Agropastoral Project “Sara Mbi Ga Zo” Berberati, Central African Republic
The Thouret Foundation has been involved for more than a year in accompanying and supporting the project promoted by Sr Elvira Tutolo’s NGO Kizito in collaboration with the CEI and the association “A Ray of Light”. The economic situation in the city of Berberati is disastrous where the HIV epidemic has reached 75% of the population. The population consists mainly of elderly women who take care of many orphans. The men work mainly in the diamond and gold yards and often bring their children with them. Living conditions in these places are very difficult, lacking the minimum elements to satisfy basic needs and to be able to live a dignified life. Aggravating the situation is the fact that since 2013/14, i.e. since the last coup d’état, the population of Berberati has more than doubled, mainly due to the arrival of people from the North/Northeast of the country: Paoua, Bambari, Kakabandoro, Bozoum, etc…
The situation of the children is particularly serious: they usually lack birth certificates, do not attend compulsory school and live on the streets. Many of them are like “little slaves”; they serve in the various food outlets in the city centre, consuming what food is left as a reward. In this situation, minors become attractive targets and easily recruited into armed groups. Infact many of them have been recruited. The NGO KIZITO, thanks to various contacts with the leaders of armed groups in the area (Berberati and Mambere-Kadei,) was able to identify 150 EAFGA – Enfants Associes Forces Groupes Armés – children, some of whom have been entrusted to its care.
With them and for them, it has launched numerous projects, including the reopening of the “Sara Mbi Ga Zo” Agropastoral Training Centre in the village of Wotoro, for the reception, training and psycho-social reintegration of 60 children. The action therefore focuses on the development of agriculture and livestock breeding. The objectives are to improve and promote not only the self-consumption of products and the sale of agricultural and livestock production, but also and above all the practical learning of agricultural techniques, so that the welcomed street children, particularly difficult children, ex-soldier children, entrusted to the Centre, as an alternative to prison, can during their stay at the Centre, understand and master the techniques and basic elements of the methods for cultivating local products while respecting the environment. Thus, they will learn the techniques of: tilling, sowing, harvesting, and preserving crops, particularly cassava, maize, peanuts and oil palm. In addition, the beneficiaries will be given information and lessons so that they will then know how to develop and maintain a small herd of goats, or poultry, or pigs or fish, even independently.
The main objective of the training will be to transmit to these young people a complete knowledge of the rural world, trying to give them the taste and pleasure of working in agriculture and animal husbandry. In addition to this, the NGO KIZITO will provide the young beneficiaries with training in other socio-professional fields, particularly all that is useful for learning trades that can be used on the local labour market, with the subsequent search for employment necessary for their future social reintegration.