SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, we work extensively with children and young adults formerly associated with the fighting forces, helping them to reintegrate into society following their demobilisation.
Although many are children when they join or are conscripted to the fighting forces, many are young adults on demobilisation. Some demobilise with a partner and child.
It is this group, who are now responsible for families of their own, who are most susceptible to not successfully reintegrating back into their communities. War Child's research shows that community attitudes to these young people are extremely negative. The young adults are perceived as threats to stability, and an extra economic burden on families already struggling to get by. If these young adults rejoin their families on demobilisation, many leave soon after to fend for themselves and their small families. Their priority is not family reunification or re-entry into interrupted education programmes, but instead access to livelihood opportunities that let them earn enough money to support themselves and their small families.
War Child is conducting a pilot project in which 48 young adults, formerly associated with the fighting forces, and who now have a partner and child and head up their small households, are given cash grants to invest in incoming-generating activities. The pilot project has involved the community at every stage, with meetings to explain the project's focus and rationale, and to ensure that community members understand how and why the participants have been selected. The community fully supports the approach.
The participants, in agreeing to join the project, agreed to meet various conditions, including to attend circle meetings during which they would be given the opportunity to share experiences and discuss possible activiites. They were also encouraged to talk to members of the community who had experience in activities of interest, to obtain guidance and advice.
The circle meetings continued for two months. Once the participants had planned and prepared for their new income-producing activities, including determining set up costs and estimating income, they received a grant of $200. (This had been determined previously as a suitable amount to set up activities that would make a worthwhile contribution to meet basic day-to-day household needs.) Participants were monitored closely and assisted with purchases where necessary to establish their activities.
In the first five months since the start of the pilot project, 44 participants have successfully invested their grants in activities such as
purchasing bikes (to either enable them to work as tolekista (taxi-bikes) around town or to provide them with transport to buy and sell products in the markets) to animal rearing, fishing and farming.
A formal evaluation will take place early in 2007, to inform a second project, but informal feedback is already positive. A couple of participants have been able to commence buidling houses for themselves and their families. The self-esteem and confidence of participants has improved now that they are busy, and community members have remarked that they are surprised that the participants have shown themselves to be so resourceful and conscientious, and are pleased that the participants are no longer "hanging around causing trouble", but are instead fully capable of working and taking responsibility for themselves and their families.
If you'd like to make a donation to support work like this, details are available here.
I AM NOT TRASH
 I Am Not Trash: A Call To Action From Child Soldiers is a report published in 2005 by War Child UK, based on participatory action research conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (War Child UK is the only international aid agency working in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo.)
This project was significantly co-funded by War Child Australia, and the report makes compelling reading. This copy has been localised by War Child UK for use in Australia. Download it now.
WAR CHILD'S WORK IN THE DRC
In August 2004, War Child intervened at a military air strip
in the Democratic Republic of Congo and, despite threats from
commanding officers, prevented child soldiers from being put
on the transport planes bound for the eastern conflict corridor.
In the province of Equateur, where this mobilisation was occurring,
there are an estimated one thousand child soldiers. War Child
has led the demobilisation and reintegration of more than
four hundred of these children. Life is unspeakably tough
for these children who have been conscripted into the armed
forces at an early age, some as young as seven years old.
War Child also provides training in family reunification and
social reintegration methods for organisations working with
children who have been abandoned, separated or displaced by
war.
War Child is also a co-funder of the All Party Parliamentary
Group on the Great Lakes and Prevention of Genocide.
Centres for abandoned children
War Child supports centres for abandoned children in the
capital, Kinshasa, and the area around Mbandaka in Western
Congo. The centres look after abandoned children, street children,
those orphaned by conflict or AIDS and those accused of being
child witches. They offer care, support, basic numeracy and
literacy and a safe place to live. At the same time the centres
attempt to mediate with families to rehabilitate the children,
or find safe foster homes for them. The importance of the
centres’ work is demonstrated by the following case
studies collected on a recent field visit to Mbandaka:
Gloire is eight years old and was first found on the
streets in 2001. He had been abandoned for being a so called
child witch. His parents are divorced and it is understood
that the stepmother is the one to have begun saying he was
a witch. CNDSC housed Gloire for some time and began mediation
sessions with his father, which were seemingly going well.
His family took him back home. Back in November though,
Gloire was found again on the streets this time in a terrible
state. His father had poured petrol in his eyes and set
fire to them.
He had also thrown him up in the air repeatedly letting
him fall back down to the floor which has damaged his spine.
He was severely malnourished. The sister took him to hospital
where they were able to treat his eyes and his eyesight
is apparently not damaged. She also got the Head of Human
Rights at MONUC involved who subsequently arrested the father.
He was sentenced to a month in jail. Unfortunately the sister
couldn’t take him in as they were no longer taking
in boys and he continued to live on the streets for a couple
of months whilst the Sister worked out what to do with him.
Other street children beat him and throw him in the river
calling him a witch. Eventually the Sister was able to convince
a centre that looks after boys to take him in and from there
they transferred him to Kinshasa where he is currently being
looked after.
A little girl called Lafontaine is eight years old and has
been at the centre for 3-4 months now. She too was found
on the streets. About four years ago she was fleeing her
town in the north which was under attack by armed groups.
As was often the case her parents were killed as they fled
and the little girl was tied to her dead parents. Many families
passed by but none stopped either believing her dead or
too afraid to stop. One family eventually did stop, untied
her and pulled her out of the pool of blood she was lying
in. The family took her in and cared for her for a number
of years but gradually with more and more children of their
own, the pressure became too much and she ended up on the
streets. The girl is quiet and nervous and often asks the
Sister ‘are you going to abandon me?’ Following
several months of mediation, Lafontaine has begun to spend
weekends with an adoptive family and will gradually be fully
integrated into the family.
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Other work
War Child has also been active in the Democratic Republic
of Congo in:
- At UNICEF’s request, War Child ran workshops
on child protection and child rights in Matadi.
They presented the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child, the African Charter on Child Rights and The
Family Code and presented national results of the DDRRR
plan (Disarmament, Demobilisation, Repatriation, Reintegration
and Rehabilitation) to local NGOs, local authorities and
the military. Practical sessions on participation of and
communication with children were also covered.
- Displacement camps, where War Child has
provided sanitation facilities, sheeting to repair tents,
tools and equipment to provide income generation projects,
bakeries, and training in bookkeeping skills.
- Centre Notre Dame de Sacré Coeur
(Centre for Child Witches) where War Child provided assistance
to improve administration procedures and to develop tracing,
mediation and reunification procedures aiming to reunite
the children with their families. Additionally, War Child
is developing income-generation projects, including a grain
mill for the preparation of wheat and a freezer in which
they can keep fish and cold drinks, which can be sold, to
the public.
- CERHED Centre, where War Child provided:
- training to improve administration procedures, with
the aim of reunifying children with their families and
host families
- training and apprenticeships for children living at
the centre
- 20 hectares of agricultural land to help with income
producing projects
- Large scale education programmes in the
Western DRC
- APEE Centre (L’Action pour la Protection
et Encadrement pour l’Enfant), where War
Child helped with funding for the vital work of providing
nutrition and child protection for malnourished children,
street children, and babies of Ugandan rape victims
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