Abrigo e Berçário Luz de Escol – temporary care for abandoned children
Luz de Escol operates a temporary refuge for abandoned children. Some have been left on the streets, their parents too poor to look after them, or afflicted by drug and alcohol abuse. Others are orphans.
The project was founded in Nova Iguaçu, outside Rio de Janeiro, the same neighbourhood where 30 people, including six minors, were tragically killed by rogue police officers in April 2005.
ABC funding enabled the project to employ specialised staff for the first time, an invaluable change since volunteers were severely stretched. Funding also provided for improved facilities and allowed the project to receive accreditation. The project was the recipient of a grant from the King/Cullimore Trust.
| Region: |
Rio de Janeiro |
| Type of Work: |
Shelter; basic care; family reintegration |
| No of children: |
Capacity for 32 in the shelter; in a year, approx 150 children are helped |
| Other beneficiaries: |
Families through reintegration |
| Age range: |
0-8 years |
| Founded: |
1990s |
care and attention
- Provision of shelter
- Regular meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Nutritionist-designed menus, ensuring that malnourished children gain weight and eat healthily
- The project tries to find families and reintegrate children into the community
- Alternatively, it finds adoptive homes, usually other poor families in the area, wanting to help
working with families
Abandoning children is a last resort, signalling deep problems within families. The project works with the family as a whole, helping parents with, for example, finding employment and improving the home situation eg help for alcoholism.
Children are returned to families once the situation is improved and the project is happy that they will not be abandoned again.
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