21-03-2023 | di COOPI

Central African Republic. From an armed group to a sewing workshop, Marcel's story

Marcel (not his real name) is 14 years old and for several years was part of an armed group. From the hell that was his life, he is now, thanks to COOPI-Cooperazione Internazionale and Unicef, in a vocational training programme in a sewing workshop in the centre of Alindo: 

"My life has changed since I became a beneficiary of the COOPI project, as the training I am doing in the atelier shows".

Indeed, as Marcel's aunt, whom the project workers met, points out, since her nephew joined the project, she can dream and imagine a better future, far away from armed groups and conflict. Now, thanks to COOPI, Marcel can once again dream of becoming a great designer.

The project has also enabled several children to find a social and psychological balance, offering assistance not only to victims of armed groups but also of sexual and gender-based violence. 

"What I hope for the future is that children can live in peace in all the different countries of the world"

 

Despite the peace agreements signed at the beginning of 2019, in fact, the Central African Republic remains the second least developed country in the world, still characterised by an endemic protection crisis. Coopi has been present in the territory since 1974. The project 'Care of vulnerable children and support for the empowerment of adolescents/youth and community mechanisms in the fight against child violence in the prefectures of Haute Kotto and Basse Koto' started in 2021, of which Marcel is a part, plans to address the enormous child protection needs in the two prefectures concerned, through holistic assistance, both medical and psychosocial as well as through the provision of clothing, food or legal aid. The area is affected by different types of violence against children, from sexual violence to the possibility of association with armed groups. In this context of crisis, COOPI seeks to protect the most vulnerable: internally displaced persons, survivors of gender-based violence, and communities affected by persecution and harassment by armed groups.