The Day of the African Child is celebrated today, June 16.

It was established in 1991 by the African Union (formerly the Organization of the African Union) in memory of the 1976 massacre of students in Soweto, (South Africa), during a protest against racial segregation in access to education.

Thousands of students protested against the poor quality of education offered to them under the apartheid regime. The regime ordered the shooting of students, killing thousands of boys and girls.

To this day, this anniversary is a time for reflection and commitment to children’s rights on the world’s youngest continent.

On such an important day, we want to tell you the story of Sister Elvira Tutolo, a Sister of Charity who has been engaged for 32 years in Central Africa.

We caught up with her in Bangui, the capital, to have her tell us about her involvement in various missionary fields, particularly with the youngest, abandoned to the fate of the street.

In the belief that children should not end up in orphanages, but have a right to a family, the Kizito Fraternity Center was in fact born in Berbérati, the second most populous city in the Central African Republic. Here local families form to take in street children, love them and follow them along with their children, throughout their lives.

Sister Elvira is also known for her battles in denouncing the illegality of the imprisonment of minors in prison alongside adults and for offering an alternative to young people at risk of recruitment by armed gangs or drug addiction. Also in Berbérati, a rehabilitation center has been opened for them.

Regarding education, Sister Elvira calls it “the key to change”. But the situation she witnesses is not always conducive to optimal environments. Indeed, she describes to us classrooms with 150-200 children, sitting on the floor with a blackboard. “But what are we getting at?” she tells us.

If you want to know the story of Sister Elvira Tutolo, we invite you to follow the UbiCasT podcast. Coming out Monday the 19th is the episode dedicated to her work for the youngest in Africa.