Street Action - Committed to street children through action and partnership

Dieudonné Nahimana, founder and director of New Generation writes about the hope that just a small amount of money can bring to the street children of Bujumbura in Burundi.

December 25th, 1998, while this could have been a sad Christmas, this date resonates with joy in my heart. A few years back, at the beginning of the civil war in Burundi, my father had been killed and our family home had been destroyed.

It was on that Christmas day, as I was on my way to downtown Bujumbura that I saw a group of fifteen street kids sitting on the stairs of a building. As I was looking at them, I felt deep in my heart that I had to stop. I got out the bus and started to talk to them. Someone had given me 5000 Francs BU ($5), and I used that money to buy a few lemonades and bread. We ate and sang together. It is then that I came to understand that even with the little that I had, I can do something to offer hope and happiness.

Since that Christmas, we have helped hundred of kids to get out of the streets, get back to school, find their families and get a home. Sylvestre, one of the kids present on that Christmas day, just graduated from high school and is now responsible for the street kids program.

Today, more than fifty kids who are still living on the streets, come regularly to our center for a meal, a shower, to wash their clothes, to play, to study and receive medical care when needed. We have children who are fully supported and we are currently working on a project to build a village for children who have been taken out of the streets.

Since Christmas 1998 to this date, we always organise a Christmas party for over a hundred street children. This Christmas 2011, we are going to do it in two locations, in Bujumbura and Muyinga (north of Burundi).

You can support New Generation wherever you live in the world you can find out more about how you can give a one-off donation or provide monthly support for any amount you can afford to our partners by visiting Just Giving http://www.justgiving.com/streetaction/donate