Caring for Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Djibouti
For over 20 years, Caritas Djibouti, our member in the country, has been providing food, healthcare and education to children living in the streets of the capital, most of them unaccompanied minors from neighboring Ethiopia.
Every day, the shelter welcomes some 120 children from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm, providing them with breakfast and lunch, shower facilities and medical care, and a range of activities including sports, drama, music, and dancing. The center also offers literacy classes in French and English.
Around 85% of Djibouti’s street children are boys aged seven to 18 who have left Ethiopia and traveled over 500 kilometers to reach Djibouti City, the country’s capital. Many have substance abuse issues, and a significant number sniff glue in order to forget their situation. “Rape and sexual assault are ongoing risks for street children in Djibouti,” the Caritas manager says. While all street children are vulnerable, those from a migrant background are often mistreated solely because of their migrant status.
The majority of children want to access education, and Caritas works with a network of Catholic schools with which it has secured reserved places for approximately twenty street children per year.In the longer term, Caritas Djibouti’s mission is to find ways to reintegrate each child attending the center by placing them with a Djiboutian family or helping them reconnect with their families in Ethiopia and undertake voluntary return.
Portrait of migrants at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Boy peeks his head through door at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Portrait of young boy at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Portrait of young girl at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Young boy plays with puppy at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Two young boys feeding a puppy at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Children at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Portrait of three boys at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
A group of kids outside of Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Portrait of a girl smiling at the Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Two boys playing with a swing at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Migrants outside of Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Caritas social worker interviews unaccompanied migrant children who have started to attend the day shelter.
Children washing their hair at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Children smiling following their shower at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Children coloring at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Children learning facial features at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Class being taught for unaccompanied migrant children.
Children in class at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Teacher preparing for class at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Migrants receive hair cuts at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Migrants receiving haircuts at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Young boy receives water and medical care at Caritas Djibouti shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Child receives medical assistance at medical center.
