Kimbilio partakes in UNICEF and INS survey on vulnerable children

Kimbilio's day center welcomed a team with members from the DR Congo's L'Institut National de la Statistique (INS) and UNICEF. The visit was part of the team's mission to conduct a statistical survey on street children in Lubumbashi. The Division des Affaires Sociales (DIVAS) for Haut Katanga Province was also involved. The Government of Canada, which provided a US$12 million grant to UNICEF in late 2024 to improve protection of vulnerable children in the DRC, is an ongoing partner. Kimbilio's day center was one of a number of visits the team made in Lubumbashi to child support, protection and reintegration facilities for street children.

The team is collecting data on the current state of vulnerable children, notably street children. Challenges that the team is facing include:

• children's fears related to ongoing arrests in Lubumbashi;

• problems determining the age of some children, as sometimes the children themselves don't know;

• determining the causes of why the children resorted to the streets in the first place.

Good estimates of the number of street children in Lubumbashi have been evasive at the macro level. We are grateful for the team's efforts to size up and analyze the situation of these children -- indeed, the poorest of the poor -- with a view to future improvements to their lives.

A slideshow of photos from the visit is below.

#DRC #DRCongo #Lubumbashi #streetchildren #streetconnectedchildren #desenfantsenrupturefamiliale #poverty #InstitutNationaldelaStatistique #INS #UNICEF