On the occasion of the celebration of International Children's Day, which in some countries is celebrated on 1 June, the Youth for Peace of Beira in Mozambique organised a solidarity campaign called '50 thousand smiles', dedicated to street children.
Several hundred children from the poorest neighbourhoods of the city, and especially children living on the streets, were invited to the Sant'Egidio premises and given help with personal hygiene care. The Youth for Peace acted as hairdressers, and offered manicures and pedicures. The children were enthusiastic about it. As the leaders of the Peace Schools pointed out, they cannot easily wash themselves, or take care of their appearance. This makes them more marginalised, and leads to difficulties in all social relations and school integration. Instead, it was possible for everyone to put on new, clean clothes, have a new hairstyle, and show everyone the 50,000 smiles the Youth for Peace wanted to inspire on this Day.
