The contents of this Newsletter will not fail to attract a few reactions in diverse senses.

The first contribution, the interview of a young Polish girl who joined Dynamo International in the frame of the European Voluntary Service, goes to show how much the difficulties facing the street workers can at first be discouraging, but are gradually rewarding, become an additional asset to ensure the future. It is as if by helping others one gains useful competences to better succeed in life. Good luck Agata !

The account of the mission carried out in Tunisia, respectively by the manager of Dynamo and the manager of Dynamo International, is definitely a recognition of the professional quality of our leaders, since it is at the request of the Tunisian government they went to share their experience, and this with the support of UNICEF. But it is also a direct report of the realities on the field, with this statement that to succeed the street workers should be able to strengthen their professional identity. This is precisely where Dynamo International can help them.

The promulgation of the law for the protection of the child in the Congo Democratic Republic is, seeing the critical situation of so many children in the country, a major event. One will be convinced of this by the detailed and poignant article by Edwin de Boevé.

Finally, the results obtained in Peru for the regularisation of street children and, further to this, of some of their parents, are admirable for, even if the task is huge, one is well aware that here is the opening of a track towards the realisation of the street workers’ dream to “build a better world for our children”.

Suzanne Toussaint,

Chairwoman

1) Agata, could you introduce yourself and tell us why and how you came to Belgium ?

My name is Agata, I am 23 years old, I live in Czestochowa in Poland. I study to become teacher in English, but I still have to finish my master degree.
My arrival in Belgium is a long story, I knew I wanted to go abroad for a European Voluntary Service, but Belgium was not at first my goal. In fact, I was first of all looking for a project I would be keen on, rather than a specific city. I consequently sent requests in France, England, Belgium … I also wished to improve my French. Once in possession of the answers, I was thinking of going to France but I had to stay a full year and this seemed too long. Since I had also received a positive reply from Brussels, I said to myself, why not, since they also speak French. And here I am, I arrived rue de l’Etoile end September...

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Field accompaniment of social workers carried out by Philippon Toussaint (manager of Dynamo asbl) at Sfax and Edwin de Boevé (manager NGO Dynamo International) at Mellassine in January and February 2009.

Established since the early years 2000, social street work is gradually finding its place on the Tunisian field. The Ministry for Social Affairs, for Solidarity and Expatriate Tunisians (MASSTE) develops since several years a supporting and consolidating program for projects relating to social street work in order to prevent the emergence in Tunisia if a phenomenon of street children, but also in order to create a better solution to the problem of children at risk...

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The promulgation, on January 10 2009, by the President of the Congo Democratic Republic, Mr Joseph Kabila Kabanga of the “law for the protection of the child” deserves our special interest.

First of all because it creates a legal framework meant to exercise a real protection for each child in the R.D.C., which in the Congolese context, same as everywhere else, is certainly not trivial.

Furthermore, because this promulgation is the outcome of a mobilisation by different actors from varied horizons. A mobilisation which is getting stronger today within the frame of the effective implementation of the law, amongst others through a partnership between the R.D.C. and the Belgian French Community. A law remains a theoretic frame the intentions of which could remain a “dead letter” should there be no will to see it applied...

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Catherine Fonck, Minister for Childhood, Youth Assistance and Health in Belgium’s French Community, was in Kinshasa last March during the seminar organised by our Congolese partner CATSR…

With her Congolese homologue she signed a protocol of agreement for the implementation on the field of concrete measures aimed at the application of the Law for the Protection of Childhood signed by the Congolese government in January 2009.

The Minister took advantage of her presence in Kinshasa to immerse in the realities experienced by the children in the street and the associations who try to improve their daily life.

Article of “Paris Match” dated April 16 2009 – PDF

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500 children in the street now possess an identity card.

This project will serve as model for the issuing programs of identity documents in Latin America. The members of these children’s family have also benefited from this campaign, financed by Poland.
About five hundred street children possessing no papers of identity received a card thanks to the campaign Yo existo, tengo derecho a la identidad (“I exist, I have a right to an identity). This is what Jacek Klisowski, manager in charge of the association Ayllu Situwa, declared at the ceremony during which he presented a balance sheet of the campaign.
Klislowski spoke about the work carried out with the children living in the zones of extreme poverty in the districts of Chorrillos, San Juan de Miraflores, San Juan de Lurigancho, San Miguel, Lurin and Villa Maria del Triunfo. This mission could be achieved thanks to the support of the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs...

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The set of problems of street children, boys and girls, dates back to the years 1970, at which time they were nicknamed “pajaros fruteros” (fruit birds, since this name recalls these small birds flying from one tree to the next to pick fruit at the harvest time, Ed.)

It is only from the years 80 that one takes stock of this situation, after the death of one of these children whose friends called him “petiso”. Since this occurrence, the non Governmental organisations (NGO) and the State took this populations in charge.

The means of intervention towards this population is the “boarding”, which allows us to carry out the work having as purpose to obtain the social re-integration of the children and youths living in the street, without fixed delay...

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