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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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***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.