The FXB House in Montevideo

The FXB House in Montevideo was created in 1992 to respond to the increasing precariousness that plunged many families into misery and prevented many children from attending school. Many of them had to resort to the streets to ensure survival. Victims of stigmatization and discrimination, violence and sexual exploitation, these children are constantly exposed to HIV and STIs.

Concerned by the alarming exclusion faced by children and young people in Montevideo, FXB decided to set up an educational project that would enable extremely poor children and vulnerable adolescents to find different ways of facing up to the problems posed by poverty, and to develop healthy lifestyles by means of education and vocational training.

• Provide vocational training to facilitate the socio-economic development of adults and youth. Handiwork courses taught by qualified professionals enable the creation of income-generating activities.
• Provide after-school support so that children can study in a peaceful and constructive environment.
• Foster parents' active participation in children’s education by helping them acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to help their children with school work.
• Provide psychosocial support to youth through the organization of leisurely activities.
• Facilitate reintegration through common activities favoring team work.
• Prevent HIV by organizing training and/or information sessions on hygiene, basic care, nutrition, reproductive health, STDs prevention, screening and treatment.
• Provide basic nutritional support to those who cannot obtain foodstuffs regularly.
• Provide "emergency basic support" to the most destitute families.

See the Puppet Theater on HIV done by FXB children

The “Assessment of the Impact of FXB Uruguay Project Upon the Lives of Extremely Poor Children and Teenagers” was prepared to confirm the initial hypothesis that participants’ involvement in FXB activities have benefited from positive repercussions on their lives. When comparing the information collected for this assessment with official figures, it was found that there were extraordinarily significant differences in specific employment rates for both men and women under 25 years old who took part in FXB activities. This was the same case for people over 25.

An outstanding fact is that young women’s partaking in FXB activities delays the birth of their first child, which coincides with their creation of constructive sustainable projects.

To read more, click here.