Street Children's Project
Street children describes children who live and/or work on the streets. Some street children live with their families, while others may be orphaned. There are many situations that result in children living on the streets such as, domestic violence, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, war, and famine. Each child has a unique story, but in all cases are deprived from education, community, security and guidance. Most street children are boys, but the number of girls is increasing worldwide. It is estimated that there are currently over 100 million street kids with the number on the rise. These children are often exposed to sexual exploitation, violence, drugs, disease, criminal activity and are deprived of any human rights.
GPN has been assisting street children in Tanzania since 2005. Currently we sponsor over 300 street children in the Mwanza and Magu district in Tanzania, providing them with food, shelter, medical care and education. Each child is given the appropriate form of intervention according to his or her unique situation, and in accordance to our child protection policy.
On the weekends, the children have the option to go on field trips to our organic farm to learn essential agricultural skills from experienced farmers. Over 80% of the Tanzanian population rely on agriculture as their source of income.
Occasionally the children participate in tree planting projects where they learn about medicinal properties of various trees, and environmental issues such as over harvesting.
Most importantly the children are encouraged to initiate their own community projects through our humanitarian development fund. The children are given a small amount of money to help others or initiate their own projects. Through this the children learn the importance of expanding their circle of compassion and gain a sense of responsibility and confidence.
