has yet to give birth and is helping her sick mother. She wanted to come with us.

14 years old, we rescued him from the Kamituga orphanage, a small centre run by a local couple where some orphaned children are taken in, but where the quality of care is very low due to lack of means, organisation and staff training. The mother had died from ‘ sorcellerie’, the father had lost his life in the mines. For a living, he went to the forest to help a man in coal production work, and at night he often slept on the road, on the market stalls, in Kamituga, until he was taken into the orphanage. He was reported to us for an epilepsy that had never been treated. He looked sad and malnourished when we first saw him. He still had no seizures, but we immediately started treatment for extrapulmonary tuberculosis. After a few weeks, he improved a lot and regained a few kilos, but the treatment is long. He is a very intelligent child and is promising to do very well at school. he cares a lot about studying. He is a sweet and very quiet child who has easily integrated, he also loves school very much.

12 (?) years old, he does not know his age. Found by chance during a visit to the gold mines around Kamituga, where he helped sift sand and carry loads. At night he slept on the road. He immediately wanted to follow us. He was abandoned by his mother who left with his younger brothers and another man, and by his father who looked for another woman. His mother also worked in the mines as a ‘twengeze’ (this is the name given to women who break stones all day to look for gold dust). At first he was very confused, he seemed to have lost track of time, but after a month his story became more coherent. He is very precise in his writing and draws very well.

14½ years. Found one night on the road, in Kamituga, with Christian and Heritier, near the market, playing improvised instruments with bottles and plastic cans. He lived four years on the street, after the death of his parents, both murdered. His mother was a prostitute. It was not easy at first to get him used to a regular life, but even he, who could not even write his name, is happy to go to school and seems to feel at home.

13 years. Also one of the ‘musiciens de la rue’. His mother left with the military and his father with another woman. He said that if he sees his mother again he will tell her he wants to stay with us

11 years old. Found at the age of 2 months along a river and entrusted to a woman who had already taken in other orphans. She began to have behavioural problems at an early age, fits of aggression and agitation. It had not been possible to school her, perhaps also because of a slight cognitive deficit. She was treated with powerful anti-psychotics to control her seizures. She spent her days wandering around the neighbourhoods of Kamituga. She no longer takes any medication with us, and although it was hard at first because she was very impulsive and often hit the little ones, she is now well integrated, and does her best to help with the housework and looking after Justin and Onorine

11 years old, weighing 16 kg and measuring 104 cm. He came on foot from Kabogi, a village about 70 km from Mwenga, with the woman who took him in after the death of his mother, who was already ill when he was a child and was widowed at an early age. He is very reserved and arrived more than a month after the others, but he is happy to be here and to be able to study

Three little siblings, aged approximately 12, 10 and 7, lived alone in a shack in Kamituga, following the death of their parents. Their father had already abandoned them after the death of their mother. Justine spent all day at the market trying to scrape together some money in exchange for some services. In the evenings she cooked for her little brother and sister. Julie went out to fetch water, the rest of the time she stayed at home cleaning, washing, changing Justin, an autistic and epileptic child with a developmental delay, who never went out. Justin did extraordinary things in just one month with us, thanks to the affection and attention of so many people around him.

12 years old. He lived in Kamituga with a sick grandmother, who had worked in the mines. His mother had died of AIDS, his father had been found hanged. His older siblings had already ended up on the street, he had already had to drop out of school for three years. He also has a great desire to study and is very good at drawing. He feels at home with us.

13 years old, he found himself on the road in Kamituga after his mother left with another man and his father with the military. He no longer tried to look for his mother, although he learned that she was in Kamituga. The pain of abandonment was too great. He is a radiant child, very affectionate and full of life, but every now and then a shadow of sadness crosses his face. He wants to stay with us until he finishes his studies (he could barely write his name).

4 (5?) years. She was abandoned soon after birth by her young mother, who left her with her paternal grandmother, to go and work in the mines of Lugushwa, where she died about a year later. The father died possibly of tuberculosis; he also worked in the mines. After two years, the child was placed in the care of an aunt who was ill, but worked as a ‘twengeze’ when she could and whose husband had tuberculosis. She has been hospitalised many times due to malnutrition. She is a tiny, exuberant child with great vitality, very independent; she has adapted from day one to her new life with the other children, without ever complaining, and loves to be surrounded by lots of attention!