Equipping children with increased skills, knowledge about their rights and where to go and seek help whenever they feel their rights have been violated has always been a priority for the Trust. The year 2020 saw the Child Rights Programme make concerted efforts to empower and strengthen children’s capacity by developing and conducting training for the Child Rights Complaints Mechanism toolkit training to defend and help promote the rights of children as well as those of their peers. The team conducted virtual and in-person training with over 300 children from across 14 African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Burundi, and Gabon.
Children from Alexandra township, South Africa, holding their Child Complaints Mechanisms Toolkits
Child rights experts; Save the Children, Rays of Hope, Mtoto News, Qhala and the ACERWC Secretariat, provided technical support that helped finalise the much-anticipated HAKI 4 ALL digital learning platform for children. This online portal will help children be aware of their rights as enshrined in the African Children’s Charter and learn the reporting mechanisms available in their respective countries.
Richard Montsho- GMT, Bertha- Rays of Hope and Caroline Makumbe- GMT.
Look out for more details on this fun and interactive child-friendly platform expected to build the capacity of an additional 10 000 children from the 5 regions of Africa and set to be launched in MARCH 2021.
Furthermore, the team successfully increased the knowledge and understanding of one hundred and fifty-five Civil Society Organisations’ representatives from the four Regional Child Rights Networks in Africa, notably East, South, West and Central Africa; Girls Not Bride’s Anglophone network and the Coalition for Community Based Organisations in Gauteng province of South Africa to defend and demand the rights of all children through the effective use of local and regional Child Rights Complaints mechanisms.
During these engagements, several child rights violations were identified with South Africa’ Community Based Organisations’ Network in Gauteng, collectively identifying 4 cases of children rights violations. These cases will be addressed through local remedies during the Trust’s 2021 fiscal year.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s 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 Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ 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 Trust’s 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 mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.