BURKINA FASO: Project to help street children

Follow @{0}Abidjan, 27 May 2002 (IRIN) - United Nations Volunteers (UNV) has announced that it will run a five-year project aimed at transforming the lives of some 1,200 disadvantaged children in two of Burkina Faso's towns, Bobo-Dioulasso and Hounde.

Under the project, UNV teams will counsel street children, juveniles and other marginalised youth on educational and vocational options that can improve their prospects, UNV announced on Friday. Emphasis will also be placed on psychosocial help, UNV said. The volunteers will conduct an information campaign to discourage exploitation of young women and children, it added. So far, the project has received US $2.2 million from Luxembourg and close to $300,000 in kind from the government of Burkina Faso.

Based in Bonn, Germany, UNV was created in 1970 as the volunteer arm of the UN system. It extends hands-on assistance for peace and development in 140 countries.