1 - STREET CHILDREN

ASIA/MONGOLIA Once a week Father Gilbert goes underground carrying warm clothes and food to hundreds of street children cold, hungry and lonely

Ulaanbaator (Fides Service) – The sewers of Ulaanbaator, capital of Mongolia are home for many desperate people, including gangs of abandoned children who do anything, steal, prostitute themselves to survive and then, more often than not, die of TB, scabies, urinary diseases or some sexually transmitted virus. The underground sewers are a warm haven compared to the capital’s icy streets during the long Mongolian Winter with temperatures as low as minus 30°.
Every week a Catholic priest, Scheut Father Gilbert Sales originally from the Philippines, goes down to the sewers carrying food and warm clean clothes for the children and he stays to talk with them a while. This has been his favorite mission for the past 8 years.
Mongolia has at least 4.000 street children, 2.000 on the streets of the capital Ulaanbaator alone and the number is growing. Father Gilbert explained: “In 80% of the cases, it is poverty which pushes people on to the streets and many homeless families take shelter underground to escape the piercing cold. For 20% of the children the street is an escape from family tragedies, domestic violence, parents who are alcoholics or divorcees”.
Since 1995 Gilbert has been director of the Verbist Caring Center for street children in Ulaanbaator. The Centre with its staff of 30 people, Catholics and non, guarantees the children a bed, meals, clean clothes and most important, schooling.
Father Sales told Fides: “Life is in full swing, our children are healthy and happy, we have 120 in all. 25 of them are aged 6 and under and 15 have a mental disability. We provide them with food and clothing and arrange for them to attend classes at the local state school. At the moment we have two young people at the University of Mongolia. Our hope is that our children will leave the Centre with a sound human and psychological formation ready to face life with confidence. Education is the key to harmonious growth of the personality and it is also the only way to interrupt poverty’s vicious circle”.
The priest said “Our centre has certainly not solved the enormous problem of street children in this city and all over Mongolia. Many more children long to leave their vagabond life style and come to our centre, but we can only take a small number. With more funds we could help more children ”.
Lent at the Verbist Caring Center will be lived at a personal level by the lay faithful who work there. The Centre is officially recognised as a non confessional NGO: “which means we are not allowed to teach the faith on the premises” said Father Sales. “Most of the children are non Christians but nevertheless I invite them to come to the church which is not far away to listen to catechism and stay for mass and some of them follow me. For Lent this year I want to do more for them, I want to give them my hands and my heart. For me Lent will be living among the poor as one of the poor ”. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 28/2/2004 lines 45 words 496)
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