Examples of projects
Namibia

In 1991, the Namibian Government launched in its capital city, Windhoek, a programme for the re-integration of street children into the school and the community. This programme is addressed both to children in difficult circumstances, and their parents.

Since 1995, UNESCO has contributed to the success of this programme by launching a pilot project in close cooperation with the Namibian National Commission for UNESCO. A national team consisting of representatives from various ministries (Social Affairs, Education and Culture, Home Affairs, etc.), the Municipality of Windhoek and NGOs was set up. This national working group has set up an Interim Night Shelter that provides basic survival needs to underprivileged children, and a Day Care Centre that provides educational and training activities.

Partners
National :
  • The Ministries
- Health and Social Affairs;
- Youth and Sports;
- Basic Education and Culture;
- Justice.
  • Vocational Training Institutions
  • The Municipality of Windhoek
  • Sports Associations
  • The National Commission for UNESCO
  • The University of Windhoek
 		International :
  • UNESCO (Education Programme for Children in Difficult Circumstances and theSection for Preventive Education)
  • UNESCO-Namibia
  • UNICEF- Namibia

Achievements

  • The construction of two centres (one day and one night).
  • Organization of sub-regional training workshop for social workers and educators for street children on the theme: "Promoting the access to basic education for street children and working children - the psychology of children in difficult situations".

Current situation of the project 

The two centres are continuing to function :

  • The Interim Night Shelter (situated in the centre of Windhoek) is a transitional facility. Children picked up in the streets by night patrolmen are brought by the police to the centre and taken care of by a reception team made up of social workers and nurses. The children also have a medical check-up and are given treatment if needed.
  • They are then handed over to social workers who first take care of their survival needs (food, sanitation, etc.) before re-integrating them into their families or, if not, finding them an adoptive family and integrating them into a school structure or vocational training.
  • The Day Centre (situated in Katutura, a populous suburb of the capital) is a place for socialisation. Children from different backgrounds (street children or not) go there to learn how to live together and develop their creative talents in painting, carpentry, art...; they are trained by a team of educators and artists (theatre, choregraphy, music, dance...).

What remains to be done ?

  • Production of a video film on street children in Namibia and on the two centres;
  • Publication of a manual for educators and social workers of street children, based on the findings of the Windhoek training workshop on the psychology of a child in a difficult situation;
  • Extend the project to other towns in Namibia as of the year 2000;
  • Establishment by the Government at the University of Windhoek of a course on the psychology of children in difficult situations, for the basic or further training for social workers and educators in the country and in countries within the sub-region.
Mali

In 1995, UNESCO and the Malian Commission for UNESCO launched a project to strengthen education and the social reintegration of children in difficult circumstances in the urban and suburban areas of Bamako.

Partners

National :
  • The Malian Commission for UNESCO
  • The Ministries of Basic and Secondary Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research
  • The National Working Group
  • National and international NGOs (ENDA etc.)
 		International :
  • UNESCO
  • UNICEF-Mali
  • UNDP-Mali

Achievements

  • Production of a first version of training modules to train educators and social workers working with children living in difficult circumstances.
  • A pluri-disciplinary national centre to develop the education of children in difficult circumstances (with a capacity of 100 children ) is under construction and will be equipped.

Current situation of the project 

Construction work (which had been suspended due to administrative problems) was resumed in November 1998.

What remains to be done ?

  • Finish the construction work and furnish the buildings;
  • Get the educators and social workers in contact with children in difficult circumstances to test the training modules;
  • Publish these modules in the form of a manual for the use of educators and social workers;
  • Mobilize funds with the assistance of the government to solve financial problems;
  • Undertake a study to identify the real causes of the phenomenon of exclusion in Mali so that strategies, other than curative or urgent, can be defined that would help to remedy the problems once they are already posed, but also and above all, prevent them from happening.
Togo
The CFP/ABC - the Centre for Professional Training Atelier Bon Conseil was created in July 1980 in Agomé-Kpalimé by a young Swiss mechanic and a Togolais partner. The aim of this Centre is to give professional training to penniless young people who have abandoned school and to help them set up their own business. Training makes use of recuperation and recycling of used or nearly new tools from developed countries.

Training is provided in general mechanics and fitting; carpentry and roof-making; iron work and welding; car mechanics and electricity; steel-work and painting.

In 1996, the CFP/ABC received financial aid from UNESCO to consolidate its educational capacities. The Centre then undertook reconstruction work and fitted out the centre with equipment in order to respond to its new orientation of preparing future job creators.

Partners
National :
  • Ministry of Technical Education
International :
  • The Swiss association APAA (Association and Vocational Training for the Promotion of Handicrafts in Africa)
  • German Association Hilfe Für Togo
  • UNESCO

Achievements

  • The restoration of CFP/ABC: construction of training workshops.
  • Purchase of equipment.
  • Purchase of photocoping machines.

Current situation of the project 

Today, the Centre is managed by the local people. Besides theoretical and practical instruction, discussions on hygiene, environment, home economy, drug addiction are organized.

What remains to be done ?

  • Provide the CFP/ABC with more working tools in order to strengthen training;
  • Provide other theoretical trainers;
  • Foresee refresher courses or training for the instructors;
  • Build a specialized scientific and technical library.
Romania
UNESCO gave financial and technical support to the Association Equilibre Romania", which undertakes socio-educative work for the street children. UNESCO also contributed to the renovation of the Gavroche shelter in Bucarest. This centre, established in 1995, seeks to facilitate the integration of children into a family (their own or adoptive), in the school and society. The facilities of this centre are organized to help the child find himself again, know his rights and develop his independance.

The Romanian project also helped develop the professional capacities of the social workers and educators working in the streets, as well as the establishment of a network of professionals and partners working in this field. Public social work institutions who were badly in need of training and further training are largely represented.

Partners

National :
  • Ministry of Employment and Social Services
  • The organization "Salvati copii"
  • The Commercial Bank of Romania
International :
  • UNESCO
  • Equilibre France Asssociation
  • UNICEF
  • French Embassy

Achievements

  • Restoration of Gavroche, the shelter for the street children of Bucarest.
  • Publication of a guide in Romanian for street educators and social workers.
  • Establishment of a network of partners working with street children.

Current situation of the project 

The Gavroche shelter is fully effective.

What remains to be done ?

  • Publish and distribute, in English and in French, the guide for the street educators and social workers;
  • Increase the number of shelters, based on the Gavroche model;
  • Strengthen collaboration between social workers from Central and Eastern Europe;
  • Continue further training for social workers and educators;
  • Undertake a national study on the underlying causes of the social exclusion of children.
Brazil
The project was launched in 1997 in the town of Salvador de Bahia and aims at strengthening and continuing the "Conseils Tutélaires". These Councils were established by Federal Law in 1990 and their priority was the protection of the rights, lives and the access to education of children and adolescents in difficult circumstances. In 1997, there were only three "Conseils Tutélaires" (out of the 17 foreseen) in Salvador de Bahia, which is insufficient to cope with the extent of the phenomenon of children in difficult circumstances. UNESCO therefore decided to give financial and technical support to consolidate and extend these Councils with a view to changing them into instruments of reform and action for Education for All.

Partners

National :
  • Municipality of Salvador de Bahia
  • Foundation "Cidade Mae"
  • Public Security Secretariat of the State of Bahia (Police)
  • 16 Brazilian NGOs
International :
  • UNESCO
  • UNESCO-Brazil

Achievements

  • Restoration and equipment of three centres for "Conseils Tutélaires".

Current situation of the project 

To date, the three Councils are operational and the Municipality of Salvador de Bahia has taken over by financing five more.

What remains to be done ?

  • Consolidate the existing Councils (technical and financial support, supply of logistics and personnel) and increase the number of Councils in Salvador de Bahia.
Guinea
Established in 1998 by UNESCO and the Guinean National Commission for UNESCO with financial support from UNAIDS, the aim of the project is to strengthen the professional capacities in prevention of drug abuse and Aids of social workers and educators of children in difficult circumstances.

Four major activities are foreseen: (1) restoration of premises in order to create a listening centre for children in difficulty and to train social workers and educators; (2) develop and publish teaching aids for the preventive education of street children; (3) undertake a qualitative and quantitative survey on drugs and aids among street children; (4) organize a sub-regional training workshop on preventive education (drugs and AIDS) for children in difficult circumstances.

Partners

National :
  • Guinean National Commission
  • Ministry of pre-university education
  • Guinean NGOs
International :
  • UNESCO (Education Programme for Children in Difficult Circumstances and the Section for preventive education)
  • UNAIDS
  • UNESCO-Guinea

Achievements

  • Sub-regional training workshop on preventive education, held in 1999 in which six countries participated: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Togo and Guinea.
  • Each country developed a short-, medium- and long-term plan of action for proposal to their respective governments in order to set up or strengthen existing activities in the fight against AIDS and drug abuse among street children.

Current situation of the project 

Restoration of the training centre started in 1999. The national team is working on the development of teaching tools and on the survey.

What remains to be done ?

  • Publish and distribute teaching tools, as well as the survey;
  • Continue sub-regional cooperation in preventive education;
  • Develop activities at the sub-regional level to raise the awareness of the forces of law and order to the situation of street children.
Russia

UNESCO supports financially and technically the New Kortcheva Culture and Education Centre, established in 1989 at Konakovo (Population 45,000) in the province of Tver. The main aim of the programme is to maintain or to reintegrate the majority of the children and youth in difficult circumstances into vocational training given by the formal or non formal education system. Arts (music, fine arts) and sports are the means used to ensure the integration of children into the programme is long-lasting and the completion of their education a success. One of the priority activities is the fight against school drop-out. The Centre admits about 500 excluded children (boys and girls, 6 to 18 years-old). Preventive activities are also taken by the Centre: social services are offered to families where there is the risk of children taking to the streets. The Russian National Commission for UNESCO recognizes the Centre as a model that should be reproduced elsewhere in the country.

Partners

National :
  • Municipality of Konakovo
  • Orthodoxe Church of Konakovo
  • Municipality of Tver (Département de Psychologie)
International :
  • UNESCO

Achievements

  • Restoration of the Centre: classrooms, sports and artistic facilities; management tools.
  • Considerable increase in the number of children admitted and improvement of the services rendered

Current situation of the project 

Admissions have increased, education and training activities strengthened or enlarged.

What remains to be done ?

  • Continue the work of restoration (repairs, purchase of supplies);
  • Obtain instructional materials: musical instruments, costumes, paints;
  • Establish a programme for international contacts and exchanges;
  • Organize a workshop to draw up an education programme for social workers in the field of psychology for children in difficult circumstances;
  • Establish the education programme for social workers at the University of Tver within the framework of the UNESCO’s Inter-University Cooperation Programme (UNITWIN).