Messi is a 13 years old boy who lives with his mother and his five siblings in the IDP camp (PK3) in Bria, Central African Republic. His father was killed in 2018 by armed groups and since then, his mother, who is a farmer, looks after him and his siblings. Messi was forcibly recruited by an armed group after the death of his father.
Messi and his family lived peacefully in their village named Aigbando located 23 km from Bria in the Division of Haute-Kotto in the Central African Republic (CAR). The tranquility of their life was abruptly interrupted when attacks from non-state armed groups hit their village. His father was killed by those armed groups in 2018 and Messi was forcibly recruited by that armed group where he spent almost one year. Within this armed group, Messi played the role of a spy, cook and cleaner. He even claimed to have witnessed several killings of men and women in the bush.
Messi suffered physical and psychological violence from members of the armed group. Within the group, Messi and the other children used drugs to feel strong and support witnessing atrocities like murders.
One day, he was severely tortured by a member of the group because he refused to fetch water. After the torture, the group, under the orders of the leader, left the place for another, leaving the child in agony. Messi was saved thanks to farmers who found him on their way to the field and brought him back to his village. After finding him, his mother and his five siblings fled the Aigbando on foot to take refuge in the IDP camp (PK3) in Bria next to the MINUSCA military base.
Life in the IDP camp was not easy for Messi. He was a victim of rejection and stigmatization within the community. When he arrived among his peers, everyone fled from him. Even grown-ups were suspicious of him. “The whole community had become very suspicious of him”, declares the leader of block 29 of the camp. Messi was very aggressive and very agitated when he arrived in the site.
“It was very difficult for me when I was in the armed group. I saw atrocities, I did not do things as I pleased but under the orders of the leader and with pressure. I was a victim of torture several times. I ate what I didn’t know. It was even difficult to swallow and put in my mouth. Because of all this, I became agitated and sometimes very aggressive,” explains Messi.
After his arrival in the IDP camp, Messi left his family to become a street child. He carried out several small jobs in the street (carrying buckets of water and bundles of wood) to feed himself.
Messi’s family does not have a large source of income. The money gained from farming by his mother doesn’t really allow her to support the whole family and send him and his siblings to school.
How Messi’s life changed
Messi was found in the street by a JF-CPiE youth club member who immediately brought him back to his family in the camp. The project then supported the mediation between him and his mother so that he could integrate back into his family and adopt appropriate behaviors towards his mother and his siblings.
The child was integrated in the case management process to benefit from psychosocial support as he showed severe signs of psychological distress following the atrocities and violence he experienced.
In addition to the psychological support, Messi benefited from a dignity kit with the aim of reducing the neglect he was subjected to.
Furthermore, Messi was included in the life skills program and in the psychosocial activities within the Child Friendly Spaces of the project. These activities allowed him to be sociable with his peers and reduce his aggressiveness.
The activities also allowed him to gain positive attitudes and behaviors for child should in his environment. The project also supported the family through cash assistance (CVA).
This allowed Messi to go to school and enabled his mother to buy him school supplies.
The community structures and the project animators also carried out sensitization and awareness-raising campaigns on children’s rights which helped Messi to be accepted and reintegrate into the community.
The results are very satisfactory. Messi has regained his peace of mind and has become sociable. He now plays with the children of his own age. He has started to help his mother with household tasks, and has returned home for good.
The financial and material support provided by JF-CPiE have enabled his mother to take good care of him and help him out of his psychological distress situation. He is now able to go to school.
“The child’s attitudes and behaviors have changed. He came out of his state of agitation and aggressiveness. He became really attached to the project activities. We never imagined that our child would come out of his aggressiveness state. We’d even given up hope.”
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This publication was produced with the financial support of the German Humanitarian Assistance
Its contents are the sole responsibility of Joining Forces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Humanitarian Assistance.