18 August 2005 - CRINMAIL 705
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- UGANDA: School Education Hurt by Northern Conflict [news]
- TOGO: New Law against Child Trafficking [news]
- HIV/AIDS: Early Childhood and HIV/AIDS Series [publications]
- PLAY: Skills and Techniques to Build Children's Resilience [workshop]
- EMPLOYMENT: Children in Scotland - ChildHope [job postings]___________________________________________________________
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Your submissions are welcome if you are working in the area of child rights. To contribute, email us at [email protected]. Adobe Acrobat is required for viewing some of the documents, and if required can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html If you do not receive this email in html format, you will not be able to see some hyperlinks in the text. At the end of each item we have therefore provided a full URL linking to a web page where further information is available.
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- UGANDA: School Education Hurt by Northern Conflict [news]
[KAMPALA, 12 August 2005] - An estimated 25 per cent of children of primary school age in war-affected northern Uganda are out of school despite the government's free primary education policy, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said.
In a report released last week, UNICEF said the education sector was one of the casualties of the 19-year-old conflict that has ravaged Uganda's northern region. "Sixty per cent of the approximately 1,200 primary schools in [the northern] Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Lira and Apac districts have been displaced due to insecurity," the agency said.
On average, it noted, only two per cent of children aged between three and five had access to early childhood development sites, with services constrained by the low capacity of northern communities to initiate and sustain the sites.
The armed conflict - which pits government forces against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) - has perpetuated a severe humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda, marked by rampant violations of human rights. The LRA mainly targets children and women, and the protracted and brutal conflict has denied the population basic health services, water, primary school education and physical security.
UNICEF said over the past three years, the number of vulnerable IDPs in conflict-affected districts had risen from about 550,000 to 1.4 million due to insecurity and fear. Some 80 per cent of northern Uganda's war-affected are children and women.
Out of an estimated 25,000 children abducted by the LRA since the conflict began, UNICEF reported, approximately 7,500 were girls, of whom 1,000 had conceived children during captivity. "Each night, an estimated 40,000 children and some adults in Gulu, Kitgum and Kalongo towns abandon their homes for the relative safety offered by urban centres and centres of the larger IDP camps... in a striking community response to insecurity and in particular to the abduction of children by the LRA, " the July report stated. "The average journey for the "night commuters" is about 3 km, but some children are commuting - mostly on foot - up to 8 km each way," it added.
The agency noted, however, that not all children who stayed on the streets and town centres at night were fleeing LRA terror. "Assessments in Gulu indicate that as many as 25 per cent of child night commuters are leaving their homes nightly due to family issues, rather than the specific fear of LRA abduction," it said. "High-risk coping mechanisms to secure livelihoods and personal security remain common, including transactional sex."
[Source: IRIN. To read the article in full, go to: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48565&SelectRegion=East_Afri...
To read more about child night commuters in Northern Uganda:
"No Safe Place to Call Home: Child and Adolescent Night Commuters in Northern Uganda",
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=4346
"Real Voices: Uganda's 'Night Commuters' Live in Shadow of Fear", AlertNet:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6047
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- TOGO: New Law against Child Trafficking [news]
[LOME, August 2005] - Plan Togo has welcomed the introduction of a new law that could lead to the prosecution of child traffickers and their accomplices; and in some cases the parents of the victims. According to Plan Togo's child rights officer Delali Kpeglo it is hoped that the law will put an end to the current impasse that results in the perpetrators of child trafficking being let go after one or two days in detention. "Now that there is a law, they all will be punished," commented Kpeglo.
The new law follows international pressure from the US State department, which recently defined Togo as one of 14 countries not doing enough to halt international child trafficking. In the State Department's annual trafficking report Togo was given 90 days to take action, or face sanctions.
In a recently published research study by Plan Togo entitled, "For the Price of a Bike" it is estimated that 12 per cent of children in Togo are being removed from their homes in rural areas and sent to work for little or no pay. The children recruited - with or without parental consent - leave their homes in the hope of making enough money to support their families, continue their education or just to buy basic material goods. The study also says that high rates of poverty, cultural factors, as well as the traditional custom of Togolese families sending children to live with aunts, cousins or other relatives, is exploited by traffickers - leading to a rapid increase in the numbers of children involved.
In the document Plan calls on policy-makers to strengthen legal frameworks and policies for child protection. While Plan recognises the law, in and of itself, is not enough to combat the problem of child trafficking it has been welcomed as a first step towards a more holistic legal frame work that could be combined with other counter trafficking measure.
According to the law, which has yet to be promulgated, child traffickers and their collaborators could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 10 million CFA francs (US $18,875). All those recruiting, transporting, lodging and using children, as well as parents could potentially be prosecuted under the law.
For more information, contact:
Ann Birch, Regional Communications Advisor
Plan International - West Africa
136 Sotrac Mermoz, BP 21121, Dakar-Ponty, Senegal
Tel: + 221 869 7430; Fax: + 221 8252951
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.plan-interantional.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=5611
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- HIV/AIDS: Early Childhood and HIV/AIDS Series [publications]
The Bernard Van Leer Foundation has recently published a series of Working Papers on "Early Childhood and HIV/AIDS", a sub-series of their "Working Papers in Early Childhood Development" series. The purpose of the sub-series is to generate work that responds to emerging needs, or that presents information, experiences, ideas, etc, to inform all those concerned with young children impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Each paper is tightly focused and has a specific purpose. "HIV/AIDS: What about Very Young Children" is based on research carried out for the Bernard Van Leer Foundation in 2004 to review the literature and identify current responses taking place to meet the needs of very young children (age 0-8) in HIV and AIDS-affected communities. The question is raised: what can we actually do to include very young children in programming and policy responses in HIV and AIDS affected communities?
"Young Children and HIV/AIDS: Mapping the Field" offers an overview of what studies show in this field at the moment. Largely drawn from a review of literature and with a psychological slant, it also identifies gaps in knowledge and experience. It explores a range of issues relating to emotional, psychological, social and physical development. Taking a broad view, it reviews associations with poverty, economic deprivation, nutritional neglect, human rights abuse, and poor role modelling. Turning to what is needed, it considers responses to these issues and points up gaps in what is being provided and in the research that should underpin future efforts.
"HIV and Young Children: an Annotated Bibliography on Psychological Perspectives" is a companion to "Mapping the Field" and offers a practical guide to the content of the references which informed that Working Paper. Its intention is to help readers who want to go deeper into the issues and topics raised to quickly find their way to the original sources.
The fourth paper examines the ways in which HIV/AIDS funding is disbursed and the reasons why only a small amount is spent on addressing the needs of young children. It identifies strategies for advocating for a greater priority to be given to young children in HIV/AIDS funding decisions.
For more information, contact:
Bernard van Leer Foundation
PO Box 82334, 2508 EH The Hague, The Netherlands
Tel: + 31 70 331 22 00; Fax: + 31 70 350 23 73
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.bernardvanleer.org
Young children and HIV/AIDS: Mapping the field (Working Paper 33)
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6048&flag=report
HIV and Young Children: An Annotated Bibliography on Psychosocial Perspectives (34)
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6049&flag=report
HIV/AIDS: What About Very Young Children? (Working Paper 35)
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6050&flag=report
The Way the Money Goes: An investigation of flows of funding and resources for young children affected by HIV/AIDS (Working Paper 37)
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6051&flag=report
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- PLAY: Skills and Techniques to Build Children's Resilience [workshop]
Date: 5-8 September 2005
Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
SCS Regional programme for South and Central Asia is organising a "Region Workshop on Play Skills and Techniques to Build Children's Resilience" in September 2005, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Play is the child's natural medium of communication. It is the most appropriate method in which to address the psychosocial needs of children. When children are provided with opportunities to play they are better able to make sense of life crises. Resilience in its simplest form is the ability to survive and cope in a meaningful and growth enhancing way with life crises. Play allows children to make sense of and connect with their world. When children are traumatised by death, abuse, abandonment, family mental illness and other life crises, their connection with their world is often restricted or damaged.
The 4 days workshops aims to increase participants' awareness and understanding on play techniques and skills while working with children and develop understanding on local and traditional play techniques for strengthening community based child centres psychosocial support techniques, structures and mechanisms
For more information, contact:
Ravi Karkara, Save the Children Sweden
Regional Programme for South and Central Asia
Lalithpur, GPO Box 5850, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: + 977 1 5531928; Fax: + 977 1 5527266
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.savethechildren.org.np
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6039&flag=event
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- EMPLOYMENT: Children in Scotland - ChildHope [job postings]
Director: Research, Policy and Practice Development
Children in Scotland is at the heart of Scotland's largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and families. It is currently seeking to recruit a Director for its Research, Policy and Practice Development department. The department plays a major role in informing and influencing policies and legislation relating to children and their families and undertakes a wide range of social science, education and health research projects on policy related issues. Application deadline: 6 September 2005 (noon)
Helpline Assistant (part time)
Enquire is Scotland's national advice service for additional support for learning, based at Children in Scotland in Edinburgh. One of the services it offers is advice and information through a telephone helpline. Enquire now requires a Helpline Assistant, to help in answering calls, to contribute to the development of the resources and information bank and to promote awareness of the information and advice service throughout Scotland. Application deadline: 2 September 2005, noon
For more information, contact:
Children in Scotland
Princes House, 5 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh EH2 4RG, Scotland
Tel: + 44 131 222 2402; Fax: + 131 228 8585
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.childreninscotland.org.uk
Programme Officer
ChildHope is an international NGO dedicated to making hope a reality for marginalised children and young people around the world. ChildHope works through a long-term partnership approach with local organisations by offering organisational development support, providing resources, information, technical support and training. Its two key strategic programme objectives are to reduce violence against children and reduce the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS on orphans and vulnerable children. ChildHope is looking for a Programmes Officer, based in London, to help manage its overseas programmes. The work will involve partnership and programme development, monitoring and evaluation and raising resources from key donors. Application deadline: 2 September 2005.
For more information, contact:
Chris Mowles, ChildHope UK
Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street
London EC2A 4JX, United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 20 7065 0960
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.childhopeuk.org
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