The country has more than three thousand children on the streets –

There are many children in Angola who are in a situation of “child begging and victims of neglect and instrumentalization”.

The concern was demonstrated recently by the Deputy General Director of the National Children’s Institute, Maria Luísa Gourgel, during the ceremony celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Canonization of João Calábria and the three-year period dedicated to children, at the level of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé ( CEAST).

The official began by mentioning that there are more than three thousand children on the streets in the country and another eight thousand in reception centers and children’s homes.

These children, on the streets of the country, are, according to Maria Luísa Gourgel, “victims of begging, victims of being exploited in the most varied aspects”.

He assured, however, that actions are underway, such as training of trainers, within the scope of the child protection system, about which he asked for everyone to unite in the care of minors, “because it is now and it is not expected”.

Maria Luísa Gurgel also mentioned that the number of children who “do not enjoy peace” is significant in the country, “because the parents do not allow it, because the parents, from the outset, run away from paternal responsibilities, because the mother abandons, because the child is stigmatized, or because the child is abandoned, exploited and a victim of neglect.”

The Deputy General Director of INAC took the opportunity to appeal to civil society organizations, with emphasis on churches, as partners of the State, to join the government’s efforts in raising awareness among families for the good of children, “because child today, adult tomorrow.”

“If we do not take care of the child’s psychic-emotional stability, we are harming a whole set of actions that are carried out within the scope of protection, the transmission of civic and moral values, so that each child can have their character shaped. and Walking”, he stated.