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Summary: Meet the children from South Asia who
participated at the Regional Consultation on
violence against children, in Islamabad,
Pakistan, from 16 - 20 May 2005.
AFGHANISTAN
Noorjahan
Noorjahan, 14 years old, started working with children’s organisations
through Waves of Hope, a magazine that covers topics of violence and
discrimination against children in schools, which she and seven of her
school friends created in 2002. They get ideas for material from their own
problems and discussions. When they began, they hand wrote the
magazine because they had no resources or support from any sponsoring
agencies. Now Waves of Hope has grown to include the work of 25 young
people, and they receive support from Save the Children, though they try
to be self-funding wherever possible. Noorjahan is also a founding
member of Helping Unit Media in Afghanistan (HUMA), a children’s radio
programme that was initiated in collaboration with Save the Children in
2004. The programme focuses on raising awareness about children’s
rights issues. They broadcast interviews, discussions and stories done by
and for children and young people. They also work in collaboration with
youth groups for children with disabilities. In order to be independent and
avoid funding politics, the members of HUMA sold their radio programme to
a private commercial station, and now they get paid to do their work.
Afghanistan
Wajehullah
For the last 9 months, Wajehullah, 15 years old, has been a part of
Darwaz Rehabilitation and Services Association (DRSA), started by the
government’s Ministry of Planning. The children’s programme of DRSA
works to rehabilitate children who have been affected by war, working
children and orphans. Before he was recruited into DRSA by social workers
doing door-to-door outreach, Wajehullah worked collecting wood. The war
had disrupted his previous education, and after it ended he had been
unable to register for school because he was too old to sit with the
younger children in the first class. Through DRSA he is learning to read and
write, and also takes courses in maths, literature, arts and sewing. He
plans to begin regular school once he learns how to read and write. His
message:
“In 24 years of war we could do nothing. Now we want the
world to help us. I want to tell everyone that we have courses at DRSA,
but 60% of Afghanistan’s children are illiterate and just 10% of all Afghanis
can read and write. Please help us.”
BANGLADESH
Dolly
Dolly, 10 years old, is part of INCIDIN, a human’s rights organisation that
works on children’s issues such as early marriage, violence against children
and child labour. She is a member of their working children’s group, and
attends a school they run for poor and working children who would
otherwise not have access to education. INCIDIN pays a stipend to the
students’ families to replace their lost wages. Through them, Dolly goes to
school half a day, five times a week and has internet access. She is also a
member of their child club (with 300 members total). With other child club
members, she goes door to door to talk to caregivers and families about
children’s rights. When asked about her experience of these awareness
raising sessions, Dolly says:
“Fathers usually have a bad reaction to hearing about children’s
rights, but we keep going back again and again together until they break
down.”
Bangladesh
Shakidul (Shanto)
For the last year, Shanto, 17 years old, has been chairperson of
Bangladesh’s National Children’s Task Force (NCTF), which was formed at
the recommendation of their National Plan for Action to end violence
against children. The NCTF works on children’s issues related to HIV/AIDS,
sexual abuse, prevention and recovery from child trafficking and sexual
exploitation, and also programmes for building life skills, and monitoring
and evaluating the National Plans of Action. They run a children’s
newspaper, make videos and documentaries and arrange rallies. Shanto
began working with children’s rights issues in 2002, through being involved
in a child club sponsored by Save the Children Australia in his district. After
this, he was part of a 10 member team that underwent capacity building
with UNICEF on adolescent health and life skills issues.
PAKISTAN- Karachi
Somia
Somia, 10 years old, is a member of the Baitul-mal project of the National
Rehabilitation Centre of the Child, which focuses on getting working
children into schools. Somia used to be a domestic worker with her
mother. As her mother cooked for their employers, Somia took care of their
baby and helped with house cleaning. Last year, outreach workers from
Baitul-mal found her as they went door to door looking for working children
to join their school. She’s now been attending school for 5 months, and
says she enjoys studying.
About the Regional Consultation, Somia says:
“I’ve very much enjoyed my time here and I’ve learned how
adults abuse children”.
Pakistan
Mohammed Waris
Mohammed, 14 years old, has been a member of the Boy Scouts
Association for 3 years. The Boy Scouts Association, in collaboration with
UNICEF, has been working to raise public awareness on children’s rights
issues. They’ve found a powerful way to do this is through cartoons. In
their cartoon book, ‘Brothers Join Meena”, the main characters, a brother
and sister and their pet parrot, tackle topics like children’s health and
education in the community. Mohammed uses this book, and other
materials, when he goes door to door to raise awareness about education
for girls and to motivate parents to send girls to school. He was also a
participant of the Yokohoma Consultation on Child Sexual Abuse in 2004.
When asked about why he became interested in girls’ rights to education,
he answers:
“Because my own sister was not going to school and I was. So
a feeling came to my heart. I thought: I am reading, what about her?”
Pakistan
Sonia
Sonia, 11 years old, is a member of the Child Domestic Labour Project, who
provide education to child workers. With them she goes to school for 3
hours a day. The majority of the rest of her days she does domestic work
with her mother in Islamabad. When not staying at on their employers’
property, Sonia and her family live in slum district outside of Islamabad.
Courtesy of Save the Children Sweden
Owner: Save the Children Sweden