Educate every child

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Educate every child,in the family, in the community,

in the world

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Educare il bambino,in famiglia, in comunit, nel mondo


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Educate every child,in the family, in the community,

in the world

Educare il bambino,in famiglia, in comunit, nel mondo


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ISBN 978-88-903534-4-4

Edited byAVSI www.avsi.org

Cover: Rosetta Brambilla in Brasil

Editorial coordination: Giovanna Rossi, Professor at the Milan Catholic University,and her Assistant Roberta Oldini

Methodological support: Lucia Castelli, Giuseppe Meroni and Lia Sanicola

Project and experiences: F. Argelli, G. Bigi, S. Carobene, E. Castelli, F. Ciantia, M.T. Gatti, C. Mezzalira,

S. Montaccini, O. Olivo, G.P. Silvestri, D. Tondini, L. Valla

Translation: Luisa Chiodaroli

Graphic design: Accent on Design, MilanPrinting: Pirovano srl

Milan, october 2008 - second edition

AVSI - Italia

20158 Milano - Via Legnone, 4

Tel. +39.02.67.49.881 - [email protected]

47023 Cesena (FC) - Viale Carducci 85

Tel. +39.0547.360.811 - [email protected]

AVSI USA

Headquarters: 125 Maiden Lane 15th floor - New York, NY 10038

DC Office: 529 14th Street NW - Suite 994 - Washington, DC 20045

Ph/Fax: +1.212.490.8043 - [email protected] - www.avsi-usa.org

Financial support


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.The fundamental idea in the education of the young is the fact that it is

through the younger generations that society successively rebuilds itself; thereforethe primary concern of society is to teach the young.

Our main theme is how to educate ourselves, what education consists of, andhow it takes place. We mean a true education, one that matches human reality.

The first concern of a genuine and apprpriate educational method is theeducation of the heart of man, just as God made it

Luigi Giussani, The Risk of Education

.Lidea fondamentale di una educazione rivolta ai giovani il fatto cheattraverso di essi si ricostruisce una societ; perci il grande problema della societ innanzitutto educare i giovani.

Il tema principale in che cosa consiste e come si svolge leducazione,uneducazione che sia vera, cio corrispondente allumano.

La prima preoccupazione di una educazione vera e adeguata quella di educareil cuore delluomo cos come Dio lha fatto.

Luigi Giussani, Il Rischio Educativo


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list of contents / indice

AVSI: promoting the dignity of every human person since 1972 5Method and experiences 6Foreword 9

The fundamental principles orienting AVSIseducational activities 9The key role of adults as teachers 10Methodological aspects: from the welfare state approachto a caring society 11

AVSI and the Children in difficult circumstancesProjects and experiences 13

Children in armed conflicts 13Health care and nutrition 16

Primary Education 20Care and fostering 26

Vocational Training 30AVSI and the children - 2001 projects in progress 36

AVSI: dal 1972 in cammino per la dignit della persona 37Metodo ed esperienze 38Premessa 39Le linee di fondo che orientano l'azione educativa del bambino 41

La decisivit della figura dell'adulto in quanto educatore 41Importanti note metodologiche:

il superamento di una prospettiva assistenzialisticanella direzione di una caring society 43

AVSI e i bambini in condizioni di disagio 45Esperienze e progetti 45

I bambini e la guerra 45Cura, salute, nutrizione 49Educazione primaria 53

Accoglienza 59Formazione professsionale 63

AVSI e i bambini. Progetti in corso nel 2001 69


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The AVSI Foundation is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, founded inItaly in 1972 and presently active in 39 countries worldwide, with over 100

development cooperation projects.

At present AVSI is operating in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the MiddleEast and Asia with long-term projects in the areas of health, sanitation, care of childrenin difficult conditions, education, vocational training, upgrading of informal urbanareas, agriculture, environment, promotion of small businesses, food security, ICT, andemergency relief.

AVSIs mission is to support human development in developing countries withspecial attention to education and the promotion of the dignity of every human person,according to Catholic social teaching.

AVSI is a member of Compagnia delle Opere Impresa Sociale, an Italian bodyassociating over 1.000 not-for-profit entities which enables to take advantage of andexchange the existing know-hows, to the benefit of international projects and partners.

Funds for project implementation are mainly contributed by the European Union,UN Agencies, the Italian Department of Foreign Affairs and other Italian Governmentbodies, as well as by local administrations, businesses and private individuals.

AVSI has been recognized as an NGO for international cooperation by the ItalianGovernment in 1973; it is registered as a private and voluntary organization (PVO) withUSAID; it holds General Consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council

(ECOSOC) in New York since 1996, the UN Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO) in Vienna and the UN Fund for Children (UNICEF) in New York, and isrecognized on the NGOs Special List of the International Labor Organization (ILO) inGeneva, it is registered as a not-for-profit organization with the Italian Revenue Office tobenefit of the five per thousand grant.

AVSI is also recognized by the Italian Government as an approved body to dealwith international adoptions in Italy and abroad.

AVSI - www.avsi.org

AVSI: promoting the dignity

of every human person since 1972


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AVSI - www.avsi.org

The five basic points of AVSIs method

1. Centrality of the personThe person is the centre of any development program, the purpose of every

project. This means first of all sharing needs with the individual to share the verymeaning of life and to be moved by his/her destiny. Failing this, the answer toneeds becomes only a self-rewarding good action or a political strategy. The personis seen as a unique, unrepeatable being, who cannot be defined by a social category.

2. Starting from the positiveEvery person, every community represents a potential resource, no matter how

vulnerable they are. This means valuing all that has been made by people, inclu-ding their history, their existing relationships, and the experiences making up theirheritage. This basic operational principle originates from a positive approach to rea-lity and helps persons recognize their own value and dignity and take up their ownresponsibilities.

3. Doing withA top-down project is either violent, since not shared, or ineffective and unsu-

stainable, since assistance-oriented. AVSI's approach to project planning and imple-

mentation consists in doing with people; that is, starting from the relationship withthe people to whom the project is targeted and building with them.

4. Development of intermediate bodies and subsidiarityA society is born out of the free commitment of persons and families joining

together. A development project means to enhance the capacity of people to asso-ciate, hereby recognizing and supporting the creation of intermediate bodies and ofa responsible and integrated social context. The right of every person to freely asso-ciate and to take actions or start-up business activities becomes a powerful drive

towards better civic and democratic life.

5. PartnershipDevelopment projects are based on real partnerships among all entities active in

the particular field, including institutions that are public and private, local andinternational, thereby avoiding duplications and promoting synergies to optimizeavailable resources.


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educate every child, in the family, in the community, in the world

Educate every child,in the family,in the community,

in the worldEducation is a human right and a key factor to reducing poverty and child labour and

promoting democracy, peace, tolerance and development. (Paragraph 36 of the Draft outcomedocument as of June 29th2001- A World Fit For Children)

As agreed at the World Education Forum in Dakar we will accord high priority toensuring by 2015 that all children have access to and complete primary education that is free,

compulsory and of good quality. We will also aim at the progressive provision of secondary edu-cation. (Paragraph 37 of the Draft outcome document as of June 29th2001- A World FitFor Children)

We must ensure free and basic education to all children:this is the challenge of AVSIs activities and educational projects.


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Uganda, Meeting Point local Ngo associated to AVSI network caring for AIDSinfected people and AIDS orphans

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ForewordThe purpose of this paper is to present AVSIs educational activities in favor of chil-

dren living their childhood and adolescence in armed conflicts, neglect and exclusion,persistent poverty and suffering from disease. Such activities represent the cultural andoperational realization of the statements of UNICEF document A world fit for children,sanctioning the inalienable rights of access to basic education for every child.

Paragraph 7 of the outcome document states the commitment of the world leaders toeducation: We hereby call on members of society to join us in a global movement that will helpbuild a world fit for children through upholding our commitments to the following principles and

objectives: (omissis)Educate every child. Every girl and boy must have access to and complete primary

education that is free, compulsory and of good quality as a cornerstone of an inclusive basiceducation. Gender disparities in primary education and secondary education must be elimi-nated. (omissis)

As documented by this paper, the AVSIs commitment in favor of children living inarmed conflicts or in most deprived conditions, lays in the spirit of these fundamentaldeclaration. Specifically we are going to outline the fundamental principles orienting oureducational process, the resulting methodological implications, as well as the operationalimplementation of our interventions.

The Fundamental principles orienting AVSIs educational activitiesThe starting point of any activity in favor of children is the acknowledgement of their

being persons. This definition recalls immediately the issue ofidentity and of building suchidentity within unfavorable or extremely difficult environments, such as it may be expe-rienced in countries in conflict. The personal identity is defined as being in relation withsomebody else. This enables the person to structure and at the same time, to consolidatehis/her uniqueness. In fact, the identity concept implies equality, equity, likeness (i.e. iden-tification with) as well as uniqueness, specificity and diversity (and consequently buildingof the I). Therefore through and by means of relationship, the child is able to grow. The

growth process implies both: the positive identification of the childs person (who is notcompletely defined by exclusion or deviance, often leading to violent behavior) and thepossibility to become an active adult able to take over responsibilities versus both other

Educate every child,

in the family,in the community,in the worldMethod and experiences


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people and his/her own environment. The personal identity is therefore the outcome of aneducational process which finds its realization within a concrete belonging and can beexperienced through interpersonal relationship. Thus education is based on a mutual

belonging, where the adult and the child find a symbolic and objective place to commu-nicate themselves, looking with affection for the answer of the other. The child starts to behappy when he/she begins to perceive he/she belongs to, is of somebody. To grow - andgrowth should not be considered simply in its biological aspects - every human beingneeds to experience a significant relationship, able to transmit the meaning of what one isand does. The parents are the adults to whom the child, in his/her quality of son/daughter,asks for education. Hence education represents a strategic process by which the child maybecome an adult able to take over responsibilities and to face the great challenges of dailylife even in a difficult environment. Such relationship can be established within a certaintime and in a given space, in a home, through care, nurturing, play and company. While

stating the right of the child to education, it is therefore necessary to affirm the right of theparents to educate, to communicate a positive hypothesis of life. Such rights of both chil-dren and parents are acknowledged and clearly confirmed by the outcome document inparagraph 31. Parents, families, legal guardians and other caregivers have the primaryrole and responsibility for the well-being of children, and must be supported in theperformance of their child rearing responsibility. All our policies and programmes shouldpromote shared responsibility of parents, families, legal guardians and other caregivers,and society as a whole in this regard

The key role of adults as teachersAs so far pointed out, the balanced and stable growth of the child needs the presence

of adults, the parents first of all, able to set the basis of and to orient the educational pro-cess. The family is the primary point of reference for education. Such primacy is clearlyunderlined by the Draft outcome document, paragraph 6. We recognize and supportparents and families or as the case may be legal guardians as the primary caretakers of children,and we will strengthen their capacity to provide the optimum care, nurturing and protection.The family when present, must be supported to carry out its specific educational task atbest, in order to favor building the childrens basic personality. In fact the personality buil-ding process is possible when the child, through family relationship, experiences basic

confidence. This is much more relevant in armed conflicts and in situations of neglect andexclusion. In these contexts it is very difficult to help children, because they are oftenwary of people holding any authoritative role, even a professional one, and fear relation-ships as soon as they get close. By reaction, children learn very soon to defend themselves,creating a barrier of wariness and cynicism and through improper behaviors.

On the contrary, when the adult is able to assure an effective caring behavior, thechild answers with confidence. This is the basis of any growth. Confidence is the answerdeveloped by the child if the parent or caretaker is trustworthy; and such a confidence isgenerated in a relationship context made of real actions. The outcome is a relationship con-text able to really take care of the growing subject and to start up a dynamic educational

process addressed to the whole community. Besides parents, other adults have a key rolein childrens education: particularly in conflict situations, where they may be the onlypoints of reference in the educational process. The specific role and task of the adult in the


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education process consist of facilitating and promoting the recovery of the childs poten-tial. In other words, childrens growth and consciousness take place in a comparison, in acontinuous relationship between the adult and the child. The following three factors may

well describe the teachers position:

Authority and traditionThe consciousness of the whole reality enables the teacher to develop a complete edu-

cational project, sensitive to the daily challenges of the different environments. When com-paring with the teacher, and his/her continuous valorizing capacity, the child grows, con-trols his/her own potential and learns how to read critically the situation where he/she lives.To reach this target, the first educational step is the attention to the life experience andvalues borne by the history from which the child originates (consciousness of tradition).

Self-consciousnessThe teacher is such when he/she does not separate himself/herself from his/her own

function. The teacher is aware that true education comes from the communication ofhis/her person and that hence the first task is a personal and sincere commitment. Theadults freedom is always involved, in the absolute respect of the childs freedom. Thisapproach affects any methodology or tools employed in the educational path.

Consciousness of the community dimension.The community dimension is at the origin of any educational activity and expresses

daily and continuously in a network of capillary relationships within the reference com-

munity. Based on the above considerations, one may well understand how the develop-ment of a person is never involving only the child, but rather a common path of the childand of the caretaker.

Such common growth marks the activity of AVSIs operators even in environmentscharacterized by serious relational failures (absence of family, extreme poverty, weakeningand destruction of the community safety networks able to substitute primary relationshi-ps). Moreover it represents a constant challenge and commitment of the whole personwith relational resources, knowledge, affection, professional skill, time and life choices. Itis therefore evident that any educational task is not, and cannot be an individual under-taking, but rather the result of a common project. A project shared by the adults, who

take freely the responsibility to implement it and which becomes immediately visible andrecognizable in the social context. This visibility may set the conditions to favor the com-munity participation to the educational undertaking. In this perspective, education deve-lops on a path leading from dependence to inter-dependence, where the former is meantas a condition of need, or lack of skill and autonomy, and the latter as the operationalexpression of adults taking over their own responsibilities.

Methodological aspects:from the welfare state approach to a caring society

In the most vulnerable countries marked by poverty, exclusion, conflicts, poorhealth, the risk of approaching children in terms of mere assistance is very high, due tothe urgency, seriousness and magnitude of needs. The educational path so far pictured


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is based on a unique method, characterized by the capacity to take care of the person,in this case of the child, in all his/her dimensions. Only as a consequence all needs, hin-dering the child growth, obvious and hidden, material as well as spiritual, are dealt

with. In this sense, there are aspects of reality, such as innocent suffering, disease andmourning that need to be shared inside a daily company which, while relieving pains,favors the recognition of the value of the person and, where possible, becomes able toidentify answers to the needs.

The answer to the needs goes along with the consideration of the person as awhole, in other words it is global. Such an approach makes the action carried out bothin favor of the individual child and of his/her living environment more incisive andeffective. As already stated above, this method supports the individual child in buildinga positive personality; on the other side, as to the living environment, AVSIs method isparticularly effective in reconstructing social links broken by conflicts and violence, in

promoting the development of local communities, in generating or regenerating humansocial relations.

Specifically, the method featuring AVSIs activities may be summarized as follows:

An holistic approachDesigning a project aimed at meeting a particular need (disease, violence, conflict,

exclusion), the person object of the help is set at the center of the activity with all his/herneeds, his/her resources and taking into account the network of relationships wherehe/she lives. This approach increases project effectiveness and, generally speaking, enables

to reach more children in need and to assure the project sustainability in the run of time.

A positive partnershipThe activation of the available resources and persons in the community means to

work starting from what is present rather than from what is missing.The first resources are the children and adolescents present in the environment: the

promotion of the positive aspects of the persons constitutes the positive factor in order tobuild or rebuild their individual identity. These positive factors are also looked for withinthe family and the community, both considered by experience as a preferential ground.Depending upon the specificity of each project, Institutions and Employers are involved

in the educational, training and organizational processes, allowing the expansion andreplicability of the original intervention. AVSIs method promotes subsidiarity, a form ofpartnerships that, starting from an existing subject in the community, involves in the acti-vities local administrations, other stakeholders, international institutions, all cooperatingto the response of the needs they are faced with, according to their respective role,

Investing in the social and cultural patrimony of children and communities.Many AVSIs projects are also aimed at decreasing vulnerability in high risk environ-

ments. This is achieved increasing the social and cultural resources of children and adole-scents (improving primary relationships, training methodologies and social services deli-

very).


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projects and experiences

Children in armed conflicts

Uganda. Psycho-social reintegration of child-soldiersIn the past 14 years, some areas of Uganda have been devastated by violent and

brutal conflicts. In particular, the northern districts have been subject to continuousand violent attacks by the LRA guerrillas, resulting in a huge number of victims andwidespread material damage. These attacks delay an adequate and complete develop-ment of the economic and social life. Incursions, assaults and fires in the villages, foodraids, killings, mutilations, and kidnappings of adults and children are common. Youthare kidnapped from their homes, villages, camps, and schools and are enslaved, tortu-

red, manipulated, and forced to torture and kill. They become child soldiers who areforced to serve the rebels in various ways (the little girls become their wives).Between 1996 and 1999, UNICEF estimated that more than 10,000 children, agedbetween 7 and 14, were kidnapped. Almost half of them were able to escape and goback to their districts, after more or less long periods of captivity, with the need of phy-sical and/or psychological care and reintegration into their communities of origin, atthat point very often hostile to their presence.

In Kitgum district, AVSI, together with the districts social service, first identifiedlocal human resources able to contribute to the reintegration of kidnapped children:volunteers in the community who, by charisma, social position, or desire, have the role

of helping others; old people who have at heart the traditional values; associations andlocal groups that had been trying to support a dialogue of peace and reconciliation;and teachers who already work with children in schools. AVSI then promoted dialo-gue and collaboration among these resources to create a network and strengthenedtheir ability to identify needs and answer them. This support network did not attemptto substitute itself for the community, but served to sustain it and make it more awareand responsible in finding answers and formulating plans of action. These formativeinterventions represent some of AVSIs main activities of the Kitgum psycho-socialproject and include training, sensitization, and follow up of training. Their main objec-tive is to make the person aware of his/her needs and to strengthen the individual and

collective resources, thus enabling the person to take his/her own decisions. The rela-tionship with the other - child or adult as he/she may be, with his/her desire for mea-ning in all the suffering lived, provokes the freedom of the educator, who is required to

AVSI and the children in difficult circumstances

Projects and experiences


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share his life and to find answers that would give meaning to the persons past expe-riences. Sharing the situation that the other lives and the common search for ananswer foster change in both parties. It also helps to recover confidence between the

child and the world of the adult, a relationship that had been lost due to traumaticevents. We focus on personal attitudes (confidence, self-consciousness, self-aware-ness), on relating to others (cooperation, friendship), and on the network of socialrelationships (family, friends and acquaintances, organizations, and local authorities).We promote different interventions that allow the children to express feelings andemotions connected to the painful events and at the same time help them to rebuildcontinuity (between past, present, and future), which had been interrupted by thetrauma. Expression and of communication of the personal experience takes differentforms, depending upn the culture and local tradition.

The book Where is My Homeco-sponsored by UNICEF and edited in collabora-

tion with AVSI, Save the Children, and World Visionis a collection of drawings fromthe kidnapped children, evacuated and sheltered in North Uganda. These drawingswere made during their recovery and reintegration and drawn with local cooperation(in centers by educators, in schools by teachers, in the community by families andvolunteers).

Rwanda. Children in a land of violenceAVSI has been present in Rwanda since 1994. Rwanda still suffers heavily from the

effects of the war of that year, which radically altered the demographic composition of

the country, so much that still today 70% of the population is made up of womenhalfof whom are widows or have been abandoned by their husbandsand by neglectedminors. In recent years, even though the political situation of the country seems stable,many problems remain (especially for children), as a consequence of the war, evenworsened by a serious economic crisis. In the area of Kigali and other urban centers,the number of children living in the streets has increased. In the countryside, manyfamilial nuclei are supported by head of family children forced to work to providefood for the numerous young siblings with whom they live.

Since the beginning of its presence in August 1994, AVSI has developed projects infavor of vulnerable children and their families, in collaboration with the government

and local communities. Its continuous presence and the good relations developedthrough the years with the governmental institutions and the population enabled AVSIto remain up-to-date on local needs so that the proposal of new projects is informedand current. AVSIs intervention in Rwanda has always been characterized by the sup-port of the family and community, which have always carried out a leading role in thelife and tradition of the Rwandan people.

The well-being of children and families is promoted through projects that highlightthe reintegration of children (school support and sponsoring of cultural and sport acti-vities), the rehabilitation of the environment and house restoration, and the economicdevelopment of families (support for income-generating activities). AVSIs projects are

implemented with local personnel, present in every commune of intervention. In par-ticular, AVSI supports the head of family children and the local associations ofwidows, providing solidarity for those more vulnerable.


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Kosovo. Living together in peaceDuring the years of exclusion and indifference in which the country lived before

the conflict and consequently after the war, the children in Kosovo have experienced

great suffering and mourning, lacking the normal experiences of learning and sociali-zation. Such needs are more acute in rural areas, which have very few services andwhere children live isolated from those of their own age.

Moreover, the majority of families live in a state of extreme poverty, which pre-vents them from providing for the most elementary needs of the children. Since1999, AVSI has been present throughout Kosovo, carrying out projects in differentsectors, such as in the educational and social fields, in rebuilding destroyed areas,and in emergency food distribution followed by support in the agricultural sector aswell.

The Houses for Refugees project has reconstructed 400 houses and restored

others for a total of 2,800 families in the municipalities of Peja, Istog, and Shtimlje.Other funds have allowed for the reconstruction of schools in the villages. In casesof emergency and of unreliable food supply, the Bread for Refugees project, throughthe distribution of food and first aid supplies, has carried out intervention in centersscattered all over the region, which have then ensured the capillary distributionthroughout the whole territory.

Vocational training courses for technicians and for the development of new skillsand technologies in the agro-food sector have been established, including internshipsin Italy.

The Program for Infancy and Youth in Kosovo project, which AVSI started in

1999 and carried out together with UNICEF, supports meeting points for the youthand cultural interchange among the different ethnic groups, providing an adequateenvironment in which young people can freely express themselves. This projectincooperation with schools, local NGOs, and young people of the areahas tried, con-cretely, to answer to the social-expressive needs of about 400 children.

The Recreational Activities in Schools project of the year 2000 has a twofoldpurpose. First, it offers 30 young people theoretical and practical training in groupleadership. Second, the leaders actually gain experience in using the knowledge andresources they receive during training. This happens through planning, organization,and supervision of recreational activities for children and infants in the schools of the

villages and in other selected centers.AVSIs interventions involve different disciplinary areas, including pedagogical,

psychosocial, methodological, and practical.The totality and unity of ones personal components is completely enhanced,

with a focus on the individuals attitudes (confidence, self-consciousness, self-aware-ness) and on his/her network of social relationships (families, communities, associa-tions, organizations, and local authorities).

For the success of such interventions a decisive role has been played by the con-crete and continuous involvement of the young people, their families, the communi-ties and villages they belong to, the institutional entities, and the civil society of the

territory. Thus self-organization, human resources, and the already-existing structu-res in the area (places and events where the different social realities meet) are stimu-lated and supported.


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Health care and nutrition

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Sao Paulo, Brazil. The CREN experience:Education and nutritional recovery centerThe 2020 Global Food Outlook of the International Policy Research Institute, issued in

August 2001, states that in 2020 famine will strike one billion and three hundred millionspeople, and that one child out of four, in the age range between zero and six, will be under-nourished. From the social point of view, undernourishment is not only a question of fami-ne and children, but it implies consequences on the health, learning capacity and develop-ment of the person, lasting all his/her lifetime. The most dramatic situations continue to bethose of the sub-Saharan region of Africa and Asia, where 40% of children is undernouri-shed. However, in Brazil undernourishment remains one of the side effects of poverty, bothin the marginal urban areas and in rural regions. In the favelas or slums of the bigBrazilian cities, 40% of children is undernourished, mainly as a consequence of energeticand protein failures.

In face of such scenario, the consciousness remains that famine is not an abstract que-stion that may be solved only with structural interventions on the economy of the country,but is a matter concerning people that can be faced starting from people themselves. TheCren (Nutritional recovery and educational Center) experience originates from this con-sciousness. It was established in Sao Paolo, Brazil in 1993 from sharing with the families ofthe favelas the need of care and support for undernourished children. At that time it wasimmediately clear that undernourishment is not merely due to low income, but to a seriesof difficult circumstances (unemployment, division of the family, violence, etc.) reflectingon poor education and care of the person and particularly of the child. Cren, in partnershipwith the Federal University of Sao Paulo - Escola Paolista de Medicina - Salus, an NGO

involved in health programs, and AVSI, started an activity aimed not only at caring under-nourishment, but also at education and prevention in order to avoid hospitalization and tobring help directly in the community, taking into the Cren only the most serious cases.During 2000, Cren made over 1300 home calls and successfully cared some 2000 cases oflight or medium undernourishment., Evidently, to face child undernourishment it is notsufficient to distribute food supplements or meal substitutes. Such an approach of mereassistance may give results immediately, but does not influence the concepts of childrencare and family education. When the emergency intervention is over, the situation starts toworsen again. Food education and education to the care of the child and person invest thewhole person. The mother is made responsible, educated to use food to care her family, to

recover an adequate diet, close to the traditions of her community. The task of parents isenhanced to give soundness to the family and to the adult person.

Today, the activities carried out by CREN are: outpatients department (evaluation of the nutritional level and identification of a

suitable diet) day hospital for undernourished children (evaluation of the nutritional level, treat-

ment diet, child stimulation) care of families (social activity to reduce distress situations, psychological treatment,

food education, test labs, education on health and sanitation issues, sensitization ofparents)

activities favoring prevention and awareness in the community (sensitization mee-tings on health and sanitation issues, measurement of the level of nourishment in the com-munity, food education). In addition, CREN has activated a process of dissemination of its 17

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method, setting up a master in nourishment and pediatrics. In collaboration with theFederal University of Sao Paolo, it has started training courses for the staff of educationalcenters, including popularization and preventive actions within the communities. In colla-

boration with the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES), theCren is also developing handbooks for the medical staff and nurses, educators, the publicinstitutions charged with the care and growth of the child, as well as a special web site onthe issue of undernourishment.

Lagos Nigeria. The St. Kizito Clinic experienceNigeria, the giant of Africa with a population of over 120 million, oil producer, pre-

sents a precarious health situation that has been deteriorating in recent years: instability ofhealth services, due to strikes of operators who do not get their salaries, unavailability ofvaccines and AIDS spreading without any control.

AVSI has been active in Nigeria, in the suburbs of Lagos (10 millions inhabitants),since 1998 with a social, health and educational project. The primary care center of Llasan,a suburb of Lagos, offers its services to some 200 patients a day, with particular attention topregnant women and children aged under 5, representing a vulnerable part of the popula-tion. Specifically AVSI established a nutritional center to assure food support to childrenand families, taking care of some 100 children. Purpose of the center is to educate mothersand to provide health and food support to mothers and children, with food prepared anddistributed at the center and food to be taken home. In recent years the center startedtaking care of some HIV infected children by vertical transmission. A home treatment rela-tion has been started with them, extended to the mothers who are also HIV infected. The

problems linked to family are very complex : unemployment and no income, repeateddiseases that prevent to carry out even the small trade activities for daily survival. The cen-ter has become a point of reference also for grown up children, from 3 to 10, with after-noon recreational activities to foster health recovery also through play and friendship. Themain problem is to be accepted as persons. In this sense the staff of the St. Kizito Clinic,through the unity they live at work, create the conditions to welcome people - and particu-larly those infected by AIDS - who often experience margination.

Uganda.AIDS and childrenRecent reports1 have indicated that the main diseases that cause and perpetuate

poverty, especially harming children and women, can be successfully controlled.Countries like Senegal and Uganda indicate that it is possible to reduce HIV infection

rates and there are ways to effectively mitigate the effects of the pandemia.The declines are increasingly attributed to changes in sexual behaviour, particularly a

delay in sexual debut among the youth and a decrease in number of sexual partners amongsexually active adults, thanks also to a multisectoral, democratic participatory strategyadopted by the Uganda Government since mid 80s!

Since mid 1980s AVSI is involved in the fight against AIDS in the context of theNational Programmes of the Government of Uganda, in partnership with the AIDSNational Commission. The main areas of operations in the Health Sector, in collabora-

tion with Ministry of Health, focus on strengthening Health Service Delivery Systems inthe districts of Kitgum, Pader and Gulu (Northern Region), Hoima (Western Region)and Kampala City (Central Region). With the help of various donors, AVSI supports the18

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Ministry of Health in one district hospital, in one regional hospital and in three PNFP 2

hospitals.In the same districts AVSI works in partnership with local NGOs and CBOs3, such as

Meeting Point, Kyamusa Obwongo and Companionship of Works Association, in providingintegrated home care services to PLWHAs4 and their families.

The strategies are Prevention of new infections, above all teaching young people how to avoid it in a

human and responsible way and by implementing MTCT5 prevention in Antenatal Clinics; Care and treatment of those already infected; Protection of those, whom HIV/AIDS has left most vulnerable, starting with children

it has orphaned.Prevention is the mainstay of our response, investing in education most of the avai-

lable resources. Through a nation-wide Distant Support for Orphaned ChildrenProgramme more than 3,000 children are in schools. Teachers are trained in identifica-tion and dealing with vulnerable persons in the context of a Psychosocial SupportProgramme in Kitgum District. The empowerment of women, through the support ofwomen groups and adult literacy projects, contributes to the reduction of vulnerabilityand poverty in the slums of Kampala and in rural remote areas in Northern Uganda.

In Uganda it is estimated that every year about 40,000 HIV infected children areborn6. Mother to Child (HIV) Transmission (MTCT) Prevention interventions need to beimplemented, being also a powerful entry point to other mother and child health servi-ces provision, including immunisation, Integrated Management of the Childhood

Illnesses (IMCI), Prevention and Care of Disabilities and Psychosocial Support.Both prevention and treatment cannot simply be made up of techniques, tools or

availability of funds; rather they should always rely on the human factor and be situatedwithin a vision of the human person as a whole.

Programmes cannot be limited to child care and protection. The well being of chil-dren depends upon those around them: their parents, families, communities, teachers,religious and political leaders. So while remaining focused on the child, our work aims tostrengthen the entire community.

This is of fundamental importance in Africa, where emergencies are chronic andcomplex. Therefore, an emergency should never be allowed to deflect the humanitarian

organisations, donors and NGOs from addressing the larger issues of development andsustainability. Long term development must be the goal, but an emergency situation canbe the trigger for that development. Local populations should be always seen not as merebeneficiaries, but as responsible partners.

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1 Health a key to prosperity. Success stories in Developing Countries Communicable Diseases/World Health Organisation, 2000.2 Private Non For Profit3 Community Based Organisations4 Persons Living With HIV/AIDS5 Mother To Child Transmission6 Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV - Implementation Manual, - Ministry of Health of Uganda January 2001.


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Primary education

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Brazil.A network of education centersSince the beginning of the eighties, AVSI has been supporting in Brazil a number

of educational activities aimed at caring children and adolescents living in marginal

urban areas. In the run of time, these simple charitable actions have turned into realeducational centers with a civil and social dignity recognized both by local communi-ties and by public institutions.

There are 20 centers in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, SalvadorBahia, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, attended by some 3000 children and adolescents agedbetween zero and 14. Approaching the educational aspects of children in high riskand vulnerability situations, they provide an educational function also for the adultsof the community.

From the nursery school for babies to after-school support for children of theprimary schools, to recreational activities for adolescents up to the age they may go to

work, the care of children has some distinctive methodological aspects:1. Attention to the person as a whole and enhancement of his/her talents

and bents: the child is cared for what he/she is. Teachers take care of him/her fromthe point of view of his/her identity, health, family relations, violence and distressconditions, translating the principle of the centrality of the person into concreteactions.

The child shower, for instance, is not only an act of hygienic care, but also ofexclusive love, though which the child becomes conscious. often for the first time, ofhis/her own person and body.

Breakfast and lunch do not only represent the childs unique significant meals,but also the idea of order and of rules of life.

The after-school support work, which was started to limit retirement fromschool often generating return illiteracy, has a constructive effect since it opens thedoors on a world whose access is denied to the children living in the favelas. Thisactivity implies a strict collaboration with the school attended by the child, in orderto make a complementary work.

Recreational activities (theatre, dance, movie) are structured in order to intro-duce children to the sense of beauty and infinite, fully unknown to a child grown upin distress conditions.

The care of the person from the health, hygienic and nutritional points of viewis faced in a systematic way, through the work of pediatricians and nutrition speciali-sts.

In the most serious cases, (violence, exclusion, serious diseases and undernou-rishment), the child is accompanied by activating a solidarity network and - wherenecessary the social services.

Prevention of childrens work is not so much the result of a control activity, butrather the outcome of strengthening the personality of the child and of the search of adeep meaning for his/her life, leading him/her to refuse easy money and violentexploitation.

2. Enhancement and involvement of family: the child is never an isolated indi-vidual. He is always integrated into a family context, which although disrupted in80% of cases, is however rich of significant presence. Often unexpectedly, the educa-


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tional work with the child acts indirectly also on his/her mother and family, who feelthe influence of the experience of order, beauty and love made by the child at theeducational center. Along with this effect, the work with the family develops throu-

gh calls, listening and talking to the mother, thus creating a relation strengthening theenvironment where the child grows and re-.awakening in the mother and adults thesense of the dignity of the person.

3. Development of a solidarity network: the educational work tends to strengthenaround the family a network of relations with persons and institutions reducing itsvulnerability. When adults and other subjects present become aware of their responsi-bilities, the process of free undertaking accelerates, thus fostering development in thecommunity.

4. The Center as a point of reference for the community : in this educational workdirected to the families, centers have become an active subject of the community,where they carry out also activities for prevention and human development. The edu-cational center becomes therefore a sort of access channel of the community to theservices of the formal town.

In order to enhance these educational experiences, AVSI is implementing projectsfostering capacity building and qualification of these centers. The aim is to share theirexpertise and give then higher visibility also at international level.

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Albania. Day schoolsThe economic, but mainly cultural and moral dimensions of poverty make life of

children in Albania very difficult. They are living in the streets where violence wins

(robberies and vandalism). Many of them handle weapons and had a loss in thefamily due to revenge actions, disrupting families and the social context. Many fami-lies are split as a consequence of more or less regular expatriations.

Health and sanitation represent a critical issue: diarrhoea and intestinal infectionscaused by food gone bad, or by undernourishment or incorrect diet are very frequent,along with skin infections due to poor sanitation.

Very few houses have water supply and toilet. Electric power is often failing; hea-ting is missing and in many areas of Albania temperature in winter may go well below0C. In general, families have many children, at least 4 or 5. Basic school has 8 yearsduration (from 7 to 14) but is often not attended by children living in the farthest vil-

lages. Teachers are often not prepared and not motivated and children cannot learn. Itseems that teachers have a particular attention only for the respect of discipline: woo-den sticks and expulsion from the classroom are still used. Some classes have nomore male students, all of them having been expelled. Girls aged between 12 and 14are often molested - and sometimes raped - in the school environment, also becausethey are coming from villages other than the place where they attend the school. Theneed for education is therefore emerging, not only meant as the capacity to respectthe rules and values of civil society, but also as recovery of traditions and thereforediscovery of ones identity as person belonging to a people.

There is very little room for freedom and proposal, where a young person may

get emancipated and gain his/her own freedom: the only viable perspective seems tobe that of leaving Albania. AVSI has been working in Albania since 1997 and, sincethe very start, developed projects in favor of children in difficult circumstances, witheducational and training activities. In particular, in addition to the reconstruction offive primary and nursery schools, AVSI has been supporting the establishment of 20educational centers, on the whole Albanian territory, including day centers and nur-sery schools. The general objective of AVSIs projects is to improve the quality of lifeof children, through the services offered and through teaching and recreational activi-ties, in order to prevent exclusion from the original family and limit irregular expa-triations, deviance and psycho-social distress.

Training received a particular care. since education is only possible with an adultsubject, directly and personally implied in a relationship: the child may live, growand learn only if there is an adult introducing him/her to the reality.

Training activities enabled to qualify operators, providing them with the skillsand tools necessary to promote and try new educational paths, to get hold of theirown identity, to design and imagine a possible future for their children, linked totheir own history and belonging.

No intervention has been an attempt to substitute the Albanian people, noproject has been building its own center or school; on the contrary AVSI rallied todevelop and equip to the best existing structures, either public or private, in order to

meet the needs of the local reality. In fact the priority has been on having local coun-terparts acquire the managerial skills useful and required to reach an independentdesign and financial capacity. 23

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Lagos, Nigeria. Nurseries and primary schoolsNigeria, the giant of Africa, with its population of more than 120 million people,

oil producer, after a long period of military government that generated economical

and political corruption, has changed in a democratic government. This event ope-ned new perspectives in international relationships and in the management of thecountry, but has brought out a very poor situation in the last years both in health andeducational fields. This situation is evident in Lagos, the most big metropolis inNigeria, with 10 millions people living in different social and economic positions: apart of few and very rich people and a wide part of people that lives of rubbish or in aroom without light and water.

The school facilities, from nursery to secondary, are insufficient: classrooms arecrowded, stationery is very expensive and teachers are not trained adequately whiletheir salary is low. The main consequences are teacher absenteeism and, often, strikes

that affect the academic level of the students.Teaching methods dont follow the new reality of the society, for example the cor-

poral punishment is included in all the school rules, from nursery to secondaryschool. AVSI has been active in Nigeria since 1988 with main projects in the healthsector, starting from concrete needs encountered. In recent years it also developededucational projects.

Particularly, in the suburban area of Lagos, AVSI has started a nursery and pri-mary school to support the education of the fishermen children in a village on theLagoon. Fishermen come from the Benin Republic, they speak only their traditionallanguage: Egun. Actually, 400 children are registered in the school; the children are

both from the fishermen village and neighbouring villages.Education is focused on the person in his/her totality; thus great emphasis is

put on learning English, that is the key to introduce the child to social life. At thesame time, through other curricular and extracurricular activities (drama, art, sport)we try to build a complete personality. We try to involve the parents in the educatio-nal process of their children through a daily relationship with teachers, health educa-tion courses and organising parties and feasts. The children, coming from differentbackgrounds, live in a context of violent tribal fights. To improve their living together,we try to promote social and cultural activities inside and outside the school, enhan-cing the value of traditional songs and dances and attending to many events out of

the village.Looking at the person as one, we realised that one of the main needs is the

health care. Hence we have started a health care program in the school, in co-opera-tion with St. Kizito clinic (AVSI project): check of the health of children, distributionof drugs, treatment of undernourished children, health care courses for parents andAIDS prevention.

Teachers are constantly trained working as a team, giving their contribution inthe management and attending to refresh courses. We organise refresh courses in co-operation with the educational authorities (Local Government) and many teachers ofthe government school attend our courses.

When children complete their primary education, the relationship and educatio-nal care continue: we try to have stability in it. In recent years we have started theactivities of a Remedial School, in the same suburban area, for an educational and24

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academic support to the students of the secondary school. The Remedial Schooloffers: lessons in many subjects in the evening, a good equipped laboratory for scien-tific subjects; a library for the students that cannot afford the expensive cost of the

textbooks; a reading room for the students (and they are many) who dont have athome a place where to study; sport and extracurricular activities (excursion, choir,magazine, film) to assure a global growing up of the personality and to developfriendship and respect among different ethnic and religious backgrounds and tribes .All the children that complete their primary education can attend to the activities ofthe Remedial School, finding continuity with the educational proposal received.

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Care and fostering

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Bucharest, Romania. Fostering and supporting HIV/AIDS infected children;the Emilia House caseAt the start of the nineties, in Rumania the tragedy of negleted children living in

institutes (over 100,000) and infected by AIDS was discovered. Based on the figuresissued by the Ministry of Health in December 2000, 5.629 clear cases of pediatric AIDShave been recorded (excluding HIV infection cases); 3.445 children are still living. Thesefigure show that Rumania has approx. 60% of children with HIV infections on the wholeEurope. The infection developed the most in the years between 1988 and 1991; its tran-smission has been mainly horizontal (i.e. transfusions with infected blood, improper care):Children affected by the disease are now aged between 10 and 13. Almost half of themlive in orphanages or similar institutes. They are therefore children who have been negle-ted by their families, who never experienced the warmth of home, the love of parents,brothers and sisters, and who are also faced with the distress of the disease.

AVSI has been active in Rumania since 1994, when it carried out the rehabilitationof the pediatric department of Victor Babes Hospital in Bucharest. The department was(and still is) caring HIV infected children neglected by their families. Since then AVSIhas been developing a number of projects in favor of HIV infected children, in collabo-ration with various local organizations, operating mainly in two institutes: Victo BabesHospital and the hospital-orphanage of Vidra. At the beginning projects were mainlyfocused on health and training activities, but soon it was realized that what childrenneeded the most were not only better treatments, finer hospitals and orphanages, buttheir first need was to be loved by somebody. The need to belong, in a relationship withan adult, is essential to build a balanced personality. Since then, the main efforts and the

biggest investments have been routed in the direction of finding family solutions forchildren. The areas of search have been many: from tracing the family of origin of thechild to check the possibility of a return or at least of resuming the relation with theparents, to the search of alternative families (foster families), and the establishment offostering houses structured as families. In 2000 AVSI built the first family house for HIVinfected abandoned children. The house, which is organized as a true family, is locatedat Chiajna, a village approx. 6 km far from Bucharest, and gives hospitality to 8 childrencoming from the hospital-orphanage of Vidra. There is a mother, a father and a brothersharing life with the other 8 children. The house is very nice, in order to give these chil-dren, who have not been wanted by anybody, and who lived for years in inadequate and

overcrowded institutes, without any significant relation, the possibility to experiencebeauty. The house is very large, so that each child may have adequate room, and his/herown bed, closet and desk. They go to school, do their homework and play like all otherchildren. Children have their papa and mama as all children should have.

A second family house has been purchased and rehabilitated in the area of Pipera, inBucharest: it will take care of another 5 children. Soon they will also have the possibilityto be welcomed by somebody who loves them and who calls them with their name.

Novosibirsk, Russia. Caring and fostering early motherhood

Novosibisk is a large city of the Russian Federation, located in the middle of theSiberian region; it is one of the most important industrial poles and still remains one ofthe few scientific and cultural centers. In recent years, economic and political instability 27

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of the whole Federation caused a serious social crisis, worsened by failure of the welfarepolicy. In Novosibirsk the percentage of low income, unemployable people has beenincreasing year after year and now, over 256.000 persons out of a 1.485.000 inhabitants,

need to be supported by social services. This adds to the crisis of families with conse-quent increased number of neglected children. Many women and children live in a parti-cularly difficult situation: many unmarried girls with a baby are unable to grow theirchild. Early motherhood represents a category which is not recognized: only very fewgirls are registered at the police headquarters and receive an allowance to care for theirown baby, while the actual percentage of mothers needing to be supported is muchhigher. Moreover dormitories for homeless people are not allowed to take in women withbabies. The missing answer to this need leads many women to have an abortion evenafter the legally allowed period, or to leave the newborn at the hospital. It must be notedthat in Russia hundreds of thousands children are left in orphanages. These are mainly

state-owned institutes, while religious or lay institutions, which only in recent years star-ted proposing other forms of hospitality, are very few, also due to inadequate laws and toexcessive bureaucratization of the Russian Federation.

AVSI has been active in the area of Novosibirsk since 1995, starting with health andtraining projects. In 1998 it started supporting a fostering house for early motherhood,run by Caritas. Such support has been consolidating in the run of time and in 2001AVSI has set up a new house for early motherhood. Here 5 girls live with their babies:the ten guests are first of all helped in their primary needs: house and food. True care ishowever that of giving the mother the possibility to live with her own baby, withoutbeing compelled to leave him/her by the difficult circumstances she is experiencing; at

the same time we give the child the possibility to grow with his/her mother in a signifi-cant relationship able to accompany his/her development up to the discovery of his/heridentity. Hospitality is temporary, until the baby is one year old; then the girl is suppor-ted in the search of a job and of a house, where she can live independently with herown baby. However mother and child are not left alone in the subsequent years, but thesupport continues both in respect of some primary needs, and mainly to continue theeducational relationship with the operators who cared for them. While this social struc-ture does not meet the entire need of the Siberian Region, it certainly represents aninnovative example of social action: a real social alternative able to enhance the positiveexperience of the mother-child relationship.

Asuncin, Paraguay. Caring and fostering youth with jail experience:the Casa dos memores Virgen de CaacupcaseIn recent years, the attention of the public opinion in Paraguay has been drawn on

the issue of children and street children. In particular it has been acknowledged howthe situation of these minors worsens when the already difficult living conditions add tolaw violation, with the consequent punishment. Once he gets free, the minor experien-cing in jail subhuman conditions, often has no alternative other than returning to thestreet and resuming the same style of life that previously led him to delinquency, thus

originating a vicious circle. In 1994 the volunteers of the Centro de Solaridad SanRoque Gonzales started visiting weekly the minors of the only juvenile prison ofAsuncin, called Panchito Lopez. The initiative, which is still going on, was aimed at28

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offering the minors - through dialogue, cultural, training and recreational activities -moments of sharing, where their dignity of human beings is enhanced, even in the dra-matic experience of jail. The positive results of this charitable effort, led to the idea of

offering this youth a real alternative to street life, once they are leaving the prison.The project ofsocial reintegration for the adolescents of the Asuncin juvenile prison was

thus started. It is focused on a fostering house, a place where minors may stay andgrow in an environment stimulating their complete education as persons and fosteringthe redemption of their dignity, in view of their full social reintegration.

The Casa dos menores Virgen de Caacup is located at Itaugu, 35 km far fromAsuncin, and has been built with the contribution of AVSI and of the SpanishCooperation. It is a unique structure of this kind on the whole territory of Paraguayand has a maximum capacity of 24 minors. At present it has 16 guests.

Admittance is allowed to minors aged between 13 and 19, living in poverty, who

did not commit extremely serious crimes. They should have regained their freedom orbe on probation and should decide to enter the house spontaneously. Stay in the houseis free, there are no guards and doors are always open. Here, under the guide of educa-tional operators and other qualified staff, minors have the possibility to experience anorderly way of living together in a community, through education to the respect ofthemselves, of their own basic freedoms as well as of other peoples, and to recover thesense of their own dignity and responsibility.

Moreover, adolescents may complete their school education and follow vocationaltraining courses for an effective reintegration into society, also through a dignified job. Aspecial session of primary school has been opened in the house, with the support of the

local Ministry of Education. Adolescents may thus attend the school in the morning andcomplete the compulsory cycle by attending adults alphabetization courses. Moreover,those who want to continue their studies, have the possibility to attend superior schoolat the Technical National Institute of Itaugu, collaborating with the house through anagreement for the evening classes. Using the natural resources of the property - land,lagoon and wood - a technical training has been started in the areas of vegetable andflower growing, bee-keeping, bird-rearing and fish-breeding. Theoretical and practicaltraining courses have been implemented by engineers and agronomists made availableby the Ministry of Agriculture. Each of the young people, based on his own skills andchoices, has attended actively to some of these activities, acquiring the theoretical and

practical skills required to find a job, at the end of the program.Finally, the House always fosters the approach of the adolescents to their original

families, in order to check the possibility of a reintegration when this is considered aspositive. Local institutions consider the House as an excellent place as to effectivenessand achievement of the targets proposed. Thus more and more frequently the Court issoliciting direct entry to the House as an alternative to jail.

In one year of activity, 16 adolescents entered the House and enthusiastically joinedthe educational path. One of them has already completed the program with secondaryeducation and has been reintegrated into the original family.

The tailor made educational method, peculiar of the House, leads adolescents to a

radical change of position towards themselves (increased self-esteem and certainty oftheir human talents) and the outside environment (increased opening and positive con-sideration of reality). 29

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Vocational training

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Nairobi, Kenya. St Kizito Vocational Training InstituteThe St. Kizito Vocational Training Institute, located in the suburbs of Nairobi, has

been set up by AVSI and the Dioceses of Nairobi with the financial support of the Italian

Cooperation, and is run by AVSI. The Institute offers vocational training courses, nor-mally of two years duration. Examinations are made by governmental or internationalinstitutions. When it was started, in 1993, it offered three vocational training coursesand 63 were the students attending lessons. In 2001, it offers 8 courses (car mechanicsand car electricians, electricians, electronic engineering, joiners, tailors, plumbers andmetal working, secretarial work and computerized data processing) to some 400 stu-dents. As a whole, over 1300 students attended the school up to the year 2000. Theschool staff is composed of 29 people, out of which 21 teachers. 95% of students passtheir examinations, which is a really significant percentage. The basic point of the workis the educational proposal to the young person as introduction to reality. This generates

an attention to the all the needs of the youth attending the school and particularly tothe educational need, consequently the vocational training offered has a high quality.

The answer to the educational need lays in the common work of teachers, thatenhancing the consciousness of their educational function, enables to offer to the stu-dents a friendship exceeding the borders of school life. Thus the school becomes anenvironment where young people experience the positive aspects of reality and mayrecover confidence and hope for themselves.

Such position led the school to experience a real opening toward the social reality,in particular the business world, to which the school proposes the possibility of a com-mon work, in order to make training really effective from the point of view of the requi-

rements of the job market. Many managers and businessmen have entered a consolida-ted relationship with the school: for instance Pirelli, Toyota, and General Motors areavailable for training teachers, offer apprenticeship opportunities to the students, andequipment for the laboratories.

A partnership has also been entered among AVSI, the St. Kizito VTI and the not forprofit association COWA (Companionship of Works Association) to help youth enterthe job market. The collaboration provides help to unemployed or underemployed for-mer students and to the youth of the Nairobi suburbs looking for job opportunities andstarting small entrepreneurial activities. This activity is implemented through two speci-fic services: the first one fosters communication between the young person looking for a

job and the company, meeting the basic requirements of people (how to prepare a CV,how to face an interview, how to identify companies eventually interested to hire peo-ple, etc.) and offering the companies a point of reference able to prepare the candidateand to make a first selection. This is particularly important for companies looking forreliable staff. Over 400 people called on this service in 2001. The second one fosters arealistic and responsible approach to the opportunity of starting an entrepreneurial acti-vity, through training and consulting services. A program has been identified to accom-pany young people in the different steps of an entrepreneurial activity (from the idea, tothe feasibility study, start up, etc.), enhancing the personal responsibility and supplyingthe proper professional tools.

The basic point of these two activities is also educational. An help to enhance thevalue of oneself and to take consciousness of reality and the proposal of a place alterna-tive to solitude, also and particularly from the professional point of view. Some 110 31

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people have attended the training courses since March 2001, promoting the start-up of23 micro-businesses, also through limited loans to make the start-up of the activitypossible.

Kampala, Uganda. COWA Vocational Training Centerand Centenary Vocational Training SchoolAVSI is directly involved in the support and in the daily running of two vocational

training schools of Kampala. The two schools are private and managed by the localNGO COWA (Companionship Of Works Association) that is part to the AVSI networks.The private vocational training sector is the only one partially effective in Uganda,because the government has not enough resources to cover all the country with properinfrastructures. Recently a big international project for upgrading vocational training in

Uganda, with international donors and the approval of the government, has targeted 20private institutions all over Uganda and among them there are the two schools ofCOWA.

Cowa Vocational Training CentreThe Centre is located in the suburb of Kampala, in an area of recent industrializa-

tion, and is offering courses of carpentry, metal work and masonry (in the near futurecourses of electrical installation and computer practice are to be started). The school hasenrolled at the moment 37 students and has so far graduated 101 boys, 90% of themhave managed to be permanently settled in a working situation. Born in 1995 the

school started as a consequence of another activity: some AVSI volunteers started to bepresent in the juvenile prison of Kampala (with an annual turnover of about 500 youngpeople) where the children were detained for problem more related to the poverty andthe abandonment of the family than criminality. Because a lot of them were showing adesire to change and restart a new life, this centre was created as an experience of trai-ning on the job around some expert artisans. Even now the majority of the students arecoming from the juvenile prison of Kampala, were the social workers of COWA conti-nue a daily educative presence. Linked to the vocational centre there are also the foste-ring houses for the students that are without a home or are abandoned by the family(often the link with the family restarts after years, when the boys get qualified and enter

into employment). The school has grown in all aspects: it is not any more an experienceof training on the job but a real vocational training institution to whom the minister ofEducation has requested a collaboration for the preparation of the curriculum for simi-lar vocational schools of the Uganda government. The centre has developed a collabora-tion with some successful Uganda companies where the students are sent for stages offield training and from where the school get a judgment on the degree of preparationachieved by the students in order to improve continuosly the curriculum and methodo-logy of the centre.

Centenary Vocational Training school

This school has been started by an Irish missionary in 1992 in order to take care ofthe girls who were orphaned because of AIDS and that he was meeting in Kampala. Themost important need was to welcome and give courage again to girls who had lost both32

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parents, had been abandoned by relatives, stigmatised by society because they were vic-tims of AIDS and treated as slave, in somebody elses house. This experience had a fastgrowth and later trusted by the founder to COWA. Now the school, attended by 77

girls all-coming from very difficult urban and social situations, offers training in tailo-ring, catering and craft activities.

Some criteria of method for the two schools:1) Particular care for education that is not only instruction: Some meaningful adults have been asked to meet the students on a regular basis; Politicians and various personalities have been invited to give visibility to the

school and also to make the students aware that their effort is a beautiful adventure andhas a lot of dignity;

2) AVSI has striven a lot with the management of the schools to try making theinstitutions sound even from an administrative and managerial point of view. One of theobjectives is to make the school successful even as a business venture. For this reasonwe are working on a twofold scenario: on one side we are looking for international sup-port (especially distant support for every child in the school), on the other side everyschool has created a production section in order to generate profit to support the globalnon profit activity.

Manaus, Brazil. The School of Agriculture Rainha dos Apostolos

The inhabitants of the Amazonian region have been living for centuries of the pro-ducts offered by the forest, which today record a remarkable decrease. It is thereforenecessary to learn how to cultivate the forest, respecting it, and at the same time toincrease productivity. However, it is not possible to leave the digging out stage andenter the production phase, failing the technical and cultural tools necessary to make aqualitative leap in the approach to environment.

The school of agriculture Rainha dos Apolostolos, located at 30 km from Manaus,in the heart of the Amazonian forest, is an attempt to meet this requirement. Every yearthe school welcomes some 300 indios, sons of small agricultural producers of theinternal regions, to offer them a human and vocational training. Teaching includes pro-

duction and breeding techniques and methods that may be reproduced in the places oforigin, to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the local communi-ties and at the same time to safeguard and maintain the Amazonian ecosystem, todayseriously threatened. The school represents a unique reality of this kind : in theAmazonian region there are very few public or private institutes training technicians forthe agricultural world, but all of them are more oriented toward work in large farmingactivities, rather than in the small internal realities which represent the majority.

The school has been established in 1974 by the missionary fathers of PIME andsince 1990 is run by a social not for profit cooperative called Sao Jos, which hasbeen established by local people. AVSI has been collaborating with the school also since

1990, through the presence of its volunteers, technicians and trainers, and with moder-nization and development projects funded, among others, by the Italian Cooperationand by the European Union. 33

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The school offers a complete educational path, from pre-school up to the technicalhigh-school certificate, which is recognized by the government authority. However, dueto its specific aims, efforts are focused on the last five years of school, which are atten-

ded in internship. Since indios are very poor, they pay only a symbolic entrance fee.School provides for food and stationary and, in some cases even for clothing.

The schools educational approach is to safeguard and enhance the local culture,without any attempt to replace it with western values and ways of life. In fact many tea-chers are of local origin - generally they have been former students of the school. Theschools educational proposal enables different tribal identities to leave together in peaceand fosters the establishment of unity and collaboration links, extremely useful for thedevelopment of the person and of the populations living in the internal Amazonianregions. The school includes a farm with a surface of 200 ha, most of them covered bytropical forest. Only 50 ha have been used for cultivation.

The main purpose of the farm is to enable students to experience in practice whatthey are learning in the classroom, during the five years internship.

Theoretical lessons alternate to practical agricultural training work in the areas ofanimal breeding, agronomy and agriculture. Here they acquire the grafting techniques;they learn how to cultivate not for an intensive exploitation, but to improve the land;they are taught techniques for the selection and genetic improvement of the breeds andthe preservation of some products. In the farm they breed cattle, pigs, goats, rabbits,stock ducks and bees. Some dying out species of fishes and turtles are reared, in orderto restock the surrounding forest. Cultivation cover the typical products of the tropicalforest: maracuj (passion fruit), orange, papaya, lemon, mango, coconut, pupunha. In

addition to the production of vegetables and legumes, a gardening activity has beenstarted for the production of ornamental plants. Students also learn the techniques totransform the typical fruits of the region, such as the mandioca, getting flour and otherderivatives for the production of liquors, jams and sweets, as well as the various proces-ses for the production of cheese.

In second instance, the aim of the farm is to support the school through its pro-ducts, thus reducing the need to purchase outside the food for students. In fact, directproduction covers 80% of the school needs. During these years the school has become avery significant point of reference for local populations and the whole Amazonianregion. Most of the students trained there are now working in their communities of ori-

gin, acting as a driving force and promoting agriculture, while many small agriculturalproducers find in the school an effective testing and spreading pole for advanced tech-niques. This leads to an improved standard of living of local village communities andcontributes to protect the whole Amazonian ecosystem.

Tunis, Tunisia. Training of trainersThe schools founded and managed by the Catholic Church in Tunisia benefit from

a long and respected tradition: the oldest foundations go back to mid-19th century andthe youngest to the to the mid-20th century. After the country proclaimed its indepen-

dence in 1956 the Church was allowed to continue on with its educational work direc-ted towards Tunisian youth, through self-financed nursery, primary and professionalschools. Prelature schools, whose teaching programs have been adapted to national34

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directives, totally respect Tunisian cultural tradition and at the same time promote uni-versal human values. They have nearly 5,400 students from all social classes; most ofthe staff (more than 400 women and men) are locally-recruited. Schools are greatly

esteemed by local people, because of the quality of teaching and care given to educa-tion. Never the less, the socio-economics evolution of the country demand Prelature toreconsider the educational system and the organisation of its schools. A renewal ofstructures and equipment, in line with present standards, is needed; in addition, envi-ronment contributes to the educational process. The staff training is equally necessary,to maintain standards in a changing environment.

The AVSI project, inserted in EC-approved Block Grant, concerns the whole staff ofthe primary schools: head-teachers, teachers, auxiliary, administrative and ancillary staff(in fact, all adults in school, though having different functions and tasks, form the edu-cative community and have a responsibility to the children). The purpose is to increase

professional competence et educational unity in schools, to develop the exchange ofexperiences and collaboration among different schools, to promote contacts with othereducational organisations. The aim is for head-teachers (all expatriates from varyingbackgrounds) to acquire up to-date knowledge of Tunisian school and society, and tolearn about pedagogical and didactic methodologies, thereby ensuring a global qualityservice. For teachers, the object is to develop a personal attention and approach, as wellas methodologies and techniques to better understand, support and form children(including children with problems). Auxiliary and administrative staff will enhance theircomputing and professional skills, while ancillary staff will develop an increased aware-ness of health and safety.

Specific and multidisciplinary training sessions are foreseen.Hitherto, the following activities have been realized: a head-teachers training-ses-

sion in Morocco, to learn from the experience of the ECAM (Enseignement Catholiqueau Maroc) schools, where a common educational project has been shaped andDocumentation Centre Library, based on project pedagogy, successfully introduced inthe recent years; a computer training-session for auxiliary staff. Both activities haveattracted much interest.

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Children in armed conflicts

Country Number of children involvedAngola 500Burundi 200Kosovo 1750Rwanda 1200Sierra Leone 1250Uganda 2000Total 6900

Health care

Care and recovery of undernourishedchildren; nutritional education

Country Number of children involvedBrazil 1500Mexico 500Nigeria 100Total 2100

Healthcare and social support for AIDSpatients

Country Number of children involvedNigeria 100Romania 530Uganda 2200Total 2830

Other healthcare programs for children

Country Number of children involved

Brazil 1000Kazakhstan 100Total 1100

Primary education, care and fostering

Care centers, educational centers, schoolsupport

Country Number of children involvedAlbania 3100Brazil 1750Colombia 450Haiti 600Kenya 700Lebanon 1350Lithuania 150Mexico 300Mozambique 200Nigeria 700Palestine 200Poland 180Romania 850Russia 50Tunisia 250Venezuela 170Total 11000

Recovery and social reintegrationof minors experiencing jail

Country Number of children involvedParaguay 100Uganda 200Total 300

Training of trainers for educationaland care centers

Country Number of children involved

Albania 1200Brazil 3000Kenya 17000Total 21200

Vocational training and employment

Country Number of children involvedBrazil 3100Kenya 200Morocco 120Mexico 100

Total 3520

Total 48950

AVSI and children in difficult circumstances2001 Projects in progress

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AVSI: dal 1972 in cammino per la dignit della persona

La Fondazione AVSI una organizzazione non governativa, ONLUS, nata nel1972 e impegnata con oltre 100 progetti di cooperazione allo sviluppo in 39 paesidel mondo.

Oggi AVSI presente in Africa, America Latina, Est Europa, Medio Oriente,Asia e opera nei settori della sanit, igiene, cura dell'infanzia in condizioni di disa-gio, educazione, formazione professionale, recupero delle aree marginali urbane,agricoltura, ambiente, microimprenditorialit, sicurezza alimentare, ICT ed emer-genza umanitaria.

La sua missione promuovere la dignit della persona attraverso attivit dicooperazione allo sviluppo con particolare attenzione alleducazione, nel solco del-linsegnamento della Dottrina Sociale Cattolica.

AVSI associata alla Compagnia delle Opere Impresa Sociale, che con le sueoltre 1.000 realt non profit in tutta Italia, offre ad AVSI una grande possibilit diattingere know how per i progetti e i partner nei paesi in cui opera.

I suoi maggiori finanziatori sono Unione Europea, Agenzie delle Nazioni Unite,Ministero degli Esteri Italiano e istituzioni governative italiane, enti locali, aziende

private e singoli cittadini.

AVSI riconosciuta dal 1973 dal Ministero degli Esteri italiano come organizza-zione non governativa di cooperazione internazionale (ONG); registrata comeOrganizzazione Internazionale presso lAgenzia per lo Sviluppo Internazionale degliStati Uniti (Usaid); accreditata dal 1996 presso il Consiglio Economico e Socialedelle Nazioni Unite di New York (Ecosoc); accreditata con Status consultivo pres-so lOrganizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per lo Sviluppo dellIndustria di Vienna(Unido) e presso il Fondo delle Nazioni Unite per lInfanzia di New York (Unicef); inserita nella Special List delle organizzazioni non governative dellOrganizzazione

Internazionale dellOnu per il Lavoro di Ginevra (Ilo); iscritta nella listadellAgenzia delle Entrate come org

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Educate every child