Congolese kids thrown out into the streets for being ‘evil sorcerers’
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- A chaotic political situation, bloody civil wars, and an ailing economy have produced thousands of homeless Congolese children.
- A shockingly large number of them have been thrown out of their homes after being accused of witchcraft.
- Among the highly superstitious Congolese, such an accusation from a family member, a neighbour, or even a local priest is sufficient.
- Now a homeless shelter in the country’s capital is trying to save these kids from vagrancy and return them to their families.
- The shelter’s head, known as Ché Guevara, was once homeless himself and is working hard to give them a second chance.
The population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is among the poorest in the world. For decades, the Congolese have been blighted by a chaotic political situation, bloody civil wars, and an ailing economy.
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This instability has produced thousands of homeless children. Some have lost their parents to armed conflicts; others ran away from homes too impoverished to support them.
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More often than not, they are forced to survive by begging or stealing in the streets. However, there is another reason children become homeless here.
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A shockingly large number of kids are thrown out of their homes after being accused of practicing witchcraft. The accusation may come from a family member, a neighbour, or even a local priest.
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Priests carry out exorcisms on a regular basis, but, clearly, some ‘kid witches’ are beyond help: whether they cry, steal, make mischief, or their behaviour just seems uncanny – these are tell-tale indicators of a budding evil sorcerer.
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The aim of the first homeless shelter in the country’s capital, Kinshasa, is to save them from vagrancy and return them to their families.
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The head of the shelter, known here as Ché Guevara, was once homeless himself. He knows first-hand the struggles of street life that the kids face – and the lure of easy money.
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He is working hard to give them a second chance.
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To find out more about the plight of these ‘witch kids’, watch The Shegué, the Sorcerer and Che Guevara on RTD Documentaries.