Photo: Alessandra Fuccillo
The project HOME Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone: A Network for the Reception and Education of Vulnerable Children, funded by the International Commission on Adoption (CAI), aims to improve the conditions of children in the institutes where they are hosted and is being implemented in three countries, including Ivory Coast.
From April 12 to 14 2022 in Côte d'Ivoire, AVSI attended the first official delivery of supplies to the Pouponnière of Dabou, the Pouponnière of Bouaké, the Children's Home of Bouaké and the CESREF Institute of Abidjan, beneficiary centres of the HOME project, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone: a Network for the Reception and Education of Vulnerable Children.
In addition, building works were financed at both the Pouponnière of Dabou and the Pouponnière of Bouaké to improve the capacities of the facilities accommodating vulnerable children.
On the 12th of April 2022 in Dabou, in addition to the delivery of supplies, there was the inauguration of the construction of a ramp, an activity envisaged in the project, to improve the conditions of the structure that is hosting abandoned or orphaned children affected by disabilities.
In fact, the Pouponnière of Dabou used to be an orphanage for healthy children, but after its transformation into a centre for children with disabilities, there were no renovations to adapt the centre, with the consequent problem of small accidents of children falling from their wheelchairs.
At this event, the AVSI team composed of AVSI Ivory Coast Country Representative, Lassiné Bamba, AVSI Italy Project Manager and Adoption Manager, Marco Rossin and the local Project Assistant, Marcelin Yapo, were welcomed by the pouponnière director, Ouattara Korotoumou.
This event was also attended by the Director, Diably Alloune Mariam, of the Directorate of Child Protection, an institution under the Ministry of Women, Family and Children, with which AVSI Côte d'Ivoire works closely to implement the HOME project.
She underlined how the project is a positive contribution to the structures that take care of children, not only for the materials received, but also for the trainings for the technical personnel that take care of children and for the support to the development of the new National Policy on Child Protection (PNPE).
In Côte d'Ivoire, the project aims to support the state to develop useful tools to improve their capacity in child protection.
This is done through training courses with local, Italian and international experts and by supporting the development of data collection tools to have immediate and sustainable access to information.
Finally, due to a need communicated by the Ministry, AVSI will support the drafting and approval of the new PNPE through workshops in which local and international experts will participate to give their contribution.
