The initiative was born in one of the poorest quarters of the city, in the barrio of Boedo.  At the moment, it has about 15 computers loaded with software to entertain children from the ages of 12 to 18 who have already entered the programme created by the Ministry of Human Rights in the capital city of Argentina.  It is the first of a long series: within a  year there will be at least another four.  The projects comprise a computer games room with access to the internet, free and open 24/7, for the street children of Buenos Aires.  It is the initiative that the city council launched yesterday as part of a complex assistance programme which aims to get closer to and rescue the young people forced to live on the street.  The games rooms are housed in projects set up to help children with particular problems which hinder them from fitting into society.  The centres will offer a place to go that’s fun and that will attract these problem children so that helpers can start to communicate with them, starting from what they naturally love most: electronic games.

Game Fever.  The general co-ordinator for Infants and Adolescents in Buenos Aires, Marisa Graham, defines this initiative as the ‘digital breach’ in the walls confining the tough world of the street children.  It is an opportunity to understand them and to know them through questions, questionnaires, and tests, in between the computer games.
The idea follows a study by the  State University ‘Tre Febbraio’ which discovered that children who live on the street spend around sixty percent of the little money they can get, on electronic games.
“One can’t talk about the problem of street children in a generic manner,” declared the governor of Buenos Aires, Jorge Telerman, during the inaugural ceremony of the centre, “we need to resolve each problem on a case by case basis in a specific and appropriate way.  But we know that many of these children are attracted by the internet and we want therefore, to make these places as welcoming and friendly as possible.”

An Alternative Life.  Lucas, 20 years old, of which four were passed living on the street, tells the Argentinian daily newspaper ‘Pagina 12’ how he passed entire nights playing video games with his gang.  The creators of this initiative have been spurred by the desire to offer centres which will become the preferred place in which to pass the night away.
The first approach to a child is made by a social worker who offers him/her this opportunity as a way of integrating him/her into an existing programme of services for children and adolescents offered by the network.  The social worker will then design a personalised intervention strategy for him/her and for the family, if the child has one.

The judgement.  Eduinho is sixteen years old.  He told ‘pagina 12’ how he ran away from home four years ago to escape being beaten by his stepfather.  He spent two years on the street.  Then he met a girl, “my godmother” and she offered him a roof over his head.  Now, like Lucas, he lives in the Association Amanecer and attends the multipurpose centre just inaugurated.  “They suggested that I come here to get to know the place and it seemed a great idea”, he explains while he keeps his eyes glued to the videogames.

Not just games.  Buenos Aires has recently counted six hundred street children. Of these, three hundred and forty have already entered in appropriate programmes and so can start to haunt the games room.  And that’s not all: it is a multipurpose space in which they can attend courses in IT, attend readings and take part in group games.  For those who want to stay the night, eight bedrooms have been prepared.  Soon the listening room will be ready in which they can talk about their family or drug dependency problems and other rooms will offer professional courses and academic support.