Casa Alianza
The Casa Alianza -Kinderhilfe is a non-profit and independent organization , the protection and reintegration of itself since 1981 street children in Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico and, since the mid-1990s, in Nicaragua dedicated. The association is the Central American subsidiary of the American street children's aid organization Covenant House .
The head office is located in San José , Costa Rica .
On October 17, 1991 the German Casa Alianza Kinderhilfe Guatemala eV was founded by the teacher Franz Hucklenbruch in Bad Honnef in order to support Casa Alianza Central America politically and financially on a voluntary basis. During this time there was civil war in Guatemala , in the shadow of which many targeted human rights violations against street children were committed. Amnesty International was also involved in this context , whereupon Franz Hucklenbruch came across the work of Casa Alianza as an ai member. In 1997 Casa Alianza Suisse was founded in Geneva.
The association was awarded the Olof Palme Prize and in 2000 the Hilton Prize. Kinderhilfe Guatemala eV was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1998 .
Casa Alianza-Kinderhilfe Guatemala eV is the supporting organization of Transfair and a member of VENRO . Nationwide there are around 700 members with annual fees between € 12 and € 600. In addition, there are another 3,000 contacts with schools and parishes that support the budget. The drug rehabilitation "Nujuyu" ("Our Earth") is financed from Germany.
Since 1992 Kinderhilfe has produced 8 benefit CDs in the “Classics for Human Rights” series.
Fields of activity
The association works for the rights of the child. For example, the organization has enforced that children and young people are no longer locked in the same cells with adults. The association has brought twelve cases to court out of numerous illegal adoption cases, in which “highest circles” were involved. The association has systematically documented where minors are employed in relevant bars in Mexico , Honduras , Nicaragua and Guatemala , and has launched police raids. In 2004 the authorities placed 94 of these young people at Casa Alianza.
Street work
Street workers (always a man and a woman) roam the streets of Guatemala City day and night . They seek out the children and young people in the places where they are. They take care of minor injuries, play with children and listen to them. There is a file for each child in which it is recorded when the child was first found on the street, what state of health it is in, what can be learned about the parents and relatives, etc. Casa Alianza has contact with approx. 1,600 children who only live on the street.
Crisis center
The contact point in the city center is open day and night. Here children can shower or have a warm meal. You can stay overnight and get off the road in the long term. An average of between 60 and 100 children are in the crisis center.
Drug Rehabilitation ("Nujuyu")
Drug rehabilitation ("Nujuyu") takes place around 40 km west of the capital. Cold withdrawal is practiced. In order to get through the day without drugs (glue, thinner, crack , heroin , marijuana , alcohol ), the daily routine is packed with activities, sports and work. Conversations with doctors and psychologists motivate them to persevere. The program financed by Kinderhilfe Guatemala eV offers space for 30 children and young people between 8 and 19 years of age. About 30% of children make it - the others relapse and have to try again to get off the drugs.
Transition training (for boys, for girls)
Around 50 young people live here in order to prepare for the final stage of the program: the shared apartments. To do this, they have to learn a lot in order to cope with the common daily routine (hygiene, eating with knife and fork, brushing their teeth, etc.).
Shared flats
14 young people between 8 and 18 live here, go to school or learn a trade. Three shift workers look after the groups, and in the mornings a cook comes along to help prepare the meal. There are around 20 such groups, including an underage mother with her babies.
Legal Aid Office
Three lawyers deal with the legal problems in court . Around 280 cases are pending in court, in which police officers and private individuals are charged with the murder of a street child . In the last 10 years, 15 proceedings have been concluded with a conviction of the perpetrators, 4 of the perpetrators are in detention.
Re-integration
Wherever possible, social workers and legal aid offices try to reintegrate street children into their families. This succeeds in around 90 to 100 cases per year.