Strengthening the protection, socio-educational activities and social reintegration of vulnerable minors

Since 2011, TGH has been working with street children in Bangui alongside the Fondation Voix du Cœur (its local partner) and, since October 2019, with minors incarcerated at the Ngaragba Central Prison, with the aim of maintaining and strengthening the protection and social reintegration of vulnerable minors in Bangui.

TGH’s work focuses on 3 main areas: supporting incarcerated minors and street children, reintegrating them into their families, and building the capacity of child protection workers in Bangui (in particular the Fondation Voix du Cœur (FVDC)).

To achieve this, the TGH team conducts outreach campaigns in neighbourhoods where street children live. These patrols are an opportunity for the children to take part in games and to be looked after by the nurse in the TGH team, who treats them or refers them to hospital if they need special care. Through its outreach work, the TGH team is able to monitor street children on an individual basis, and also visits the Ngaragba Central Prison to provide care and psycho-social support to incarcerated minors, as well as the three centres run by the FVDC.

In addition to these activities carried out directly by the TGH team, FVDC staff are trained in caring for survivors of sexual violence and abuse. Prison staff at the Ngaragba Central Prison are also being made aware of how to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse. This training helps to build the capacity of TGH’s local partners, and will ultimately provide better support for street children and minors in prison.

In the Damala centre run by the FVDC, TGH has trained young girls in saponification and sewing. Their work was exhibited at the Alliance Française on the International Day of the African Child in June. In addition, TGH provides equipment for the Sica, Sôh and Damala centres: school kits, teaching kits, etc. These donations enable the centre managers to organise lessons or games with the children.

Since October 2019, TGH has also been working alongside minors incarcerated at the Maison Centrale d’arrêt de Ngaragba (Bangui).TGH provides support to prison staff in providing first aid and monitoring minors, and organises educational, sporting (weekly football match) and cultural activities.These activities are aimed at communicating educational values to the minors in prison and fostering social cohesion. A teacher from the Alliance Française also visits the prison to give the children access to literacy classes. The classes can continue even after they leave prison, depending on their plans for reintegration. For both minors in prison and street children, TGH provides support for family reunification for children who so wish.

Where appropriate, minors receive a reunification kit consisting of soap, mats and clothing.These kits make it easier for children to be reunited with their families in conditions that respect their dignity.TGH also offers social support (family and community mediation).The families of the most vulnerable reunified children are helped by TGH to set up income-generating activities.They are all monitored by social workers from the TGH team.The aim of this support is to make family reunification sustainable.