He is 13 years old and says that he is in the program because he wants to be and because he likes it. He talks about his friends, but will not talk of his family history or where he comes from. This is one of the youngsters participating in the program run by the Director General of the Armed Forces for Orphanages and Residences for the Re-education of Boys, Girls and Adolescents. The boy was present at the opening presentation of new students. The program?s director, Colonel Luis Ram?n Pay?n, explained that the children hardly ever talk about their pasts, nor do they like to be called ?street children? or reminded of the fact that they have neither father nor mother; the stories that they bring are generally heartbreaking. Colonel Pay?n says that they have broken all contact with their parents and have lived the better part of their lives in the streets. In many cases, the boys are victims of sexual abuse or are drug users. ?Each child has a particular problem, ? says Pay?n. The children will be transferred to the town of Las Matas de Farfan in the San Juan valley, where the Armed Forces operates a facility similar to that in Barahona. The program contains four phases and includes a process of socialization and education and later on an education in some technical area. The final step is the re-insertion into the normal society.