SAFIRE Pedagogical Breakaway Home

Lakaz Zanfan

The project “Lakaz Zanfan, SAFIRE Pedagogical Breakaway Home” consisted of a residential infrastructure which was set up in 2020 for beneficiaries having issues in their immediate environment, where they could come and have a break from the hostile surroundings. It is opened on a 24/7 basis and fully equipped for autonomous daily running.

In line with the above recommendations developed within the study on street children, the project of the SAFIRE Pedagogical Breakaway Home is a tool which will be:

  1. offering psychosocial support and supporting rehabilitation for the target group
  2. providing a safe environment for the beneficiaries on a regular basis.

The main goal of the alternative “home” is to provide to the beneficiaries, facing complex issues in their immediate environment, access to a breakaway home with a pedagogical program simultaneously so that they beneficiate of a safe environment and acquire basic societal norms and values.

The expected results of the break-away home are:

  1. The reduction of the rate of street frequency among the beneficiaries;
  2. A decrease in the delinquency rate thus reducing number of beneficiaries in conflict with law;
  3. More beneficiaries have access to a safer environment;
  4. The beneficiaries are empowered in their daily life through acquisition of skills and competencies;
  5. They regain self-esteem and dignity.

The target group corresponds to the profile of children in street situation as described in the study done by SAFIRE. The high proportion of boys in this project can be explained by the fact that boys are usually more concerned with the phenomenon of street children than girls (62.9% of street children are male in Mauritius while the rest 37.1% are female). The main criteria of their selection were that they:

  • are out of formal school/academic institution and lacked future perspectives;
  • displayed antisocial behaviour;
  • are aged 12 years old or more;
  • wanderers;
  • expressed motivation for the project and could most benefit from it in the long term.

Their high vulnerability to certain social ills such as drug use and their exposure to a series of hazards, ranging from psycho-physical abuse to outright aggressions on the street, have also been strong determinants for their involvement in this project.