A Day in the Life of Jésus

It was almost 6am, and Jésus was getting up so that he wouldn't be late for work. He crossed the yard and quickly jumped into the cold water shower. The weather was bad today, so it was colder than ever. As soon as he was ready his sister, with whom he had lived since he was little, called him for breakfast, aguapanela (a sweet, hot drink made from sugar-cane) and bread, just like every day. She asked Jésus to take out the rubbish and help clean and tidy the house before he went to work.

Jésus did his jobs quickly, got his bag of sweets and begged the driver of the bus that was just passing his house to take him to his place of work, the bus station in one of the barrios (districts). Once in the bus station he expertly arranged his wares, thanks to the experience gained by working from the age of 7, and began to shout:
"Three sweets for 200 pesos! One for 100 pesos! Treat yourself! Buy some!"
More than 8 buses arrived in the bus station but sales that day were very bad - he had only made 700 pesos, and the torrential rain had already sent people hurrying to their homes. At 12.35pm he had to leave his work to catch the bus to Funvini's (the Colombian arm of Let The Children Live!) house, Casa Walsingham, where he would enjoy his lunch at 1 pm.

During the afternoon the activities at Casa Walsingham are centred on academic work so that the young workers are able to study. Jésus had various problems with his maths, so Irene, one of Funvini's teachers, helped him with explanations and examples. At about 4.15pm all the young students enjoyed a nourishing snack and at 5pm the bell rang, signalling that it was time to leave.

Jésus tidied all his things, taking good care of his sweets so as to be able to sell them next day, and said goodbye to each one of the staff in turn. Then with another of the charity's youngsters, he caught the bus that took them to their night-time college, El Sufragio, to continue with their studies for their School Certificate. They study from 6pm-10pm every night from Monday to Friday.

For Jésus, studying is the most important thing in his life. He says, "It doesn't matter that I have to study until 10.00pm, and that I have to get up early each morning to go to work, if I can earn enough money to help my family and to continue my studies without having to ask Funvini for everything."

Despite his hard life, Jésus hasn't lost his desire to learn; his sense of responsibility and his respect for himself and others. These qualities are always present in him. What has helped him is the fact that Funvini assists him with his studies, both at school and at Casa Walsingham. And whereas he used to work for 12 hours a day in different parts of Medellín, now he only works for 4 hours each day.

Article written and interview conducted by Alejandro Uribe Tirado, at that time a Street-Educator with Funvini.

Footnote

Funvini hoped that even these 4 hours would be done away with and that Jésus would be able to continue his studies and develop his skills with computers, which he loves, and to find a full-time job with less risks and dangers than there are in the Street. However, since the article was written he has felt compelled to take a full-time job in a factory in order to help his poverty-stricken mother. He now works until 4.30pm each day, then goes to study at school from 6pm-10pm. He is still counted as one of our children, and Funvini still support him and pay his school fees.

Funvini's Work in Medellín

At present Funvini (the Colombian arm of Let The Children Live!) is in contact with approximately 450 children, and our work with them falls into 3 main parts:

• Street Programme
• In the Barrios
• Casa Walsingham

A 3 year old who works
on the Streets with her Mother

Street Programme

It's Tuesday afternoon and Funvini's team of street-educators are heading for the steps in front of Parke Berrio Metro Station in the centre of Medellín. A few children are already waiting there and they greet the three educators with hugs and kisses. The group grows, as more and more children join it, until the numbers are approaching 30, then they move off to a suitable spot down the side of the metro station, and begin the afternoon's activities.

These are some of the hundreds of children who work on the city's streets; the street-working children. For the majority of street-children their first contact with street life came when they were sent out by their families to earn money by selling things such as cigarettes or sweets, by washing car windscreens or simply by begging. Children as young as 8 are alone on the streets of Medellín, working like this. They often work for 12 hours a day, in the hot sun, with little to eat or drink. The money they earn is important and may be their family's only income. However, working in the street exposes them to great dangers and introduces them to street-life. For many it is but a short step from working on the street to living on the street. Maybe one day they don't earn anything so, rather then go home and risk a beating, they stay on the street. Or they may make friends with a group of street-children and decide to keep the money they have earned and stay on the street. The break is made and they are soon sucked into street life and it is too late to go back home.

Funvini's policy is to intervene in this process before it is too late and to offer the children and their families an alternative route. Our excellent team of street-educators are working with these young people from a very early age. They make contact as soon as possible after the children arrive on the street, whilst they are still street-working children and before they have broken away from their families. At present they are working with five groups in different areas of the city. They meet with each group in the street for half a day and offer the children a variety of educational and recreational activities, as well as a nutritious snack. For the children this represents a considerable commitment since they must sacrifice several hours of valuable working time if they are to take part in our programme. In two of these groups the young people are, at the moment, being prepared for entry into Casa Walsingham and school, which is our eventual aim for all. Another group is made up of 60 or 70 very young children who work in the street with their mothers. The youngest of these is just 3. The earlier we can intervene in the lives of these children the better if we are to make a significant and positive difference to their lives. Another of our groups is made up of children who work outside the university and the fifth is based in Poblado. This contains a mixture of street-working children and older boys who live on the street full time.

When they are not working with these groups, our street team tour the city making contact with new groups of children, offering them the chance to join Funvini's programme.

One of our Educators at work on the Streets

In the Barrios

The street-working children live in poor, crowded and violent barrios on the mountain-side. If they are to be admitted to Casa Walsingham and go to school Funvini needs to make contact with their families, so our two Social Workers visit their homes and introduce our programme to them. They need to help the families to realise the value of education because, if they join our programme their children will be unable to work in the street, except at weekends. This isn't always easy, but to those families with whom we succeed, our Social Workers offer sustained advice and support. They are also working with the younger brothers and sisters of these children, who haven't yet come onto the street. If we are to make any significant difference to their lives this sustained contact with their families is essential.

Casa Walsingham

Casa Walsingham, our house in Medellín, is a lovely building with great potential, full of lively, affectionate children who, without Funvini's help, would, at best, be working on the city's streets with no chance of a future, but possibly living there full-time, or even dead. It is our Day-Centre where the children come when they reach the third stage of Funvini's programme. Most spend either the morning or the afternoon there and go to school the other half of the day, but a few of the older ones spend all day there and go to school at night. Each day they receive a well-balanced meal and a nutritious morning or afternoon snack, all prepared very efficiently and successfully, on a small domestic cooker, by our cook, Dona Martha.

Our team of staff at Casa Walsingham includes three teachers, so help is available for those who have problems with homework or who have special educational needs and physical recreation is well looked after and very popular. Our psychologist is also available to help the children who have psychological problems. Artistic and recreational activities are part of our programme and our children receive spiritual and pastoral care.

At present, 45 of the 450 children with whom we are in contact come to the house each day. When funds allow us to extend our kitchen facilities we will be able to take more. We are also planning to open a small school to act as a 'halfway house' between the street and the 'ordinary' schools, but before we can do this we have to install more toilets and showers in order to get a licence from the authorities and at the moment we do not have the money to do this.

Studying in Casa Walsingham

Looking ahead to two years from now, we are in the process of devising new projects suitable for training the older children who will, by then, be finishing school. Coupled with this, we would like to establish workshops in the basement of the house, but once again this depends on the money being available.

Roast Platano

- a favourite afternoon snack at Casa Walsingham...

Peel a ripe platano (or banana) and cover with butter. Place in an oven heated to 180-200°C. When partly roasted, split it open and put back in the oven again. When cooked, pour arequipe over it and sprinkle grated cheese down the middle. Eat and Enjoy.

For the Arequipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups of milk
½ cup of sugar
A little bicarbonate of soda

Method:

Mix the milk and sugar. Boil, stirring all the time, until half the quantity remains. Stir in bicarbonate of soda. Continue stirring until mixture turns to a dark coffee colour and thickens.

The Present Situation in Medellín

The situation in Colombia has worsened considerably over the past two years. The streets are more crowded than ever, with children, teenagers, and the elderly. Hungry, dirty, disabled, they are 'Los Desplazados' -the Displaced- who appear to be fleeing from the country areas in ever-greater numbers.

The civil war that has raged for nearly half a century goes on and on, fought between the army, the guerrilla groups, the paramilitary groups - and the peasants and country-dwellers are caught in the middle. Hoping to escape the constant violence, they have fled to the cities which, unable to cope with the massive influx of refugees, simply cannot provide sufficient houses, schools or jobs. In the crowded barrios on the mountain sides families are breaking up; bandas or militias terrorize the people and violence is everywhere. These people suffer greatly and one can only admire their resilience, their ability to survive, and their faith. But the streets of Medellín are filled with the fall-out of all this: the "human rubbish" that is the street-children.

And there is yet worse. Just at this time, when help is needed more than ever, the government has cut its budget for schools, hospitals and for the country's welfare agency, Bienestar Familia. All the Colombian welfare institutions have had to take a huge cut in their money, resulting in their having to sack many of their staff. On a typical day at the Patio, the Day-Centre run by Don Bosco City, instead of the usual 40 or 45 boys two years ago, there are 80 this year, but the staff and the money available to help them had been cut. On a typical day recently, outside was a group of 30 homeless, hungry and dirty teenagers, one of them heavily pregnant. A workman was welding the Patio door, the flame and sparks adding to the afternoon heat. It felt like a scene from Hell. So, whilst there are more children than ever coming onto the streets and in desperate need of help, there is less available from the Colombian side. Clearly, the work of Funvini is more important than ever.

Let The Children Live! Display Pack

Our pack of 12 A4 photographs with accompanying text creates a display for your parish/school fund-raising functions. Different sizes of headings and our logo make it easy to set up a lively display.

We ask a donation of only £5 (cheque or PO made out to Let The Children Live!) towards the cost of the pack and its postage to you. Write today, to our Walsingham address:

Let The Children Live!
PO Box 11
Walsingham
Norfolk
England
NR22 6EH