• Cicetekelo Youth Project

Cicetekelo Youth Project (CYP) is a model of intervention for street children (children living and/or working in the street) and it is and OVC, started in 1997 in Ndola.

It is an emergency, prevention and long-term program based on a holistic approach that recognizes the specificity of every child –in terms of needs, aspirations, capabilities, etc. and provides tailored assistance accordingly. CYP is structured in four phases that refers to four different centres, located in different areas of the city:

Phase 1: Luigi Drop-in Centre

Phase 2: UCC Misundu children section

Phase 3: Nkwazi Children Centre “E. Pradarelli”

Phase 4: Misundu Youth Centre “Fr. Umberto Davoli”

The Project assists over 300 children every year, providing shelter, food, education, skills training, recreational activities, moral and spiritual formation, job opportunities while attempting to reintegrate them into their families.

CYP works in close cooperation with the Local Authorities and other local institutions and is integrating part of the community. Our facilities (football pitch, tennis and basketball courts, schools, etc.) are open to the public and accessible by everyone.

Phasis

Located along Broadway Road, near Ndola bus station, Luigi Drop-in is a day centre for children living or/working on the street. The Centre offers a safe and friendly place where the kids are totally free to get in and out, with no obligations whatsoever. Here they are welcome at any time, to meet Cicetekelo social workers, have a small breakfast, play, watch movies and take a bath.

Luigi Drop-in is where a first, informal contact is established between the child and Cicetekelo staff, in a place which is different from the street. This is where mutual understanding, knowledge and trust is built. Here, Cicetekelo social workers are able to picture the child’s background and assess if there are the conditions for his integration into Cicetekelo Youth Project on a long-term basis.

Under Luigi Drop-in centre, street outreach are carried out, during both the day and the night, on a weekly basis. Street outreaches allow Cicetekelo staff to monitor the situation of street children in the city monitored, gather data and information.

Phase two is a residential centre for children retrieved directly from the street, who are either referred from the Drop-in Centre or from the Social Welfare of Ndola City Council.

Phase 2 can be considered a transit home, where the child spends a period of about six months. During this period, the child receives primary assistance and care from Cicetekelo educators, social workers and teachers. He finds a bed to sleep, food, clothing. He gets familiar with the environment and the rules of the place, the staff and the other children. He starts school in a very informal classroom and participates to various recreational activities, such as sports, movies, dancing nights, as well as moments of moral and spiritual formation.

Located in the compound of Nkwazi overspill, Nkwazi Children Center targets children in the age of primary school. The Centre hosts:

  • a day-centre with recreational facilities offering a space of socialization to the entire community of Nkwazi compound FOR ABOUT 150 CHILDREN
  • Cicetekelo Community School for about 60 children, a preparatory school with three classes, catering for education up to grade five;
  • A residential home for 24 children.

The child, after few months of adaptation to Cicetekelo Youth Project in Phase 2, is generally enrolled in Government Primary Schools. In case the child is not ready for it, because he’s lagging behind or he’s never received any formal education in life, he is enrolled in Cicetekelo Community School. The School serves as prep school, offering education from grade 1 to 5 to children of any age. On average, after two years at the Community School, the child is ready to step into public schools.

The last phase of CYP addresses children in secondary education and beyond. A residential home, also located in Misundu area, hosts about 45 youths, while others are supported through school fees and home visits to their families.

Phase Four hosts also Cicetekelo Skills Training Centre. The Training Centre is registered under TEVETA and offers two-year courses in Agriculture, Mechanics and Carpentry, with a total of 50 students.