Imagine your three daughters have been sent to prison for selling drugs, imagine you're the one that now has responsibility for your seven grandchildren and you've no money to feed them.
That’s the reality for Brazilian woman Sonia. But she’s one of the lucky ones. Thanks to money sent over from Derry, Sonia can now make a life for herself and her grandchildren, earning money by recycling.
Other kids aren’t so lucky. Many are forc
ed to stay locked in their houses all day watching their younger siblings while their mother puts in a 20 hour day at work. Others roam the streets sniffing glue to relieve their hunger and boredom.
However Derry charity - the Latin American Street Children’s Organisation who have already donated £25,000 to fund the building of a community centre in Sao Paolo, are now set to change things for children in the Pro-Morar region by launching a £45,000 appeal.
The charity has pledged £45,000 for five years to fund a project supporting young adolescents who have spent time in juvenile prison. Many of the young people have been brutalised and abused in prison. The project will be run by the Centre for the defence of the Child and Adolescent (CEDECA) which has long campaigned for the rights of vulnerable children. With money raised by people in Derry a centre will established in Pro-Morar to accommodate the young people and the salaries of professional psychologists and teachers to help integrate them back into society
Galway nun, Sister Eleanor Hayes, who has dedicated her life to helping the street children of Latin America, certainly knows how money from overseas has helped change the lives of people.
Her food and citizenship project has been a lifeline to young people who’ve now been able to learn a trade and sell their crafts at market. She also runs adult education lessons at night.
Sister Eleanor visited Derry this week and described the heartbreaking situation these kids have found themselves in.
“It’s very hard to watch a child crying from hunger, in a country that’s so rich and fertile,” she said.“Many of these kids have been subjected to physical and sexual abuse and have turned to glue sniffing. Some of the abuse has been carried out by tourists. One boy told me he sniffs glue to forget. The children don’t believe anyone cares about them. Little things like remembering their birthday are so important.
“For families there’s severe pressure too. The pressure of poverty fragments families. Mothers are working all day, and when they come home they say they’re too tired to love. Children want to be recognised as human beings, not treated like dirt. Many of them don’t even have birth certificates so we can’t even register them on the school rolls.
“Money we get from overseas is vital, but it’s not just the money, it makes us feel that we are not alone.”
Local schools are also getting involved in the project with Derry schoolgirl Mary Hasson starting a LASCO based group in Lumen Christi.
You can donate to Lasco in Derry at the Bank of Ireland, Strand Road Branch Account number 64494521 - sort code 90-49-74 and in Moville on Account number 35917353 sort code 90-49-10.
The full article contains 569 words and appears in Journal Friday DER Edition newspaper.
