February 7 – FIFA has partnered with Terre des Hommes (TdH) and its local partner Giriyuja to establish a centre for street kids in Burundi’s capital Bujumbara.
2,500 children live on the streets of Bujumbara, often deprived of access to healthcare and education and left to fend for themselves.
Burundi is one of the ten poorest countries and has the lowest per capita GDP of any country. The country has been decimated by civil war and society has been ravaged by HIV/AIDS.
The children who live on the streets of Bujumbara have no security and are especially vulnerable to risks, exploitation and human trafficking.
Through its ‘Football for Hope’ programme http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/socialresponsibility/footballforhope/mission.html FIFA has stepped in to use football as an instrument for local development.
A community centre will be opened before the end of 2013 in the heart of Bujumbara, ran by the local Giriyuja association. At the centre psychosocial activities around football will be held every day including training, courses for referees and physical education which will help integrate children and teach them how to handle conflict.
Integration will be furthered by organising community events around the theme of child protection.
Beyond the sports activities, the centre will also provide access to much-needed healthcare and education including a consultation room and classes for literacy in Kirundi and in French. For traumatised children, counselling will be provided by psychologists and social workers, with a system of referrals to the services appropriate to their needs.
FIFA will be financing the infrastructure of the centre. Terre des Hommes will give its expertise in setting up the project, and will coordinate the work of the various parties concerned, and with Giriyuja, will jointly finance the running of the centre and continue to explore new partnerships to make best use of the facilities which will be available from December 2013.
The FIFA Football for Hope programme, working together with local organisations, has already built 19 centres in Africa. Giriyuja is also supported by the Global Fund for Children for which donations are matched through a Financial Times initiative.
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