(Translation of the report of the person who run the “Street kids project”)

Good day, esteemed Patrons,

On Sunday, Boukary and I went to the MACO (Maisson d’arret et Correction de Ouagadougou – the local jail) to visit Franck. It was an emotionally charged visit.  When he came into the room, he greeted us and sat down between us.  As soon as we asked him how he was, he began to cry in such a way that neither Boukary nor I could hold back the tears.  It was a very sad moment.  But we managed to pull ourselves together and cheer him up.  We calmed him down so we could talk.  Franck assured us that he was alright, that neither the guards nor the other boys in detention had hit him.  He also told us that in the mornings he was able to take CM2 (6th grade) classes and at midday he was allowed to watch television with the other children. 

Once we were sure he felt comfortable with us, we asked him to explain what had happened.  This is his story:

“One of his friends asked him to go with him to Rimkieta’s “cité” zone.  On the way, he saw a bird in a tree and he tried to hit it with his shoe.  The shoe fell into a house’s yard.  His friend stayed outside the wall.  He went to knock on the door but there was no one home, so he went into the yard to retrieve his shoe. While he was in the yard, the owner arrived and asked him what he was doing.  Franck explained, and the man told him to take his shoe and leave.  Just then, his friend climbed the wall to see what he was up to.  When the man saw him, he ran to catch him, yelling that he was a thief.  He was able to escape, but his friend got tied up and beaten… The next day, his father received a summons to go to the police station with his son.  When his father took him, he was detained, along with some other neighborhood friends, among whom was his friend from the wall.”

According to Franck, that is what happened.  We told him that if he wasn’t involved that he should contemplate how the wrong friends can endanger our future.  In our Sunday chats we stress the importance of avoiding bad influences that are a source of problems.

We let him know that all of us – the FAR team and the patrons – were with him in spirit, that we prayed for him so he could get out of this mess quickly and get back to school and to sharing the Sunday entertainment activities with all his friends at FAR.  When we mentioned his friends, he broke down in tears again and again we consoled him.  We told him he should be strong and should realize how lucky he was to have people (the patrons, us, his parents and friends, etc.) who loved him, who prayed for him and who were trying to find a quick and happy solution to his case.  We managed to find the words to calm the boy down.

We asked him if he needed anything and his answer surprised us: “yes, my school backpack with all my books and notebooks.”  Wow!  I’d never imagined that answer!  We promised to tell his parents to bring it, and if they couldn’t, that we would do it ourselves. We asked him if he needed anything else but he said no.  I joked with him, saying “So you don’t want to get out of here?” Finally we saw the hint of a smile on his face.

One of the guards then told us it was time for the boy to go back to his cell. We repeated to Franck that we were behind him, that we would visit him again, and that he should pray hard.  He said he understood, said goodbye, and went with the guard. It was so terribly sad to see the boy go back with the guard.   It makes me feel terrible just to think that a boy who will be 14 in February – who might be innocent – finds himself in this situation.

The next day we went to the Palace of Justice to meet with the head of MACO’s social services.  She read us Franck’s statement to the police on the day he was arrested, in which he admitted the accusations.  “We went to steal the iron electric wires and when they caught my friend, I was able to escape.  We’ve done it before many times to sell the copper and iron…”  Boukary and I were devastated by her words.

Nevertheless, when she questioned them, 5 of the boys, including Franck, denied the facts, claiming that they had admitted to the charges at the police station because they were beaten. Only one of them admitted guilt and accused the other 5 boys.

The bad news is that they were also identified by one of the resellers who admitted to having bought copper and iron from the detained boys.  He named Franck as one of his sources.

The head of social services that the loss to the victims of this theft – estimated at millions of Fcfa (thousands of dollars) – demanded justice, which would be dealt in the next few days.

We ended the meeting preparing a petition to the woman in charge that the boy’s overall interest be taken into account to salvage his school year and his future.

I’ll keep you informed of what happens.  Let’s pray for Franck in the “union de prière.”

P.S.  Franck is one of the boys from the Training and Reintegration program’s sixth year; he’s been with us since 2013.