In many of our blog posts we try to bring to life some of the challenges that street children in the DRC face. One of the pieces of feedback we often receive is that it is difficult to imagine life in the DRC as it is so different from our own, and that the daily challenges faced by street children are hard to comprehend.
This is certainly true, however, in a visit to the Kimbilio girls' transit house recently, it was lovely to see what unites children all over the world…play!
The girls currently living in the transit house have successfully moved from the danger of street living to the safety of the Kimbilio transit house. The transit house provides temporary accommodation where the girls receive love and care, food, counselling, medical treatment, and a route back into education. The girls are also able to spend time in the transit house with trained support workers to establish their next steps, which could include re-integration with their family, or long-term care in one of Kimbilio’s homes.
What is particularly uplifting to see is that, away from the dangers of street living, there is plenty of time for the girls, just like children all over the world, to practice their favourite dance routine, to play games, braid each other’s hair and sing their favourite pop songs!
The Congolese sunshine is a great backdrop to plenty of outdoor games and the girls are fiercely competitive, keen to win where they can! The same is true for the perfecting of their dance routines, with hours spent, going over and over each of the dance steps one by one to make sure that no-one is out of time and the moves are choreographed just right. Arts and crafts are also a much-enjoyed part of the day-to-day life in the transit house with art providing a therapeutic and creative space for the children to express themselves and talk with trained counsellors about their lived experiences.
These simple experiences of play, creativity and having fun together are so important for many of the Kimbilio children and provide an important step on a pathway towards a brighter future.