Irish Aid boost for Bolivian street children

STREET children whose struggle for survival in South America’s poorest country was highlighted by the Irish Examiner have been thrown a lifeline by Irish Aid.

Bolivian charity CIES, which works with children in some of that country’s toughest cities, has been promised funding of €200,000 a year for the next three years.

The money will enable the organisation to keep open health clinics, educational and outreach services which were in danger of closing after crucial EU grants came to an end.

A delegation from the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) which helped mentor CIES in its work on sexual and reproductive health travelled to Bolivia in 2009 to assess the charity’s needs.

The Irish Examiner and three Irish politicians, Deputy John Deasy and Senators Fiona O’Malley and Dominic Hannigan, accompanied the delegation and saw the difficulties facing children as young as eight who had made the streets their home.

Many were victims of sexual violence, early pregnancies were commonplace, and backstreet abortions and the forced removal of newborn street babies into care were a serious problem with children often trying to escape their misery by sniffing chemicals for cheap highs with devastating physical and psychological results.

Bolivia’s very traditional society and deep Catholic faith combined with grinding poverty and lack of educational opportunities meant the provision of information around sexual health, contraception and personal safety was very poor and the children were generally treated with hostility rather than sympathy.

CIES, which also works with adults in rural and urban settings right across Bolivia, had start-up funding from the EU for its children’s programme but, as that drew to an end, the search for replacement donors became increasingly urgent.

IFPA policy and advocacy officer Meghan Doherty said Irish Aid’s decision to step into the breach was fantastic news.

“We are so grateful to Irish Aid for recognising the programme and what it does and how important it is to fund programmes that look after the most marginalised people which these children are,” she said. “The money will be going to provide health services for children who are living on the streets, and who are out of education with no parental or other support network to look after them.”