AGIT: Anna’s House Outreach Project for Street Children

It is estimated that around 2,000 children live on the streets of Seongnam City on the outskirts of Seoul.  These children aged between 13 and 17 do not live at home and are not attending school.  They are disconnected from their families often as a result of abusive home situations.

Founder of AGIT, Fr Vincenzo Bordo describes these children as living in a “no man’s land” on the streets.  They sleep in subway stations or form a group and rent a room together.  Many are drawn into prostitution and theft to survive, keeping them in a cycle of alcoholism, violence and exploitation, sometimes resulting in suicide.

With the growing crisis of runaway and abused children in South Korea, Fr Vincenzo has established the AGIT Outreach Programme.  He and his small team go onto the streets three nights each week from 10pm – 2am to find these children, offer them hope and try to connect them with appropriate support services.

It is the first programme of it’s kind in South Korea and requires funds to provide food to street children and fund the project’s social worker.  The programme currently has no government funding and its success depends entirely on donations to continue.

The young people come for the food, but what they are also offered at the AGIT van is support, hope and practical assistance to change their lives.