A festival before World Children’s Day
Music echoed through Makélékélé’s main hall as the Réseau des intervenants sur le phénomène des enfants de rupture opened a vibrant festival on child rights. The timing is symbolic: World Children’s Day arrives on 20 November, and organisers want momentum early.
- A festival before World Children’s Day
- Street life in figures and faces
- Officials underline prevention first
- Police and gendarmerie share strategy
- Twenty-two NGOs, one united network
- What participants learned on day one
- Human stories inspire commitment
- Financing shelters sustainably
- Keeping children in classrooms
- From pledges to action plans
Known locally as Reiper, the network is steering three packed advocacy days under the Arcade project banner. Cultural shows mix with policy talks to keep attention fixed on one goal—make life on Brazzaville’s pavements less dangerous for the city’s youngest residents.
Street life in figures and faces
Aid workers estimate several hundred minors sleep rough every night in the capital, pushed out by family break-ups or economic pressure. Reiper’s field teams report frequent beatings, hunger and school dropout, yet also resilience and dreams of normal classrooms.
Fifteen-year-old Kevin, met near the Marché Total, says he survives by washing windscreens. “I want a workshop to learn mechanics,” he confides. His hope mirrors many testimonies collected during the festival’s street photo exhibit.
Officials underline prevention first
Opening the round-table, Christian Mabiala, Director-General for Social Affairs, urged a preventive stance. He reminded centres hosting children to work within the law and, crucially, to prepare reintegration plans so no child stays indefinitely behind the same gates.
“Protection begins long before violence erupts,” Mabiala stated, inviting ministries, local councils and private donors to co-finance early outreach. His call set the tone for two hours of focused debate among civil servants, educators and grassroots volunteers.
Police and gendarmerie share strategy
Uniformed officers took the floor to explain how security forces can curb abuses without criminalising poverty. Captain Sylvie Ondongo detailed patrol guidelines that prioritise mediation with market traders and bus drivers who sometimes chase away children.
Major Roger Okouyi from the gendarmerie stressed the value of mapping hotspots and partnering with social workers. “Arrest is the last resort,” he noted, projecting a pilot protocol for joint night rounds combined with immediate referral to shelters.
Twenty-two NGOs, one united network
Reiper gathers 22 Congolese and international organisations, from small parish homes to the Congolese Red Cross youth desk. Its strength lies in pooling transport, legal advice and training modules for nearly 200 social workers countrywide.
Support comes from the French Development Agency and the Fondation Apprenti d’Auteuil, which fund teacher salaries, mobile clinics and fresh data surveys. The festival serves as a stock-taking moment to adjust budgets and timelines.
What participants learned on day one
Interactive sessions revealed a gap between existing laws and daily practice. Many attendees discovered that Congo’s child protection code already bans corporal punishment in all care institutions, yet monitoring visits remain sporadic.
Speakers also exchanged tips on tracing families in remote departments. A new digital platform, tested in Oyo, allows centres to upload case files so distant relatives can be located faster. The tool will be refined after user feedback collected this week.
Human stories inspire commitment
During an emotional pause, former street child Mireille, now 23 and studying nursing, thanked donors for “seeing our potential, not our rags”. Her testimony drew prolonged applause and reminded policymakers that investments bear fruit.
Layout designers displayed before-and-after portraits of eight youths who moved from Blanchot Avenue to vocational schools. The images, printed large in the courtyard, became instant selfie spots and social-media magnets.
Financing shelters sustainably
Running a dormitory for 30 teenagers costs roughly 900,000 CFA francs a month, calculates Sister Odile Ngoma, manager of Centre Maman Rose. Food inflation has pushed expenses up 22 % in a year, making diversified funding essential.
Reiper proposes a mixed model: municipal subventions for fixed costs, plus income-generating projects such as poultry farming or tailoring workshops. A planning clinic on Thursday will match each shelter with an accountant to draft three-year budgets.
Keeping children in classrooms
Behind most rescue stories stands a teacher willing to give a second chance. The Ministry of Primary Education has allowed flexible enrolment dates so recovered children can join classes even after the official start. Advocates want fees waived entirely.
Community schools in Poto-Poto already experiment with sponsor-a-desk schemes where local businesses pay uniforms and books. Festival speakers encouraged companies in telecoms and banking to copy the model, arguing that educated ex-street youths become future customers.
From pledges to action plans
By closing day, a draft roadmap should set measurable targets: fewer street-life entries, faster family reunifications and annual audits for care centres. Joseph Likibi, Reiper’s coordinator, voiced confidence. “We are not alone; solidarity with public powers is growing,” he said.
Final signatures are expected on Friday, sealing a partnership document that will circulate to town mayors and prefects for immediate rollout. The network hopes the visible unity displayed this week will translate into concrete safety for every child on Brazzaville’s streets.
