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Save the Children Sweden Eastern and Central Africa Regional Office
Regional Programmes Newsletter Child Rights Governance Child Protection Child Protection in Emergencies
2012 Highlights
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Brief Note about the Newsletter
This Regional Programmes Newsletter presented by the Eastern and Central Africa Regional
Office of Save the Children Sweden (SCS ECAf), gives the 2012 highlights experienced and
shared by the programme staff, partner organizations and country office staff in Sudan and
Ethiopia.
Child Rights Governance, Child Protection and Child Protection in Emergencies being the three
main programmes that SCS ECAf focuses on, have each made significant progress in their work
towards ensuring that the rights of children in the region are realized and protected.
In brief preview of this newsletter, there is information provided on cross cutting events and
activities such as the celebrations held on thematic days such as the Day of the African Child;
and it also gives an insight to the work done by some of our partners such as the Association
des Enfants et Jeunes Travailleurs (AEJT Rwanda) which is part of the African Movement of
Working Children and Youth established in 1994. Further, it gives details on the various
successes that the Regional Office has had, such as participating in the First East African
Community (EAC) Child Rights Conference and making recommendations towards the
formation of an EAC Child Policy; as well as conducting a regional workshop on child led
initiatives and local governance with the attendance and meaningful participation of children.
We wish to thank all those who made contributions to this newsletter and as SCS ECAf and all
the other SC members complete the transition to Save the Children International in the East
Africa Region, this remains as part of the memory of the good work Save the Children has
managed to achieve not only in this region, but globally.
We hope you enjoy reading it.
Kind Regards, Rebecca Theuri Programme Assistant Save the Children Sweden – Eastern and Central Africa Regional Office
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Inside this Newsletter:
Celebrations held during the Day of the African Child
o Special features of Machakos and Molo celebrations in Kenya
Highlights from the SCS Country Office in Sudan
o International Women’s Day celebrations
o World Water Day celebrations
o SC impact in Abyei area of Sudan
The corporate world on Child Rights
o Know the 10 business principles
Positive Discipline
Children with Disabilities in Kenya…what do we know about them?
The Missing Link…why we need to work with men to impact the lives of children
positively
Capacity Building in Zanzibar – Child Rights Governance Global Initiative
Investment in Children
Rwanda’s good practice in Child Participation – AEJT Rwanda
Training of Trainers in Positive Discipline
Strengthening National Child Protection Systems in ECAf
Child Led Initiatives Research and Validation Workshop
Momentum for Child Rights within the EAC
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DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD – Celebrating the Child
2012 Theme: “The rights of children with disabilities. The duty to protect, respect,
promote and fulfil”.
CELEBRATIONS OF THE DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD 2012 HELD IN MACHAKOS AND MOLO, KENYA
By Daisy Maima, Programme Officer – Children’s Legal Action Network (CLAN)
This was a day dedicated to children as adults took back the seat in drumming up support for their rights and needs. Participants in this worthy course were drawn from diverse parts of the Machakos County and included children from different schools, teachers and donors, government leaders, among others for the event. There were guest representatives from various organizations such as the Children’s Legal Action Network (CLAN), Aphia-plus Kamili, Child Welfare Society Kenya, Build Africa and Hope Worldwide.
Performances from the children included poems, plays, among others and one message was clear, that children have rights and needs that must be listened to and must be entrenched in the policies and legislations that are pro-children.
A child guest from Machakos school for the deaf gave a speech in sign language, which was then translated by his teacher. In his speech he noted that children with disabilities also had rights just like the normal children, he also stated that children with disabilities should not be sympathized with but given opportunities
to explore their potentials. The last speech was given by Mr Kennedy Sioya from the Blind and Low Visual Network, emphasizing on the need for parents to take good care of their disabled children. He gave the story of his life, expressing that had it not been for his mother who opted to keep him, he would have been killed a long
time ago.
The event came to an end with a vote of thanks and closing prayer from the
Children Assembly
President.
Similarly in Machakos,
planning for the celebration of the Day of the African Child
was done by the child protection committee (a sub-committee of the Area Advisory Council). The child protection committee brought together local partners with programmes within the district, with one of these local partners being the Children’s Legal Action Network which has always supported both child-centred and child-led activities such as the DAC celebrations.
Some of the activities that took place in Molo to mark these celebrations included: guardians and caregivers carrying placards with inscriptions on various rights of children especially for those with disabilities, and de-worming exercises for
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children by the medical teams from Molo District Hospital with the help of different child patrons and Kenya Red Cross on board. Later on, different children from various institutions shared their experiences through drama, dance, songs and poems. It was quite an emotional experience as many people were moved to tears when they saw children with disabilities expressing themselves and their abilities with such passion. It was a challenge to parents and guardians of children with disabilities to nurture their children and their talents instead of neglecting and/or shunning them.
Samuel Wamaitha on behalf of the Children’s Legal Action Network mentioned that if communities place the rights systems, change would be effective in ensuring child protection and child participation practices are entrenched in the day to day lives. This was indeed a challenge to the community and to local partners in working together to build these systems.
Pictures by Robert Matwetwe from SCS Kenya Programme
Highlights from the SCS Country Office in Sudan
CELEBRATIONS TO MARK INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY (8TH MARCH 2012)
WHAT IT MEANT FOR SAVE THE CHILDREN OFFICE IN SUDAN
By Esraa & Peter (Save the Children Sweden, Sudan Country Office)
“Empower Women – End Hunger and Poverty” was the UN theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) on 08th March 2012. International Women’s Day was celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without
regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is a time to reflect upon past struggle and accomplishments of women, and more importantly, an opportunity to look ahead to the untapped opportunities
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and potential that awaits the future generation of women.
For Save the Children, gender equality means ensuring that all human beings – women, men, girls and boys – are considered equal and treated equally in terms of their rights, obligations and opportunities.
Celebration of IWD in Sudan Country Office (Khartoum) took different forms and varied from one office to another. All sub offices was obligated and committed to celebrate as part of Gender Equality Plan which started by choosing Gender Focal Point representatives from all sub offices to undertake the development and promotion
the concept of gender issues in the organization. In Khartoum State, the Celebration took half of the usual working day. The country office team had an opportunity to reflect on the theme of IWD, acknowledge pioneers of Women Activism in Sudan and glimpses of women’s movement in other countries (Sierra Leone, United States and Kenya) presented by colleagues from those countries, and songs performed by all women employees in the office. Because “food connects people”, the women of Khartoum planned a food competition to test the men’s cooking skills. The winning man was awarded kitchen tools for best cooker.
In West Darfur State
SCS celebrated IWD in Krenik IDPs camp and in Al Genina with local partners, governmental bodies, CSOs and women of
the state under the slogan” Empowerment of rural women and their role in the development and fight against poverty and hunger in the light of current challenges”.
In North Darfur
The celebration appreciated women’s role in community and encouraged them to struggle for more rights. The office
concluded the day by listening to a traditional song about women in Darfur.
The ladies in the Khartoum Office wearing
the Sudan National Dress South Kodofan Staff taking an Oath
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South Kordofan celebrated IWD in a unique way; all staff took an oath to always do what is in their capacity to ensure that the future of girls is bright, safe and rewarding. They committed to make a difference, think globally and make everyday IWD. All Staff members were called upon to make SCS a friendly space to
work in always and not only on special occasions like IWD.
North Kordofan office celebrated the day with participation of women form Ministry of Education and some students, none of the audience were aware about the real background of the day and this gave Save the Children an opportunity to share.
Access to safe water remains a challenge for the children in Sudan. Save the Children in Sudan WASH team and in collaboration with partners are currently thinking of approaches that can ensure children in Sudan have access to safe drinking water as well as having an effective water resource management. Most recent figures from the Sudan Household Health Survey 2006 show that about 40 per cent of the population does not have access to safe drinking water and more than two-thirds have no access to adequate sanitation Save the Children Celebrated the World Water day in West Darfur organized by WASH sector in Mornie IDPs Camp (WES, UNICEF, Concern Worldwide and community) on March 27, 2012 and there were posts of Children singing and folk dances expression of this day.
Celebrations to mark World Water Day (27th March 2012)
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Message of celebration was:
Community action plan is essential for WASH intervention
Common action for open defecation free is keeping water resources
SC supported the construction of solid waste disposal pits and provided cleaning campaign tools both Mornei and Kreneik camps.
The objective was to encourage household management of solid waste for target communities. WASH program conduct two cleaning campaigns per week and also participate in general monthly campaign in Morni camp.
World Water Day (WWD) is an opportunity to explore solutions to water-related problems as well as to raise awareness and build capacities through information sharing. Throughout Sudan on WWD there will be a series of technical discussions about improved water quality at community level as well as discussions about how to promote sanitation.
SAVE THE CHILDREN IN ABYEI AREA
(SAVE THE CHILDREN OPERATES IN THREE MAIN AREAS IN ABEYI AREA, MAINLY IN AGOK)
By Ekuleu Meshack, Office in Abyei, Sudan
Child Protection - Child Friendly Space
Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) being one of the main aspects of Child Protection Sector operation aims to save children lives and gives them room to access their rights stimulated in the UNCRC. Working closely with the government department of Social Welfare, community leaders and the police unit, Child Protection sector does CFS activities to meet the needs of vulnerable children at risk as result of family destruction, separation, orphanage or/and other social factor.
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CFS is basically working on giving room to children- psychological support, fulfilling children rights to development, make sure children are rejoined to school for realization of a complete change in their lives in the future. Further coordination is done with education authorities and teachers for following up.
Experiences and follow up of CP sector indicate 22 different CFS in Abyei/Agok Area is fostering education to more than
3200 children to a fostered care in the education system under CHF and UNICEF grants.
Project origins
The unstable situation of Abyei for the last couple of years resulted in continuous fighting that contributed to many children lacking proper Education. CFS activities try to resolve and reduce the risk of children’s lives by ensuring that vulnerable children have access to protection and a bright future by enrolling them to schools.
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\
Corporate Social Responsibility popularly referred to as
“CSR”, in its modern form can be traced all the way
back to the 1950s1. The renewed EU strategy defines
CSR as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impact
on societies”1, interestingly removing the word
“voluntary” from their previous definition.
CSR has gone through quite the make-over, comparable
to the process of going from a 2-star hotel with poor
quality of services but cheap prices to a 5-star hotel,
with recurrent guests and a good reputation requiring a
more pricy investments. At the 2-star level CSR is seen as
a corporate philanthropy providing funding for social
responsibility projects, but still facing a diluted impact
because of short term investments. At the 5-star level
CSR is as a mode of governance, with long term
investments that are incorporated into a business model.
The 5-star level allows for the promotion of public-
private partnerships where the public sector and
corporations work together to find crucial synergies in
their work that can create effective, efficient and lasting
impact in the societies in which both sectors inevitably
leave footprints.
The private sector is increasingly taking up their role as
the secondary duty bearer in societies worldwide, and
every year an increasing number of companies sign up
to the 10 business principles as defined by the UN
Global Compact which focus on human rights, labor
rights, the environment and anti-corruption. However,
until recently a child rights perspective has rarely been
applied to discussions regarding the human rights
responsibilities of companies.
This changed in 2010, when Save the Children, UNICEF and UN
Global Compact acknowledged the invisibility of children
employed by businesses or affected by them. The joining of
forces and sharing of expertise and experiences resulted in the
creation of the “Children’s Rights and Businesses Principles”
officially launched on the 12th of March this year in London,
having gone through an extensive process of consultations
including asking children themselves how businesses worldwide
affect them and how corporations positively can contribute to
their everyday life. Save the Children Sweden is passionate about
the Principles, and the framework through which they define
how children’s needs can be adhered to through a holistic
approach.
As an active member of the Swedish Sustainable Business
Framework; a framework engaging over 50 Swedish related
companies in East Africa creating a public-private partnership
forum promoting collaboration between the sectors, the
morning of the 20th of March in Nairobi saw the presentation of
the Principles to the forum by Save the Children Sweden’s
Regional Office.
The Corporate World
on Child Rights
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POSITIVE DISCIPLINE
By Farida Bascha, Child protection advisor (Save the Children Sweden, ECAf Regional Office Nairobi, Kenya)
In East Africa, Kenya and South Sudan are the
only two countries to successfully legislate
against corporal punishment in all settings.
What does this mean? Under Kenyan and South
A Regional technical workshop on the elimination of
corporal punishment and other forms of humiliating
punishment against the Child.
Positive discipline.... People throw the word around a lot,
don’t they? It is a big word and heavy as well. Sometimes it
has been argued to be relative and dully subjective; this
because issues that touch on children are regarded as
personal. What does it really mean? It is worth to stop and
consider this because unless we have a clear and simple
definition of it, how do we know whether our actions make
the cut in any given situation? In order to understand
positive discipline and it’s practice, it is important to catch a
glimpse of its antithesis- Corporal punishment. Positive
discipline can only be instilled in society of corporal
punishment is prohibited and essentially eliminated.
Save the children in collaboration with the Global Initiative
to end all corporal punishment against children held a
Regional Technical Workshop on the Elimination of
Corporal Punishment in the East and Central Africa region.
The objective of the workshop was to build capacity on the
legal reform process to achieving a total ban on corporal
punishment in all settings and provided a platform to
advocate for the use of positive discipline by both parents
and teachers.
The feedback was overwhelming! And has already led to
numerous meetings being booked and an increasing
number of discussions on how Children’s Rights and
Business Principles can be strengthened and spread.
This spring, on 1st October 2012, saw the official Kenyan
launch of the Principles by UNICEF, Save the Children
and the UN Global Compact, indicating that the work on
combining CSR and children’s wellbeing is just in its
initial phase, and it certainly had the ear of numerous
important actors.
By Luisa Book, Donor Relations & Grants Officer Save the Children Sweden Regional Office Nairobi, Kenya
THE 10 BUSINESS PRINCIPLES ON CHILD RIGHTS
Meet their responsibility to respect children’s rights and commit to supporting the human rights of children
Contribute towards the elimination of child labor Provide decent work for young workers, parents
and caregivers Ensure the protection and safety of children in all
business activities and facilities Ensure that products and services are safe, and
seek to support children’s rights through them Use marketing and advertising that respect and
support children’s rights Respect and support children’s rights in relation to
the environment and to land acquisition and use Respect and support children’s rights in security
arrangements Help protect children affected by emergencies Reinforce community and government efforts to
protect and fulfill children’s rights
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Sudanese law corporal punishment as described
under the general comment number 8 is a
criminal offence in all settings including the
home, schools, and institutions (in this regard
institutions can be described as government,
community led and religious institutions that
care for children). However, implementation of
the law in both countries is limited as shared
during the workshop for reasons common to all
countries present. These include cultural and
religious beliefs that accept and even condone
corporal punishment, lack of political will to
legislate and/or implement laws against
corporal punishment and lack of awareness by
the public on the harmful effects of corporal
punishment on children and their development.
The workshop was held for five days between
the 19th and 23rd of March 2012 in Zanzibar-
Tanzania and was attended by government
officials (very important), partners, and Save
the Children staff from Zanzibar, Main Land
Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, South
Sudan, The Sudan, Rwanda, South Africa and
Somaliland.
A favourable outcome was an outstanding
commitment by all participants to eliminating
corporal punishment and development of
national plans of action for each participating
Country towards achieving this objective. The
enforcement of the plans will be assisted by two
representatives from each county to form a
Regional Reference Group on Eliminating
Corporal Punishment in East and Central
Africa. The objective of the reference group will
also extend to being an information hub on
current practice in the Region and resource
material on eliminating corporal punishment.
All participants committed to upholding
corporal punishment as a violation of a child’s
right and a form of humiliating punishment
that affects the child’s survival and
development.
The committee on the rights of the Child General Comment Number 8 defines
corporal punishment as:
“…Any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some
degree of pain or discomfort, however light. Most involves hitting (“smacking”,
“slapping”, “spanking”) children, with the hand or with an implement- a
whip, stick, belt, shoe, wooden spoon, etc. But it can also involve, for example,
kicking, shaking or throwing children, scratching, pinching, biting, pulling
hair or boxing ears, forcing children to stay in uncomfortable positions,
burning, scalding or forced ingestion (for example, washing children’s mouths
out with soap or forcing them to swallow hot spices)…”
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The rights of children with disabilities in Kenya
are more often than not disregarded mostly
because of lack of awareness amongst the
parents of these children, and the general
society.
People with disabilities in the traditional
African society have been associated with ‘evil’
and are said to have been ‘cursed’. As a result,
when a mother bears a child with a disability,
they are either forced to kill this child, or live as
an outcast from the community.
Unfortunately, this is a practice that has carried
on up to date; living these children to suffer in
their misfortune yet they deserve to be treated
with equal care as other children, if not more
due to their special needs.
Children with disabilities and their families
constantly experience barriers to the enjoyment
of basic human rights and to their inclusion in
society. Their abilities are overlooked, their
capacities are underestimated and their needs
are given low priority. Yet, the barriers they
face are more frequently as a result of their
impairment. While the situation for these
children is changing for the better, there are
still severe gaps.
Fortunately however, there has been a
gathering global momentum over the past two
decades to stand up for the rights of children
with disabilities. But in Kenya, this progress is
frequently undermined by poverty, lack of
services and the continuing effect of negative
traditional beliefs. The inclusion of children
with disabilities is a matter of social justice and
an essential investment in the future of society;
it is not based on charity or goodwill but is an
integral element of the expression and
realization of universal human rights.
With this background, on the 1st and 29th of
March 2012, the CRG Programme Officer of
Save the Children Sweden (SCS) accompanied
by the department’s intern, helped facilitate a
‘Children with Disabilities’ workshop in
Kariobangi and Kibera areas in Nairobi. They
did so in partnership with a local non-profit
organization known as the Special Education
Professionals (SEP) which consists of various
occupational therapists and volunteers who
dedicate their time and expertise to low-income
areas of Nairobi and other parts of Kenya.
In their course of work, SEP discovered that
there was a great lack of awareness on
children’s rights and it is from this gap that SCS
was approached to give a talk on Child Rights
in general and the rights of children with
disabilities (both as stipulated in the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child),
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN KENYA? CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP ON CHILD RIGHTS AND THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN WITH
DISABILITIES, NAIROBI KENYA
By Louisa Wangalwa (Special Education Professionals) & Rebecca Theuri (Save the Children)
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and their practical application in the New
Constitution of Kenya.
Both workshops were a success, with
impressive attendance and highly interactive
sessions that yielded fruitful deliberations.
During the sessions however, certain issues
emerged such as the discrimination of children
with disabilities within the education system.
There are few schools in Kenya that
accommodate children with disabilities; and of
the few that are available, most of them are
unaffordable to the ordinary citizen. On the
other hand, those that are affordable lack the
capacity to take care of children with special
needs. The other concern raised was the issue
of free birth registration.
This is a right which many mothers are still
unaware of; all children are entitled to free
birth registration as per Article 6 of the
ACRWC, and are entitled to a nationality upon
registration. Without registration, these
children are not able to access the facilities,
amenities and rights entitled to them as citizens.
Both the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
(ACRWC) have clear provisions for the rights of
children with disabilities. Article 23 (1) of the
CRC clearly says that ‘a mentally or physically
disabled child should enjoy a full and decent
life, in conditions which ensure dignity,
promote self-reliance and facilitate the child’s
active participation in the community1’.
Similarly, Article 13 (1) of the ACRWC states
that ‘every child who is mentally or physically
disabled shall have the right to special
measures of protection in keeping with his
physical and moral needs and under conditions
which ensure his dignity, promote his self-
reliance and active participation in the
community2’.
1 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Save the
Children, p.13.
2 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child, Save the Children, p. 8.
These issues were just but a few of the many
concerns of children with disabilities and it
goes to show that there is still much more to be
done in promoting and protecting the rights of
children, and the rights of children with
disabilities in particular.
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Why we need to work with men to impact the lives of children Positively
By Awraris Alemayehu
Men can affect the lives of children positively or negatively,
Existence of huge unequal power relationships between children and adults as compared to males
and females,
Many men practice commercial sex, transactional sex and cross generational sex with children,
Patriarchy and dominant forms of masculinities justify and excuse males’ violence against children
and women,
If we have to insure “child participation in decision making” we have to work with the decision
makers too,
Men/boys are distant from children because of gender norms and lack communication skills with
children particularly girls.
Lack of recognition of men’s and boys’ roles in child caring and protecting children among
communities,
Men have the potential to stop violence, It is possible to redirect men’s power,
Majority of men do not agree with violence against children but seem to be silent so they need to
be mobilized,
Men are not born violent- beliefs and norms about what it means to be a man could contribute,
Whether we like it or not men still decide on matters that affect children, so if we work with them
we can influence the decisions to favor children,
Some men are already working to prevent violence against children but lack supports,
Men and boys listen to their peers.
THE MISSING LINK…
By Awraris Alemaheyu, Save the Children Sweden, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
It is understood that the underlying cause of
violence against individuals or groups is the
power imbalance between them and the misuse
of power against the powerless at different
levels and types of relationships. And this is
worse in situations where there are no adequate
system(s) to protect the vulnerable. In most
cultures men hold traditional and political
powers as compared to women. And reasonable
numbers of men misuse their power inflicting
violence on women/girls.
Accordingly, some opinion leaders suggest that
women also should have similar powers that
equate them with men to ensure their equal
status and protect themselves. The power
struggle between men and women has
continued for more than three generations.
And as a result many women, through a
tiresome and breathtaking journey finally
gained some economic and political powers
that gave them the freedom and protection
from men’s operation and violence in different
parts of the world, though it is not perfect and
common everywhere and a lot of women/girls
still are vulnerable to men’s violence
particularly in African cultures where there is
no proper protection systems and attitudes. The
physical, sexual, psychological and economic
violence against women is still practiced and
there is a great deal of community’s tolerance
and excuses around these norms.
Page | 16
A number of men do not support and protect
their children as women do unless they are
forced by law or communities. For instance,
many children with disabilities live with their
mothers than fathers. Even most fathers who
live with their children do not communicate in
a way that impacts the lives of their children
positively and the extreme is evident where
they do not listen to children at the expense of
their personal interests. Conversely, some men
decide on matters that affect children including
women at homes, communities, schools,
religious contexts.
Introspectively, one can deduct and understand
the extensity of the vulnerability of children in
the midst of power relations. Contrary to
women, children do not have power to protect
themselves. As a result, children render
themselves to the mercy of adult’s protection
particularly men since they are the ones who
make most decisions that affect their children’s
lives and violate their rights in different
contexts and forms.
Most programs deliver services that address
children’s immediate needs while others aim to
build sustainable systems to protect and
encourage the participation of children. But
most programs do not target men as a strategy
to ensure child participation and protection at
homes, communities, schools and structures.
And this has made the process of impacting
upon the quality of life of children a long and
tiresome journey mostly because programs
targeting children are not working with the
decision makers and the power concentrated
among men remains to be an untapped and
wasted potential.
For instance, several studies revealed that men
have more financial and material resources
compared to women and children.
Men also have the physical ability and time to
protect and support children and they have
information since they are the ones who get
education.
Finally, working with men means working with
the power they hold traditionally and
politically. If these powers are properly tamed
and utilized many children including women
could benefit because men will share their
power willingly understanding the benefits as it
is witnessed with different programs that have
meaningfully involved men and impacted the
lives of children, women including men
positively linking the missing part.
Page | 17
Can this be a Save the Children meeting? Room full of people discussing whether international trade and transactions should be considered under consumption taxes or not; whether Kenya’s or India’s budget structure looks more healthy; what is the problem of having big proportion of revenue in the form of other taxes, grants or loans... For five long and hot days Save the Children program staff from 25 countries pondered and debated on CRG analyses, Investment in Children, accountability, transition, indicators and policy change. It was great to share across the Indian Ocean – having participants from both Asia and Africa. There seemed to be quite a few issues in common; corruption and restriction of NGO space not being the smallest of them. But on the other hand participants largely agreed that the days of confrontation are over and civil society also has a role in supporting and sharing with the state. “Government officials are people too.” If we want to promote child rights at large scale, good policies and laws are vital. However, putting them into practice takes more than goodwill and awareness. We like to moan about poor implementation of policies, but how could they be implemented without resources (read: MONEY)? And that is where budget analysis and advocacy comes in. Budgets are the way government expresses its priorities – the beautiful statements and assurances about e.g. the importance of education, health or child protection do not count for much, if vast bulk of the budget goes to defence and infrastructure.
It was a great surprise to see how much Save the Children members had already done around child budgeting. With SCI transition we will certainly learn to share our experiences and lessons learnt more effectively. The most “aha moments” were created by the session that looked at our own organisation. Before starting to point fingers at others, it is important to first ensure that our own house is in order. Do we follow fraud and anti-corruption policies to the letter? Do we publicize our own expenditures; starting from directors’ salaries? If in our personal trips we give kitu kidogo to the police, who are we to accuse others of corruption? As usual, the tea breaks provided a great opportunity for networking and learning. An often stated concern was about whether the new Save the Children still promotes rights-based approach and CRP. If SCI was rights-based, would CRG GI be less necessary? And is CRG giving the rest of Save the Children the excuse of not having to actively hold the state accountable? The general consensus emerged that CRP still is/should be our programming methodology, but that really SCI as a whole should take responsibility for supporting the country programs on this. And not to mention the sunset beach party!!!
Child Rights Governance International Global Capacity
Building Meeting in Zanzibar
By Kirsi Pertola Save the Children, Finland Nairobi, Kenya
Page | 18
Three areas of work for Investment in Children
AEJT RWANDA: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND IMPACT IN RWANDA
By Marcel Sibomana, AEJT
In 2001, AEJT Rwanda “The Association des
Enfants et Jeunes Travailleurs” was
established as a child led organization with
the aim of promoting and protecting the
rights of the child in Rwanda. AEJT has
developed and continues to develop
partnerships with different partners both
from in and out of the country in an effort
to change the lives of children. AEJT
Rwanda is also part of the African
Movement of Working Children and Youth
that was established in 1994 from West
Africa, where working children identified
twelve rights as the rights of working
children and as the rights they should work
hard on in promoting them. These rights
are as listed below:
National Budgets
Revenues
Expenditures
Integrated
children’s
development
programmes
Education HealthSocial
Protection
Child
Protection
Rights
Systems
Public spending on children’s wellbeing
Equitable outcomes for children
Accountability
and
Transparency
2
1
3
Page | 19
***to read and write
***to express themselves
***to be taught a trade
***to play and leisure
***to health care
***to be listened to
***to rest when sick
***to work in safety
***to be respected and dignity
***to stay in the village
***to light and limited work
***to equitable justice
ACTIVITIES
Different activities are carried out in the
organization by children for the benefit of
other children and as a contribution to the
development of the community.
During our discussions with children from
different association branches in the
country, children shared their stories and
the various activities the carry out and we
noted some of the following:
Ability to advocate for the rights of
the child and help other vulnerable
children such as those that are not
able to afford their scholar
materials.
There are times when some of the children
in the organization are not able to go to
school due to lack of resources and
materials. In such cases, AEJT examines
them collectively, and facilitates
contributions that help in enrolling these
children in schools. This is mainly done for
children who are in still primary schools as
they present the greatest need that needs to
be met in the presence of limited funds.
Further, in cases where children drop out
of school, they are sensitized and
encouraged to go back to school.
Eagerness to contribute to the
development of the community.
During different occasions such as
“UMUGANDA” AEJT organize
themselves together with the parents
and the local leaders and help in
different communal activities such
as fixing the roads/paths that are
destroyed and cleaning different
places in their surroundings.
Such occasions strengthen the relationship
of the organization with the local leaders,
and go a long way in enabling forums for
fruitful discussions such as debates with the
community members where children and
adults express themselves respectfully.
During such discussions, children are able
to talk to the adults and explain to them the
problems that they face as children, things
they would like to see being done
differently; and they gladly share about the
Page | 20
life of AEJT as a child led organization, its
contribution to their lives, achievements,
challenges and future intentions.
Fighting against drugs through
school clubs. Drug and substance
abuse is one of the main challenges
among the youth in Rwanda.
The government and different
organizations continue to establish
initiatives towards addressing this
challenge and as members of AEJT, we have
started working hard to curb the effects of
this challenge which dims the future of the
young generation. One child member of the
organization from Kigali said that after
realizing that the surrounding of one
primary school called Nyakabanda primary
school in Kicukiro District had a large
number of youth involved with drug and
substance abuse, an Anti-Drugs club was
established that went a long way in
providing information on the negative
impacts of drugs and the necessity to fight
against the same. The club has developed
and is working in collaborating with
different schools and actors across the
District in the fight against drugs.
“If we continue keeping silent and just watching our elder siblings taking drugs, we
may also be attempted to take them and so we decided to fight against them now
highlighting that they are dangerous for our health and our wellbeing”.
USE OF GAMES AND NURTURING TALENT
As children in AEJT, we have different ways
of targeting the community to utilize the
talents for entertainment (such as in
theatres and drama sessions as well as
through song) and for educative purposes
(creating awareness and providing
information).
These children also organize different game
competitions such as football, drawing,
which help them increase their confidence
in public and also enables them to create
awareness and sensitize the community on
child rights.
Page | 21
TRAINING OF TRAINERS ON POSITIVE DISCIPLINE By Farida Bascha, Child protection advisor, Save the Children Sweden, ECAf Regional Office
Nairobi, Kenya
The UN World Report on Violence against
Children identified physical and
humiliating punishment (PHP) as the most
common form of violence against children.
Most of this violence takes place in
children’s homes and schools, as many
caregivers and teachers view it as a
legitimate way to
correct children’s
behaviour. In fact,
however, it is a
violation of
children’s rights to
dignity and physical
integrity, threatens
children’s health and
development,
teaches violence as a
conflict resolution
strategy, and damages parent-child
relationships.
For these reasons, PHP has been identified
as one of the priority areas for Save the
Children’s Child Protection Initiative (CPI).
The goal of this area is to end PHP around
the world through law reform and social
change.
In order to build staff and partner capacity
to promote law reform and change societal
attitudes toward PHP, Save the Children
collaborated with Dr. Joan Durrant at the
University of Manitoba to develop a rights-
based approach to non-violent discipline
described in the manuals, Positive
Discipline: What It Is and How To Do It and
Positive Discipline in Everyday Teaching:
Guidelines for Educators.
In March 2012, Save the Children held a
global workshop in Positive Discipline held
in Stockholm from March 5 to 9, 2012.
The primary goal of the workshop was to
build capacity of staff in all regions to train
facilitators to deliver PD in their member
countries- in the ECAf Region we have
three trained regional facilitators!
As a follow up of the March Training and
the first pilot in the
region, Save the
Children UK in
collaboration with Save
the Children Sweden
Regional Office held a
four day training for
child protection staff
from Dadaab, Kenya to
deliver positive
discipline as part of a
parenting programme
for refugee mothers.
The content of the workshop was designed
to increase participants’ understanding of
the rationale for eliminating PHP through
law reform and social change, and of the
ways in which positive discipline can
promote both. The workshop was also
unique in that it focused on working with
refugee communities and delivering of the
concepts to such a ‘fluid’ environment.
As an outcome of the training, the 12
facilitators who were trained will roll out a
three month parenting programme with the
refugee community focusing on the large
foster parent community in the camps as
well and young mothers.
We look forward to the outcome of this
process and promoting the programme to
other parts of the country and in deed the
Region!
Page | 22
STRENGTHENING NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEMS IN ECAF By Farida Bascha, Child protection advisor, Save the Children Sweden, ECAf Regional Office
Nairobi, Kenya
In May 2012 the Conference on Child
Protection Systems Strengthening in Sub-
Saharan Africa was held in Dakar, Senegal
and Save the Children ECAf was
represented by both Regional and Kenya
Programme Staff.
The conference was attended by over 350
participants including a delegation from
the Kenyan Government and other
practitioners from the Region. The Dakar
Conference also brought together regional
actors who contributed time, effort and
funds to a common event. The Conference
was supported by the Oak Foundation, Plan
International, REPSSI, RIATT, Save the
Children, Terre des Hommes, the African
Child Policy Forum, UNICEF, World Vision
and others.
The objectives of the conference were:
To take stock of current efforts and
experiences to build stronger child
protection systems in Sub-Saharan
Africa;
To share promising practices in
strategy development,
programming, monitoring and
evaluation, and resourcing national
child protection systems and to
provide participants with the most
up to date resources on systems
building;
To review, discuss and improve
current system strengthening
frameworks and emerging
guidance;
To provide opportunities for
networking with an aim to build
regional and country level
partnerships committed to
strengthening systems; and
To explore the establishment of a
regional mechanism(s) to foster on-
going learning and exchange on
systems work in Sub-Saharan
Africa.
The Conference revealed high interest in
child protection systems strengthening, and
brought to the surface the efforts that many
of the stakeholders have undertaken
towards building child protection systems
in their countries. The Conference also
brought to notice that there is not yet a
complete overview of the situation of child
protection systems efforts in Sub-Saharan
Africa, who the actors are, how fragmented
these actors are in a context where they are
known, and the very limited experience of
working across regions. But more
importantly, the Conference participants
showed a strong desire to better understand
systems work in the context of child
protection and to have access to existing
knowledge and experiences.
The Dakar Conference also revealed the
need to build an African leadership of the
child protection systems strengthening
agenda. Save the Children ECAf Regional
Office is contributing to the establishment
of a regional strategy to anchor child
protection systems strengthening as an area
of work that is high enough on the African
agenda. The strategy will aim to support
governments in capacity and technical
expertise where needed to realise
Page | 23
functional national child protection systems
at the same time document current
practices across the Region.
The collaboration will be reviewed in six
months to identify what worked, what did
not, and how to move forward.
Exciting times for collaboration and to be
the voice as we transition into Save the
Children International!
CHILD –LED INITIATIVES RESEARCH AND VALIDATION WORKSHOP By Sheilah Maina, Child Rights Governance Program Officer Save the Children Sweden, ECAf Regional
Office Nairobi, Kenya
The SCS ECAf regional office undertook a
research on Child-led initiatives (CLIs)
within the region, founded on the basis of
the great value they add to fostering child
participation as under article 12 of the
UNCRC. Following the UN General
Assembly special session “A World Fit for
Children” in 2002, the CRC Committee
asserted that “children should be supported
and encouraged to form their own child-
led organizations and initiatives, which will
create space for meaningful participation
and representation.”
Children also have the right to meet
together and join groups and organizations,
as long as this does not prevent other
people from enjoying their rights. This
right as stipulated in article 15 of the
Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC)
is the backbone of the formation of Child
Led Initiatives (CLIs) and groups. The
notion of the having children actively
involved in decision making has
increasingly caught momentum in today’s
society. While they actively participate in
child centred and child focused initiatives,
they are now more regarded to have the
ability to be managers and owners of their
own groups.
The scope of the CLI research included
Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia,
Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The
information was collected through both
field visits and phone interviews, and it
brought to light the existence of a number
of Child-led initiatives within the region at
different levels. The research found four
main types of CLIs within the region, i.e.
children’s clubs, children networks,
children’s parliaments and one children’s
movement. Within each type, CLIs may to a
greater or lesser extent engage with or
implement various interventions. Those
groups which implement a more intensive
range of interventions tended to reinforce a
more significant level of children’s agency
and were more child-led.
It was realized that the most common type
of Child-led initiatives is child rights clubs
which exist in 6 of the countries that were
covered in the study. Children’s networks
and councils as well as child parliaments
exist in 4 of the countries while children
movements in the region are represented by
AEJT in Rwanda.
The research also highlighted some of the
key achievements of child-led initiatives.
These include development of significant
confidence among the members; raising
Page | 24
awareness on child rights in their homes,
schools and communities; creation of
formal structures to amplify children’s
voices; engaging and influencing duty
bearers and decision makers at different
levels and influencing legal reform and
policy implementation.
These child-led initiatives experience
various challenges in their operations.
Some of the challenges that were captured
during the research are: Over reliance on
adult patrons/ facilitators, negative cultural
adult attitudes and practices towards
children, limited representation of
children’s groups, difficulties in sustaining
children’s groups, absence of simple
monitoring and evaluation systems to track
progress or promising practices, limited
access to physical and financial resources
and hostile political climate for child rights.
This research then set the ground for a
validation workshop which happened in
Nairobi on the 10th- 12th July 2012. This
workshop was the first ever organized by
SCS ECAf Regional Office with specific
focus to include children’s input in
reviewing the findings of the CLI research.
This is seen as a gateway into a higher level
of child participation, where they get to
engage with adults and share their ideas
and opinions freely.
The workshop was comprised of child
representatives from Kenya, Sudan and
Rwanda and some adults whose work
involves child-led initiatives. There was
representation of government officials from
2 countries and a myriad of SCS ECAf
partners working in child participation
from the 6 countries represented, i.e.
Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan,
Tanzania and Ethiopia.
These child participants are engaged in
various child-led initiatives in their
countries. We had representation of
children in Children Assemblies, members
of child right clubs, members of children’s
network and children from a full-fledged
children’s movement. It was interesting to
hear the children share their various
experiences on the situation of child rights
in their countries and what each of them is
doing to contribute. They also had an
opportunity to learn from each other and
see what has worked in their neighbouring
countries.
Through an interesting, well-monitored
plenary discussion all the participants of
the workshop presented their
recommendations in regards to their
country contexts. The overall
recommendations included: supporting the
existing CLIs to become stronger, more
inclusive and more influential through
capacity building and raising awareness;
helping transform adult-driven initiatives
to become more child-led or child-driven
through challenging negative cultural adult
attitudes and creating child-friendly
opportunities for children to lead
discussions in matters affecting them; and
supporting the establishments of new CLIs
through promoting change in legislation
that will help to institutionalize CLIs and
documenting of experiences and good
practices to be used in establishing new
CLIs.
It was an exciting workshop, filled with
exciting games to build trust and openness
among the participants as well as an
inspiring platform for knowledge-sharing.
It was a perfect conclusion of the quest
undertaken by SCS ECAf regional office to
find out more on Child –led initiatives. It is
evident through the research report and
supported by the profound engagement
during the workshop, that CLIs are truly a
great force behind child participation and
child empowerment in the Eastern and
Page | 25
Central Africa region. They seem to be the
right path toward achieving not only a
sustainable child participation mechanism,
but also bringing out well-rounded and
empowered citizens into society. There is no
doubt that in their own way at their own
level CLIs are making a difference; the child
rights clubs and children’s networks make
a significant change within the community
context influencing family and communal
systems, whereas the children movements
and children assemblies or Junior
parliaments have the potential to influence
policies and national systems.
MOMENTUM FOR CHILD RIGHTS WITHIN THE EAC
12TH SEPTEMBER 2012
Article done by:
The East African Community (EAC) had a
breakthrough conference in Bujumbura
that focused on child rights within the
region. This is commendable because the
1st EAC Conference on CRs entitled
Addressing the Issues that Negatively
Impact on Children within the EAC had
representation at the senior level from
partner states (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania,
Rwanda and Burundi), the Inter-Agency
Working Group on Child Rights (Save the
Children, World Vision, Plan International,
the African Child Policy Forum and
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS
Foundation), UNICEF, RIATT (Regional
Interagency Task Team on Children and
AIDS), children, the EAC secretariat and
civil society organizations from the Partner
States. Children constitute more than 50%
of the population in the EAC. It is time that
their rights to survival, participation,
development and protection are realized.
Fortunately, each partner state of the EAC
has ratified and domesticated the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child and the African Charter on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child. This is
commendable as the standards on which to
Page | 26
base national laws and policies are in place
to ensure non-discrimination of
marginalized/ vulnerable children,
equality, empowerment, government
accountability, and most importantly the
best interests of the child in all actions
concerning children. Child participation
was the highlight of the meeting since girls
and boys
from each
partner state
had the
opportunity
to provide
feedback on
their
personal and
collective
recommenda
tions to the
EAC. The
voice of
children was loud and clear. One girl
clearly stated;
It is important to address under-five death
rates by taking the example from Rwanda
where there is a policy of one cow, for one
family. The distribution of bed nets to
children under five, and pregnant women
is crucial.
Yet another boy expounded by saying,
Money for children should be used
properly. This was his way of focusing on
the need for each government to invest in
children through adequate budget
allocation and expenditure. It is worth
noting that the issues addressed by the
children included health and survival;
children with disabilities; birth registration;
education and adequate pay for teachers;
peace building and security; the media’s
respect for the right to protection and
privacy of children; protection from
violence; children in conflict with the law;
right to play, sports and culture; and EAC
languages to include English, French and
Swahili. The EAC Secretariat, in
collaboration with Partner States, the Inter-
Agency Working Group, and UNICEF,
prepared recommendations and the
Bujumbura Declaration on Child Rights and
Wellbeing in the EAC, which emphasized
the need to
expedite the
process of
developing an
EAC Child Policy
as per the EAC
Strategic Plan.
This would
definitely
improve child
rights in the
areas of
protection,
development,
survival and participation with a sound
institutional mechanism. There were also
recommendations to have an EAC
Children’s Assembly, an EAC Council/
Commission for Children, an Inter-
Parliamentary Forum on Child Rights; and
for all Partner states to ratify all the
relevant international and regional
instruments related to children. The IAWG
applauds the EAC for bringing the voice of
Kenyan, Tanzanian, Ugandan, Rwandese
and Burundian children to the social
agenda. Even as the EAC continues to focus
on the Common Market Protocol,
Customary Union and Political Federation,
child rights should not be left on the side,
but they must be brought to the centre
since children are 50% of the population
and the future of the EAC.
It is worth quoting the inspiring message
from the Secretary General of the EAC in
his speech:
Page | 27
For more information on publications and resource material published by Save the Children
Sweden and other SC members, please visit the Resource Centre on the link below:
http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/
Save the Children fights for children's rights.
We deliver immediate and lasting
improvements to children's lives worldwide
The primary source of inspiration for the work of the EAC on the rights and welfare of the child
is mandated under Article 120 of the Treaty. Partner States under this provision undertake to
closely cooperate in social welfare on issues pertaining to the development and adoption of a
common approach towards the disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including children, the
youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities through rehabilitation and provision of, among
others, foster homes, health care, education and training. Therefore, the protection of the
welfare of children is one of the pillars of the EAC (Article 30, Treaty establishing the East
African Community) the marginalisation of children is an area of great concern for the organization.