Ciudad Don Bosco, a safe place for street children in Medellín

Surely worst than the long Colombian conflict, it is the reality of its street children in the biggest cities. The Gamín (street boy in Colombian idioms), became almost a traditional character. Even if some people and groups complain of the lack of more definitive projects to end the problem of unprotected children in the Colombian streets, it is possible to find a good list of institutions, private and officials, doing something. The problem stands in the same conflict. Only the growing number of displaced farm families, fleeing from war-zones and taking refuse in the cities, is a definitive source of children on the streets with all its consequences.

As Christmas is time associated with childhood, it is a good time to dedicate our blog to the reality of the poorest children of Colombia: the gamines.

One of those organizations doing something concrete in Medellín is Ciudad Don Bosco (Don Bosco City) a work of the Salesian Congregation. It is a real city for street boys, located in one of the most marginalized barrios of the Aburrá Valley, Robledo Aures (Medellín’s Northwest).

Abused children, street boys, child workers and victims of violence, find in the educative system of Don Bosco a safe place to stay and grow. The process starts in Medellín downtown with the Patio del gamin (Street boy yard), a centenary building of a poor area known as El Hueco (The Hold) – between the Cisneros Metro Station and Calle Colombia. Street children join the programs if they want after they are encourage to do so by the teams of educators that walk the streets looking for them. Several children are sent to the institution by the official Bienestar Familiar.

The second step is in Aures, where there is the main complex of Ciudad Don Bosco, in a real impressive view of Medellín. The institution was founded 40 years ago and have received support from national and international organizations to be able to attend as much children and teenagers from poverty and abandonment as possible. It has also a place in Amagá, a coal mines town at the south of Medellín where children are at risk of labor exploitation and school abandonment. Don Bosco is bringing the children out of the mines to guarantee their studies and formation.

It is a good time to join a good cause in Colombia. Peace comes from justice and concrete actions. Supporting projects like Ciudad Don Bosco is a good way to guarantee that Colombian children will gain a good future. You can find instructions for donations in its official page here.

You can visit the center as well. Send an email or call to 264 21 22. It would be a great place to visit if you are in Medellín.