The De Marillac Centre

The De Marillac centre is run by the Daughters of Charity in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The project evolved from a street worker training scheme that Street Child Africa held in Nigeria in 2006. The Daughters of Charity approached Street Child Africa and requested training in street work as they were noticing that the numbers of children in street situations in the city was constantly increasing. After the training took place, an action plan was devised and Street Child Africa obtained the funding to set up a drop in centre.

Like all of our partners, street work is central to everything that the Daughters of Charity do, they are deeply committed to working with the children. They have even faced personal threats from the police and other community members for their work with children on the street, but they continue to reach out to them on a daily basis. The Daughters raise awareness about the plight of these children within the local communities, in order to try and eliminate the stigma surrounding their presence on the streets. The Daughters of Charity often come across children who have been accused of witchcraft by their families and communities. These children can be particularly traumatised and at the De Marillac centre they can receive the counselling and care that they desperately need.

The Daughters of Charity currently have 350 children on the register at their drop in centre, and 31 children in residence at the centre. Most of the children who stay at the centre have been enrolled in school by the Sisters, and are doing well. Three children are taking part in skills training, learning a trade so that they may be able to support themselves at the end of the course.