Kinshasa (Fides Service) - According to the United Nations Save the Children organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo more than 30,000 children were in some way involved in the scandal of child soldiers. Recently local Catholic journalists have committed themselves to promoting the rehabilitation of traumatised little ones. A workshop for journalists has been organised in Mbandaka, main city in the Equatore Province in north-west Congo. Aware of their ignorance of the problem of demobilising and rehabilitation it was the journalists themselves who promoted the initiative.
NOGs involved in helping the children called on the media to support the programme to demobilise baby-soldiers. The role of professional media workers in spreading a culture of peace and solidarity is indispensable. The government has reached an agreement with army and the rebels for the demobilisation of all child soldiers. So far 1,120 have been demobilised in a first experimental phase. Of these 220 were enrolled by army and 900 were among the rebel ranks. LM (Fides Service 17/2/2003 EM lines 15 Words: 181)