Context
Opened in 1992, the Casa FXB (FXB House) in Montevideo, Uruguay, worked to respond to the growing impoverishment of the local population and its harmful consequences on children. Many children had to resort to the streets for survival, living off food scraps found in the garbage bins of extremely dangerous favelas. Victims of stigmatization, discrimination, violence and sexual exploitation, these children were constantly exposed to HIV and STIs.
To address the lack of opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, FXB sat up an educational project that helped vulnerable children and adolescents find productive ways of confronting the problems posed by poverty, to adopt a healthy lifestyle and build a life project.
FXB in action
At the Casa FXB, young people received psychological and emotional support, sexual education, information on children’s rights, life skills education and vocational training. Thanks to the support of the FXB team, the young people simultaneously developed their autonomy and their capacity for social integration.
This holistic approach enabled them to find productive ways to deal with the problems posed by poverty, to adopt a healthy lifestyle and to build a promising life project. The Casa FXB was for these young people a living space where they were listened to, counseled and where everything was done to help them regain their dignity.
