URUGUAY

Mission start 1991
Mission End 2009
Impacted population 16,000

La Casa FXB: Strengthening the capacities of street children and young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods

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.

 

 

Mission impact

Following a long lobbying struggle initiated by FXB founder and president emerita Albina du Boisrouvray, many families from the FXB House managed to obtain decent housing. As part of helping these families continue to live in a rural environment, FXB encouraged the development of farming activities that can lead to self-sufficiency. This prompted improvements in health for everyone in the program, especially children.

FXB also took part in an initiative led by UNICEF to add a line to the national budget that referred to monetary support for families caring for orphans.

On Dec. 31, 2009, FXB ended its involvement in the project, as locals learned to maintain the FXB House. It is now managed by a local association.

Testimonial

Thanks to the FXB House, my sister and I learned how to maintain our house and cultivate garden. We were also taught how to pay our electricity, water bills, etc.

Daniel