Please give street children a fighting chance!
Street children: they exist in many parts of the world, where war and poverty have left their families unable to support them. In the city streets where they live, these children barely survive.
While stationed for our work in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean we observed the very difficult situation of street children, and we decided to help.
We would like to help more street children, to give them a fighting chance.
Instead of begging in the streets for food and drifting into vandalism, vagrancy, theft, prostitution and other crimes, we want to see these kids become full-fledged, productive members of society.
As of today, Les Petits Okapis International has 4 students in their first year of University and has sent over 30 children to school, and three of them are graduating shortly from high school. Thanks to donations from friends and family, we have been able to provide these children with school fees, uniforms, supplies, food and clothing.
Better yet, during a period of 3 years we were able to find a member of each of their families. The children now are all back with either their parents or another family member. It benefits the children enormously to be in their own family setting.
The photo on the left is of the LPOI children when we first started sending them to school in 2001; they were wearing their school uniforms, new shoes, school bags and supplies. The photo in the middle is of an Okapi, the rare mammal related to the giraffe that has a distinctive striped coat reminiscent of a zebra; the photo on the right is of the children more recently.
What is an Okapi?
Please follow this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7609393.stm
Our children chose the name – after an animal so rare, many think it's an imaginary creature, like the unicorn. An appropriate choice, for a group of people whose accomplishments defy all expectations!