The Swiss Symphasis Foundation has chosen to support the project "Schooling for street children in Vientiane". This is the only programme to date for children living and working on the streets of the Laotian capital.
More than 300 children roam the streets of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, all day long. Victims of trafficking, exploited, they are excluded from any school or family environment. Since 2004, Aide et Action, in partnership with the NGO Peuan Mit/Friends International and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Vientiane, has been trying to help these deprived children. The association trains social workers to reintegrate young people into their family or school environment through non-formal educational and recreational activities.
A success for the Ventiane Times
The project, whose success was recently praised in an article in the Vientiane TimesThe "Scouting" project has already reduced the number of street children by half (from over 600 in 2005 to 300 in 2007), but there is still a long way to go to ensure the well-being of all young people. This is why the Swiss Symphasis Foundation, whose aim is to support and promote social, charitable, ecological, cultural and other projects of public interest, has committed itself to supporting the project "Schooling for street children in Vientiane".
Among the priorities of Aide et Action and its partners in the coming months: developing prevention in order to reduce the number of street children in the city, working in partnership with a vast network of partners to fight against this scourge that is spreading in the provinces and setting up care and psychological support for the youngest.