Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: It is important to state from the
outset that the National Children in
Need Network (NCNN) was formed to
address the overwhelming problem of
street children in Kenya.
NATIONAL COALTION PROFILE
NATIONAL CHILDREN IN NEED NETWORK - KENYA
Introduction
It is important to state from the outset that the National Children
in Need Network (NCNN) was formed to address the overwhelming problem
of street children in Kenya. Various NGOs and other civil society
organisations, led by the African Network for the Protection Against
Child Abuse and Neglect, African regional office (ANPPCAN-RO),
organised a national forum referred to as 'A Hearing on Street
Children in Kenya' in early 1994. One of the major outcomes of this
hearing, attended by a record 113 stakeholders and children rights
advocates, was the formation of a network of interested organisations
which later became the NCNN. It was realised during the conference
that many factors that gave rise to the numerous child rights abuses
and neglect needed to be addressed more systematically and more so
at their root. The political climate then made it difficult for the
establishment of organisations that targeted the issue of human
rights, even those of children, for their registration would not be
possible. Since the government was enthusiastic about the problem of
street children and indeed participated significantly in the hearing
mentioned above, the NGOs used this issue to put into place
mechanisms not only to address the street children problem, but also
the whole question of human rights for children. As such it became
clear that one of the key areas of concern for the NCNN had to be to
address the paucity of information on children's rights, as well as
ways and means to create community awareness on these rights.
Especially important was the understanding of the national and
international instruments put in place to care and protect children.
The Formative Years:
NCNN took some time to get a concrete focus. There were extensive
deliberations and consultations led by an interim Executive
Committee, formed to deal with these problems, finally led to the
formation of the NCNN in early 1996. The NCNN was agreed to be a
national coalition of non-governmental organisations and community
based organisations. (NGOs and CBOs), child centred institutions,
individuals and government departments dealing with children's
affairs. The coalition's main objectives were to:
- Raise awareness of children's rights issues in the country through
sharing of strategic information, community education on the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter
on the Welfare and Rights of the Child (OAU Charter);
- Develop and implement advocacy campaigns to influence government
legislation and policies affecting children;
- Increase the level of child development information/knowledge and
its success to the coalition's membership through research and
exchange; and
- Facilitate the process of strengthening the capacities of member
organisations to fulfil their individual objectives. This paper
outlines the experiences of this national coalition in raising
community awareness on children's rights in the country and
specifically, the role played by the NGOs in the coalition in this
respect.
Approaches to Awareness Raising:
The government of Kenya signed and ratified the UNCRC in 1989 and
1990 respectively. But despite this serious commitment, no conscious
effort had been made to make the Kenyans aware of what had been done
on their behalf, and more so the obligations of the commitment. The
NGO community was aware that the issue of human rights remained a
difficult issue, and indeed some proposed organisations had been
refused registration because they decided their intentions to promote
human rights even those of children. In this political environment,
it became the responsibility of the NGO network to initiate this
effort primarily though involving communities in Kenya in the
discussions of children's rights, the Constitution, and the legal
provisions protecting of children from abuse and neglect. The fact
that the NGOs were doing this from a common stand made a difference,
as it was possible for the government and the public to listen to the
combined voice of organisations rather than individual NGOs.
It was also decided that social, cultural and economic factors and
differences in the country has to be considered, as perceptions of
child rights, child abuse, neglect and 'child' varied from community
to community and region to region. It became imperative to establish
what these terms and others meant in the regions and amongst the many
communities of the country, and use this understanding to formulate
strategies in which to talk about human rights for children. Thus the
process of awareness raising was determined by:
- Reaching the communities in the region, who to target in these
communities, how to introduce the issues of children's rights, law,
constitution, and how to respond to their concerns of poverty; lack
of adequate food, proper shelter, other basic needs
- Involving policy makers and political players: getting them to avail
themselves for workshops, briefings, etc., influencing their
perceptions, attitudes, etc and getting their commitments to play
their roles - The professional categories: such as medical doctors,
lawyers, teachers, police, the media and others - how to introduce
them to the human rights perspectives (and specifically children's
rights) so as to play useful roles in their respective professions
- And the children themselves: how to equip them with the relevant
information, knowledge and skills to enable them to meaningfully
participate in the promotion of their rights. Implementing the Rights
Awareness Programme:
Community Awareness Workshops: The planning and execution of these
workshops were done by ANPPCAN Kenya Chapter, a founder member of the
NCNN who provided the financial resources that were needed. The
planning took into account various factors such as community
interest, poverty, illiteracy levels and languages in each of the
eight regions covered. The workshops aimed to have the communities
identify and categorise regional-specific child rights issues and
abuses and thereafter, develop plans of action to deal with these
issues. Regional coalitions of stakeholders were formed in each area
to co-ordinate the implementation of the agreed upon plans of action.
Leaders' Forums: The same strategy of holding region specific
seminars and workshops was utilised for this category of Kenyans. The
forums focussed on the legal provisions protecting children in the
country's laws, the Constitution, the UNCRC and the OAU Charter. This
was seen as necessary as the country was preparing to undertake a
major Constitutional Review process. NCNN and relevant issue based
networks prepare the leaders for this exercise. The forums identified
clear gaps and deficiencies as regards human rights for children that
will form the basis of concrete reports to the Constitutional
Review Commission. The forums were also used to advocate and lobby
for the new Children's Bill (1998) executed to be debated in the
country's Parliament before the close of the century.
Professional Categories Seminars: The Coalition identified as key to
the process of child rights education professionals, such as media
personnel, medical doctors, teachers and education planners, lawyers
and magistrates, children and probation officers, the police
and the institutional children service providers. For each of these
groups, the seminars deliberated on the situation of child rights and
their abuse in the country using the reports from regions as the
basis of discussion. They examined the role they and the government
have so far played and/or need to play in the protection and
promotion of children rights, and especially in the implementation of
the UNCRC and the OAU Charter. Major outputs from these seminars
include:
- greater involvement in child rights promotion through the print and
electronic media (radio and rural newspapers in local languages in
specially designed themes and programmes)
- the UNCRC has been simplified and put into Kiswahili
- Child Rights Clubs have been formed and active in many schools in
most regions;
- A network of lawyers willing and able to provide free legal
assistance to children in conflict with the law has been formed and
launched;
- Hotline Child Abuse Reporting Desks have been created and are
already operational
- The coalition has managed to have a leading child rights advocate
nominated as one of the twenty five Commissioners to review the
country's Constitution and discussions are being held to seek ways to
include child rights in school curricula among other things.
- The development of an improved juvenile justice has begun with the
assistance of Save the Children (Sweden) and its local partner ANPPCAN
Kenya Chapter.
Lessons Learnt:
This process has taught NCNN a great deal, which has resulted in a
much-improved strategy and action planning. At a glance, one could
isolate the following:
- Communities in Kenya and especially those in rural areas are very
keen to be involved in the promotion of human rights for children.
They express their willingness and readiness to play a key role in
the process and requested the NGO community to involve them
- The impact created in the field of human (including children) rights
promotion was greater when NGOs and other civil society bodies had a
united, well co-ordinated approach. Respect and recognition from
government authorities seemed easier with this purposeful approach
- Available resources were better utilised in a coalition arrangement.
International NGOs and supporters find it easier to channel resources
and other technical assistance to well organised coalition/networks
than to individual organisations
- Since these activities began, government recognition of the role
played by the NGO community has been noted, with an increasing
understanding of the work of each other. The result has been improved
relations between NGOs and relevant government agencies.
- NGOs have realised that to a great extent they have been acting
simply as watch-dogs to human and child rights issues, always and
only pointing at the faults of the government. This realisation has
made them re-examine and understand better their role in the
implementation of the UNCRC, and the monitoring of this
implementation. Indeed, the spirit of the collaboration and
involvement in the recent UNCRC reporting process resulted in the
government's ability to prepare the state report, soon to be
presented to the
UN.
- Above all, the NCNN has been taught a lot in the field of human
rights forchildren by people at grassroots levels through
establishing dialogue with various communities. There is more
understanding on the issues of children and their rights than can be
gleaned from reading the UNCRC, OAU Charter and other covenants and
treaties.
Contact: National Children in Need Network
P.O. Box 30776 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254 2 573656
Fax: 254 2 573 650
E-mail: [email protected]