Child Development
In North Africa a repressive social system solicits boys, some as young as two years old, to leave their families and move to large cities to beg for coins on street corners. The children are treated like slaves, and if their begging does not generate enough income, the boys are often physically abused by the men who are supposed to be their teachers and caretakers. It is an abhorrent child trafficking trade, and in one capital city more than 7,000 children beg, earning $2 million per year for their keepers.
HISG is working with an organization in one North African city to provide meals, language classes and vocational training to help the boys. The meals show the children they are cared for, and their lives have value; the vocational training gives them an opportunity for a better future; and the language classes are vital because sometimes the children come from hundreds of miles away when they are very young, (some of the boys in HISG's program are four years old), and do not speak the local language or even know the name of the village they came from or how to return home.
Often, the children are sent out to beg when they are still too young to attend school, and even as they get older, they continue to spend 10 or more hours begging each day instead of attending school. HISG's partner in North Africa is teaching the boys how to read and write, and has provided 20 places for the boys in a local school. For the older boys, the vocational training center offers training in carpentry, hairdressing and tailoring. More than 50 boys have been involved in the project during the last three months.
In addition to caring for their physical well-being, this project includes a mentoring aspect for the boys. The instructors treat the boys with respect and genuinely care for them. HISG is committed to help these children out of their terrible circumstance and empower them to make a better future for themselves.
Humanitarian International Services Group | 4700 Castleton Way, Suite 200, Castle Rock, CO 80109 Phone:(303) 662-0845 | HISG is a non-profit 501(c)3 tax exempt organization