Located on the hills of Mvolyé, in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, the Foyer de l’Espérance is a diocesan work that deals with the reception, protection and family and social reintegration of street children and young people, as well as prisoners of the city. We visited the centre.
We met the Jesuit Father Alfonso Ruiz, 80, at the Foyer de l’Espérance children’s college, a diocesan institution dedicated to the protection of children in difficulty, where he had coordinated the centre for 22 years. Last year, the leadership passed to another Jesuit, Father Tobian Noubaïssem. The college is one of four Foyer centres located in the Mvolyé neighbourhood of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé.
From the beginning, the main objective of the Foyer de l’Espérance has been the family and social reintegration of street children, girls and young people from the youth prison of Yaoundé. The first step is always to “go and meet them on the street”. Several times a week, the Foyer’s educators go to meet the children and invite them to go to the day and listening centre, where they can wash, do their laundry, have some food, watch television, play and participate in educational discussions.
About 140 children attend the centre each week. Some come and some go, until they gain the trust of someone to whom, one day, they tell their story, which is sometimes very difficult, especially if they are children who have suffered sexual abuse in the family. “It takes time and patience”, says the Jesuit.
It is only when, in a spirit of trust, young people open up and sincerely express their desire to change their path, that they are accepted into the college, enrolled in school, and their families or other host families are contacted for reintegration. According to the Jesuit, this “can last two days or ten years” because no two children are the same: each has their own personal story.
It is difficult to find children under the age of six or seven on the streets, because when they are that young, ‘someone usually goes to pick them up and collect them’, but from the age of eight onwards, it is possible to find them. In the college, the children are on average 14 years old and their number is limited to about thirty to ensure a personalised education. “Each child is assigned a reference educator, which is essential for children who have lived on the margins of their family, so that they feel valued and can recover their dignity and self-esteem”, the Jesuit explains.
The Foyer de l’Espérance was founded in 1977 by Brother Yves Lescanne, a member of the congregation of the Brothers of Jesus, who was then chaplain of the juvenile section of the central prison of Yaoundé. This follower of Charles de Foucauld realised that many boys who were leaving prison ended up sleeping on the streets and asked the Archbishop of Yaoundé, Monsignor Jean Zoa, for a place to house them. It all started very simply, with a small house made of clay and wattles on the site where the college stands today.
Speaking of the causes that lead children to live on the streets, Father Alfonso recalls that “80% of cases are due to the disintegration of the family in an urban environment where the values of solidarity and hospitality are gradually being lost. If a young person does not feel loved and lives in a violent context, one day they will leave. Extreme poverty does not necessarily lead them to run away. If a child feels loved, they can spend the whole day on the street looking for something to give to their family, but in the evening, they go back home.”
In addition to the boarding school for minors and the day centre, where the initial reception and listening process for young people takes place, the Foyer de l’Espérance includes a girls’ house and a boarding school for young people over the age of 16 in vocational training. The latter houses about 15 children, who are offered technical training appropriate to their level of education, which can last a maximum of four years.
Father Alfonso does not hide his pessimism: “These older children come directly from the streets or from prison and, in some way, their process of family reintegration has failed. Some of them leave early because they struggle to respect the rules. Those who manage to complete their training have a lot of difficulty finding work, especially in a country where corruption is rampant and where it is difficult to find a job if you don’t have someone who opens the doors for you.”
The girls’ house is a boarding school and a day centre for reception and listening. On Wednesdays, groups of girls aged between 15 and 30, depending on the day, come to the centre directly from the street to have a wash and a meal. Those who wish to do so can talk to the educators. In the house, on the ground floor and the first floor, about twenty girls live, looked after by specialised educators, including two nuns from the Sisters of Compassion.
All the girls in the college, like the boys of Frère Yves, are enrolled in public schools that know their reality and accept them even when their course is advanced. The Foyer runs literacy courses to help those who have fallen behind and a school for about 130 primary and secondary school students in the juvenile wing of the central prison of Yaoundé. However, it did not want to create its own external educational centres because, according to Father Alfonso, “it is much better for them to share the school with other children.” Accustomed to seeing people passing by and insulting them, going to school and, sometimes, getting better grades than their classmates is an important act of socialisation.
Father Alfonso continues: “The street kids form a separate society, with a very strong sociological but not physical border, which you have to cross even if you don’t have a visa. This means going out on the streets and talking to them. At first, they look at you strangely, but you have to consider the operation of “becoming part of the landscape”, just like street vendors or security guards in shops.
Today, there is no longer anyone surprised to see an old, white and bald man walking around the streets of Yaoundé. Father Alfonso concludes: “This work is difficult, but for me it has been a blessing from God. It has been the work of my maturity and my old age, wonderful for me in human, Christian and social terms”. (Enrique Bayo)
