ARTICLE - 3,381 STREET CHILDREN SUPPORTED

3,381 CHILDREN AND YOUNG OF THE STREET SUPPORTED BY PU-AMI
(Haiti Libre) -

The Jamaica base is located opposite the airport of Port-au-Prince. Young people between 10 and 17 years on average, are gathered here to survive. The bases are makeshift shelters where children are organized into a micro-society often led by a leader who imposes the rules of life.

Première Urgence – Aide Médicale Internationale (PU-AMI) (First Emergency - International Medical Aid) is active in 17 children bases of children in the city of Port-au-Prince since 2004.

These young people are named Leon (aka Jumeau), Michel, Islande or Marie-France. Their stories, which led them to live on the streets, are often a tragic likeness: abuse, death of parents, very poor family... A relationship of trust was established between the medical teams and PU-AMI and the street children. They have collected their testimonies.

Marie France is 21 years old, and has 2 children, 7 and 1 years old. She has lived on the streets for 10 years. "I do not like the street but because of my miserable situation, I have to live in this mess. My mother could not afford to help me go to school. I know the importance of school. I dreamed of becoming a business woman but life does not allow me to. I hope one day that God will speak in the heart of the country's leaders so that finally I can get out of this situation. My greatest pain is to see my children living the same tragedy."

Michel is a beneficiary of the program "Children and Young of the Streets" of PU-AMI since 2006. He begs and cleans the windows of cars of the faithful at Sacré Cœur. He is young and intelligent. Parishioners helped him to integrate into a Presbyterian school. His mother is still alive, and she lives near Léogâne; a small town an hour's drive from the capital. With his odd jobs, he can buy clothes, food and bring some money to his mother. He visits his mother a few hours each weekend.

Islande is 19 and has lived on the streets for five years. An orphan since early childhood, she was raised by her aunt. She was a victim of abuse. She had to leave her hell home. Islande says that she does not want to stay on the street. Her greatest desire is to find her family: "If my mother was here, I would never have taken the path of the street; because here I am a victim of all evil. I would like to rebuild my life, learn a trade so that I can ensure my own survival."

Today a team composed of four nurses, three doctors and five street teachers regularly visit the bases to provide care to nearly 3,400 young people but also to lend a sympathetic ear and take care of their health and psychological state. Some of the most seriously affected are referred to hospitals and supported entirely by PU-AMI.

The priority for Premiere Urgence - Aide Médicale Internationale remains the support of these young people but also their integration. Placed in the margins of society, there are very few local structures to accommodate them. Partnerships with local organizations are rare, but without their involvement, it will be difficult to counter the street phenomenon and to see a better life for these children and young people.