Child welfare promotion

We promote the health and well-being of children in the districts we work through four activities.

1: Sports and health education
We work closely with schools and local community groups to promote healthy living and health education with vulnerable children and at risk youth. We run sports matches, games activities
and interactive health education talks. A supportive environment is fostered for young people who gain confidence through the enjoyment of team-based sports and activities and mentoring on health education issues. Our external health facilitators lead sessions that explore a variety of topics relevant to the children including HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, water borne diseases, drug abuse and major illnesses such as malaria. Sports are played after the health sessions and as separate events to ensure learning occurs in a relaxed and positive environment.

We have facilitated over 500 health talks, 40 sports tournaments and engaged with over 2,000 children through sports and health education.  

2: Young carers clubs
Our young carers clubs use creative workshops to explore and address the needs of those children who are caring for suffering parents. Young carers have the ability to mobilise social resources quite effectively, getting help from neighbours and family, and negotiating access to income generating resources. Building on these existing abilities, we equip the young carers with project management skills and provide them with the resources to set up an income generating activity of their choice. Each young carers club has got five members and networks with other young carers clubs.
 
We have supported 150 young carers through these clubs. The clubs are implmenting income generating activities as diverse as maize selling, farming, poultry keeping and goat rearing. 

3: Direct aid
Through direct aid, we offer support in a flexible manner that allows us to respond to the risks, vulnerability and chronic poverty faced by the most vulnerable children and their families in our catchment areas. We provide support to some of the neediest in our communities at some of the most challenging of times for them. Support offered when essential has included food aid, contributing to income generating activities and covering for medical bills and the funeral costs of parents. The support provided is targeted to each child’s specific needs.

We have covered the medical treatment and emergency operations of over 200 children and their caregivers and have 8 community social workers monitoring the well-being of some of the most vulnerable children in our partner communities.

4: Child protection strengthening
To formalise local procedures and structures in safeguarding the well-being of children where we work, we work with front-line child protection services. We do this through the training of Child Protection Ambassadors who are given the task to prevent child rights violations and respond to child protection concerns at the community level. Our Child Protection Ambassadors act as a link between child protection services (formal and informal) and the communities. The Child Protection
Ambassadors create awareness of children's rights and the services available within the district from government services, ourselves and other NGOs active within the districts where we work. In some areas we also provide the local administration with a Child Protection Initiative Fund, allowing them to streamline and improve their services (e.g. through trainings, improved referral systems, social marketing strategies etc.).

"Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people is of utmost importance to us."