 This year, the 33rd Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) took place between 13th and 20th March 2019. The Trust Child Rights team took part in the sessions which focused on; Consideration of five (5) state party reports from the following State Parties;
 Meet 18 year old Pili Nyairaa one the many success stories coming out from the Mara Out of School programme. Pili lives with her grandmother who survives on cattle farming and was forced to leave school in order to help on the farm and with other household chores until 2017 when she got an
 On 28-29 March, the Graça Machel Trust (GMT) partnered with Finmark Trust to hold a workshop on gender and financial inclusion. The workshop arose out of a decision of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Financial Inclusion Forum for a regional workshop to focus on factors and barriers to womenâs financial inclusion. Sub-Saharan Africa
Some of the trainers, para-professionals and students supported by the programme  The Trust has been working in the Mara region of Tanzania, to get at least 20,000 children who were out of school back into school. This project that has been underway since July 2016 identified and helped prepare children to be
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting childrenâs rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Childrenâs Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescentsâ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trustâs goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a motherâs health and social economic conditions, the early years of a childâs life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.