The project in Chita has evolved from an overnight Crisis Centre supporting children of and on the street, to a Mobile Soup kitchen and Happy Hearts Club and now provides a very focused and personal care service to the most vulnerable children and their families.

The Helping Hands team has built a tremendous level of trust with children and families in Chita and is now able to work with them to:

•  Ensure essential material aid is available (such as firewood and food)
•  Offer food parcels where most needed
•  Provide children with the essential requirements for attending school (equipment, uniform, bus fares)
•  Arrange medical and/or legal support where families are struggling to access what they are entitled to
•  Offer a general level of care, love and attention they simply have not received from elsewhere

The aim is to encourage the family unit to stay together, prevent children being abused or abandoned and give the opportunity of lives to be transformed for a more fulfilling future.

Future:

Helping Hands works on a “case work” basis resulting in the numbers of families supported being limited. Additional staffing will allow more families to receive this care and affection.

It is hoped that in time the local authorities will offer the level of service that Helping Hands currently provides – ChildAid is always ken to pass onto the appropriate authorities once an infrastructure and willingness is in place.