The director of the Children Care Center Is Fr. Papi Reddy Gade. His Contact and Email are as follwing: gpapireddy20@gmail.com
The Community of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Wau shares “the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish” of children in difficult circumstances, who spend day and night on the streets of the cities of Wau and Kuajok and are living separated from their families . The basis for the joint work of the members of the community, the staff members, and the volunteers is the Christian human image, the social teaching of the Catholic Church, as well as the focus on the model of Don Bosco. Our social-pastoral work aims to allow young people to mature into responsible citizens and good Christians (respectively believers) and to support them in this development.
In our Child Care Centres in Wau (Wau State) and in Kuajok (Gogrial State) children under the age of 18 in difficult circumstances receive psychosocial assistance. Chiefly homeless children find an oasis free of violence and drug in this house. In addition to the social-pastoral canter and a place to sleep, they can use the sanitary facilities in the house for showering as well as laundry. The condition is the willingness to participate actively in group activities which include daily group counselling, games, and classes in addition to supper and breakfast. The house opens at 8am and closes at 9pm. The children can come to the house of their own accord or they are motivated by street workers on the street to do so
- Street social work in the cities Wau (Wau State) and Kuajok (Gogrial State)
- Emergency assistance for children under 18 years of age in difficult circumstances
- A supervised space for encounters & accommodation from 4pm to 8am on the following day
- PSS: Psycho Social Support (food, medical help, clothing, washing facilities, etc.)
- Individual and group counselling
- Group programmes in the area of education as well as health education
- Leisure activities, sports and games as part of social learning
- Family Tracing and Reunification (FTR)
- Systemic social work with the family-support measures
- Preparation and implementation of reunifications into the families of origin, the extended or foster families
- Cooperation with local authorities and partners
- Regular visit of the whereabouts of the children in difficult circumstances
- Daily registration of the participants in the Child Care Centres
- Admission interview with first time visitors with an assessment of their need for help
- Individual counselling as well as prepared group sessions
- Workshops on topics relevant for their life such as hygiene, sexuality, drugs, and faith, etc.
- Communal supper and breakfast
- Personal hygiene (including dental care) and provision of a place to sleep
- Upon the child’s request, a visit to the family and creation of an aid plan
- PSS and FTR
Street work and the Child Care Centres have a separate value as part of the overall concept. They don’t have the primary goal to select children for the rehabilitation centre in Kuajok: (1) PSS: The goal of the measure is rather to support the children in difficult circumstances, to give adequate psychosocial help, and to demonstrate future prospects. (2) FTR: To stabilise the children in so far, that they can be (re)integrated into their family of origin, respectively their extended or foster family as well as their neighbourhood and that regular attendance at school or training location is possible. (3) REHA: The children who demonstrate a willingness and cooperation in a return to the family unit but where there are justified doubts and uncertainties whether the family and the child will reunite in the medium or long term will be prepared for the acceptance to the Don Bosco Rehabilitation Centre in Kuajok once further criteria are met.
Supporting children in difficult circumstances in Wau and Kuajok in their coping with daily life requires the street workers to have a detailed knowledge of the living conditions of the children. That is why the social workers are present on the streets and markets of Wau and Kuajok. There are listeners, supporters, andcounsellors. They aren’t lead by preconceived models that determine what is “right” or “wrong” but adjust to the childrens’ needs in their function as supporters. This can include a return to the family, as well as the admission to an on-location aid measure or the continued stay on the street, alone or in a street group. The street worker is, above all, the contact person for the concerns of the children. In current crisis situations, he offers psychological, medical, and legal advice . He listens to the children when they can’t cope with the reality on the street, when they have problems with work or want to return to school. He can make contact with the parents or accompany them to hospitals or other institutions upon the children’s request. In conversations with them, he can awaken their interest in new topics and outlook on life.
The diverse skills that children acquire in their daily fight for survival on the street can’t hide the fact that they are often defencelessly exposed to violent assaults, exploitation, and violations of their dignity and fundamental rights. They have a special need for protection. That is why the Salesians offer protective spaces in addition to the street social work in Wau and Kuajuk in order to offer the children a chance to rest, to receive basic medical treatment and psychological counselling, to wash themselves, and to take care of their clothes. Here they meet other children play games together, and participate in classes. Also they meet adults who don’t patronise them but who listen to them and enter into conversations with them.
