Young people vote to fund Togo project

4 June 2009

Young people at West London YMCA have kindly donated £50,000 to a youth justice project in Togo, West Africa.

West London YMCA had set aside funding for Y Care International and asked young people at the YMCA to decide where they thought the money would be best spent. Harriet Knox, Y Care International’s Africa Programme Coordinator, met with young people and staff at the YMCA and presented two potential projects in Togo and Sierra Leone. Both projects support vulnerable young people at risk of offending and young people in conflict with the law.

After taking a vote, the group of young people decided to support the Togo project; a three-year project, co-funded by the EC, which began in January 2009. Y Care International will work with West London YMCA to ensure the young people remain involved, helping to support the project as it develops and linking up with young people at Togo YMCA.

Life in Togo
In Togo, over 45% of the population are under 15. Many young people migrate to urban areas in search of a better life for themselves. Yet once in the cities, with no family to turn to and limited education, many resort to petty crime in order to survive. Some end up living or working on the streets, leaving them vulnerable to sexual abuse and violence. Many young people who are arrested for offences - which they may or may not have committed - are detained for prolonged periods of time, with no access to legal support or even being informed of the charges against them.

Research carried out by Togo YMCA in two prisons shows that the average pre-trial detention time among young detainees was nine months. Many young inmates surveyed had little understanding of their rights and no access to legal support. Over 60% of inmates in Lomé prison (in Togo’s capital) had not been informed of a charge against them. Food and health services in the prison are poor and very few learning or recreational activities are available.

About the project
Working in partnership with Togo YMCA, this project will raise awareness of the rights and needs of young people in conflict with the law in Togo. Through vocational training, education, counseling and advocacy, we will rehabilitate 2,500 children and young people, and help to reintegrate them into society once they are released from prison. Young people will be trained in skills such as mechanics, tailoring, barbering, silk-screen printing and bricklaying. They will also take part in sports activities such as football tournaments, concerts and traditional dance and theatre. We will also train young people as advocates to run awareness raising and advocacy activities to help local community organizations, lawyers, judges, prison personnel and the police to understand the needs and rights of vulnerable children and young people in conflict with the law.

Kossi’s story
This project is helping young people like Kossi, 19, who was arrested in 2005, accused of stealing a TV which was found in the house where he was staying with his uncle. He spent six days at a police station before being sent to prison, where he was held for 18 months without trial. Finally, with the help of a lawyer from the YMCA, his case was followed up and he was released. Whilst he was in prison, Kossi took part in activities run by the YMCA. Since his release, he has been working as an apprentice in a small sewing workshop. His training will last for three years, after which he hopes to set up his own workshop.

Y Care International would like to thank West London YMCA for their generous support for this project.