Family should give us a place to belong: to be safe, protected and nurtured.
But for many of the families we support, pressures at home caused by poverty, abuse or neglect push children to the street, where they face even greater danger.
Across Tanzania, at least 6,393 children are living and working on the street right now* – without the love, protection and support of a family.
Children like Saida** from Tanzania who, at just 11 years old, survived on the street for a month rather than live with the crushing responsibility and hunger of home.
Will you reunite and rebuild families this Christmas?
Every day, children are running away from families that are falling apart
On streets and at transport hubs, our project workers aim to reach children like Saida who are alone and at risk before they come to serious harm.
After assessing whether home is a safe place to return to, they’ll do all they can to reunite children with their families or, where this isn’t possible, place them in an alternative family-based setting.
In Saida’s case, our project worker supported the whole family to rebuild their foundations and find solutions to the problems that had led Saida to run away – including providing family counselling, practical support and help to get back to school.
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We know the best place for a child to grow and thrive is with a loving family.
“We all need that sense of belonging that a family can give,” says Mary Gatama, Programme Manager at Railway Children Africa.
“We also know that many families need support to reach that point. So, we work with a child and their family for as long as it takes for relationships to be restored and solutions found to the problems they face.”