…your story.

I meet Charles (Kladoum) on a rainy day in Sarh, Chad’s second city, under the shelter n the courtyard of the House of the Sisters of Charity. I asked him to narrate to me when I learned that he had spent part of his childhood in Balimba, at the Centre for street children run by the sisters. The Centre was founded by a French aid worker, Gaël Giraud, in the 1990s, following a stay in Chad with the Jesuit Fathers. Children are the most vulnerable in a country where families are very large and resources are limited, where health and living conditions create many orphans. Charles has a friendly smile and a confident manner, typical of someone who has always lived here and knows how to get around and deal with people. He knows how lucky he is, and perhaps this awareness is his strength. Today he came to the appointment with Jonathan, his friend and now brother, whom he has known since his time at the Centre.

A: Good morning, Charles, thank you for being here to share your story. You now have a good life, you do various jobs, including driving for the Sisters of Charity, which allows you to support your family, your wife and your five children. But you know where you come from and you have never forgotten Balimba and the street children. Can you tell us how you came to the Centre, what happened in your life? C: I arrived at the Centre when I was 13, in 1996. When I was 7, my father lost his job and there was no money at home. I received very little attention from my parents and hoped for a better life. So I started going to the market often, looking for money to see the films that were shown at the market. At the market, children work for a few coins and experience situations of great violence. But I was afraid to go home because I would have been beaten, so I ended up staying at the market, even sleeping there. The kids there are looking for a life, but they don’t know anything and end up using glue and drugs, pushed by the group and the adults. And so they become lost. That’s when we met Gaël, the aid worker who invited us to the Centre. A: How did the meeting with the Centre go? C: Everything was still in its early stages, an experiment. There was mistrust and fear because there were rumours that it was dangerous, that they would sell you. But we trusted them and went. At first, we were in a very beautiful place where mangoes were grown, and we sold them and were happy. What made us want to stay was the understanding, being able to talk and be understood.

A: What memories do you have of that period?

C: I particularly remember a teacher, Emmanuel, who has now passed away, who meant a lot to us. He understood us like a father, and that’s what children need in order to change, not much, just to be listened to. There were about 30 of us children and we felt safe, we had a home, even though some stayed and others left, those who couldn’t cope, who had business to do outside and then got lost. We experienced the best moments of our lives in Balimba and now, thinking about it, I would say that the rest is nothing. What mattered to me, to us, was that moment.

A: What did the Balimba Centre teach you? C: Above all, it taught me structure and education, through catechesis and love for others. That is exactly what I try to teach my children. At that time, we were aware of how fortunate we were, even compared to the children who lived in the surrounding area, who, despite having families, often had less than us. Sometimes we would secretly bring them notebooks and something to eat. Balimba taught me acceptance. Accepting that life should be taken as it comes, with what it gives you, and then everything else is no longer a problem!

A: How do you feel about the Centre today, after so many years? C: When I go to Balimba today, I feel like I’m coming home, and to be honest, I’m almost jealous of those who live in the hut that used to be mine! And you have to consider that the beds that are there today (wooden bunk beds, ed.) weren’t there then, there were only “naps”, rugs thrown on the floor on which ten of us slept, with our clothes hanging on wires. Yes, only wires for our clothes, just like today… but that’s okay, you adapt and then life goes on!

Charles looks at Jonathan, who has been nodding throughout the conversation, and smiles. At the age of 18, the two decided, with the support of the Centre, to take a one-year course to become mechanics. Today, they are both working. Whenever there is a need, Charles rushes to help the Balimba community with anything they need. Sometimes he shares his story with the children in the centre, sometimes in schools, telling them about his life as a street child who was given a future. His eyes moistened when, after a knowing glance at Jonathan, he said to me: ‘For the children of Balimba, we do everything we can!’

To know: The Balimba Street Children Rehabilitation Centre was founded in 1995 by a French volunteer, now a world-renowned economist, Gaël Giraud, in Balimba, near Sarh. He noticed that many children were sleeping in markets and living by their earnings, without going to school. Thus, with very limited resources, this centre was established and is still run today by French volunteers with the participation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Jeanne Antide. The children taken in at Balimba are all in vulnerable situations: they are orphans, neglected or abused by their parents, or sold as “cattle herders” to livestock farmers. Many of them survived in the markets, organised in gangs, stealing food, consuming drugs and exploited by local traders. The aim of the Centre, now run by two local educators, one of whom lives on site with his family, is to welcome these children and young people and offer them accommodation, food, education and vocational training, in contact with local schools and workshops. The Centre can currently accommodate up to 44 children. thanks to the commitment of the nuns, volunteers and the funds raised it will soon be possible to build a computer room and a library in Balimba. di Anna Maria Di Brina