Bridge of Hope- Charity Profile

“Street kids are like cream,” says New Zealand native Barbara Gouldsbury. “You stir it and eventually it rises to the top.”



Angelo- Before and after life at Bridge of Hope

That’s just what Gouldsbury, a former nurse, has set out to do by founding Bridge of Hope on the outskirts of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.


Bridge of Hope is a non-profit organization aimed at sheltering and rehabilitating some of Khartoum’s most endangered street children by providing them with food, medical care, education and, critically, self-discipline.

The pull of street life is a reality for tens of thousands of young children in Sudan who hail from impoverished families, largely from the nation’s south and the embattled Darfur region. Many children have fled homes and families that simply cannot provide for them, while others have been orphaned.

On the streets, they survive by begging for food and money or taking day jobs. Much of what they earn is spent on tubes of cheap yellow glue which the children ingest. Unaware of the permanent damage that may result, the children say glue prevents hunger and brings a pleasing high that allows them, for a few hours, to escape the misery of street life.

At Bridge of Hope, Goldsbury and a Sudanese staff work to rehabilitate street boys by providing them with essential services they lack.

But food and shelter are not enough for children and the organization gives the boys something even more rare—unconditional support and the love of a tight-knit family.

Bridge of Hope’s residential home houses 35 former street boys who range in age from 4 to 20 years. The home aims to provide a renewed sense of self-esteem and self-discipline. All the boys who live at Bridge of Hope are required to go to school, help cook dinner and keep their clothes clean. For fun, the boys enjoy reading books, playing football and dancing in Sudan’s traditional Nubian style.

At a near-by drop in center between 50 and 100 street children turn up daily to utilize washing facilities and have a good meal.

At Bridge of Hope’s learning center they practice reading, writing and arithmetic, while at a vocational center the boys learn a trade. Although the learning center is not a registered school, the curriculum follows Sudan’s national curriculum but also includes music, drama, art and sport.

The programs are run by Sudanese employees as well as several volunteers from Sudan and abroad.

The boys who benefit from Bridge of Hope’s programs are happy, healthy and, on some occasions mischievous—just like any other boys their age.
Bridge of Hope is a non-profit organization aimed at sheltering and rehabilitating some of Khartoum’s most endangered street children by providing them with food, medical care, education and, critically, self-discipline.