What is the CPAJ ?

Pour la version française, cliquez ici

History

After the war and the genocide of 1994, hundreds of thousands of children and young people had to stop studying in order to ensure the survival of themselves and often other younger siblings. Many of them ended up living and trying to earn a living in the streets.

In June 1998 in order to answer the destitution of these children living in the streets, the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda in partnership with Danielle Robertson, opened in Kicukiro, Kigali the CPAJ : Centre Presbytérien d’Amour des Jeunes. Its objective is to reintegrate these children in the society through school and work.

Danielle tells us how this project was born:

Kigali, 1996

A maybobo - term used by Rwandans to designate a child living in the streets – calls to me in the street :

- Hey! The white ! Give me some money !

- No

- Why do you say "no"? I can see that you have money !

- You would go by some glue and sniff it.

- No, it’s not for glue ! It’s to buy notebooks for my little brothers and sisters so that they can go to school.

Can I believe him ? On one side it’s true that since the genocide there are many children who are now head of their families and that they need money to take care of their siblings. On the other side, it’s also true that many children living in the streets overuse the little brother and sister stories…

I am a teacher. For me it’s simple, children = school. But in Rwanda it’s not always the case… After several discussions of this nature I decide to stay in Rwanda in order to try and answer these children’s needs. But how ?

Click here to read Danielle Robertson’s complete testimony on the creation of the CPAJ

Today the CPAJ is active in four domains: family reintegration, school reintegration, vocational training and psychosocial support. Each activity has its own precise strategies.

For more details about these projects please consult the page: Projects et activities of the CPAJ.



Mission et Vision

The CPAJ’s mission in to enable children and youths living in the streets to overcome their vulnerability and to develop their capacities through vocational trainings, school reintegration and if possible the reintegration of their families. In this way, by reintegrating the society and earning their own living, these young people will be able to come out of their isolation little by little. On the long run these actions will help strengthen the stability of the Rwandese society by enabling these youths to create their own families and contribute to the social and economic life of their country.

The living conditions of these children is characterised by a very strong vulnerability. Many of them have lost their families due to the genocide or to HIV/AIDES. Others come from families facing extreme poverty and exclusion. Being able to go back to school or to obtain a vocational training is thus very difficult for most of them.