Central America in the past decades has seen progress in the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, but there’s still a long way to go: poverty and violence are still rife and many children face many hardships. Stichting Kinderpostzegels has been working in Nicaragua and Guatemala with two programmes, one called ‘Child Protection’ and the other ‘Stop Child Labour’. In 2019 ICDI has been given the responsibility to manage these programmes. The overall aim is to strengthen the capacity of local organizations to protect children against all forms of abuse.
Description
Background:
In Nicaragua:
- 10% of school-age children are out of school
- 20 out of 1000 children die before their 5th birthday
- 15% of children are forced to work
- 17% of girls 15 and older are illiterate
- 35% of girls are married before the age of 18 (and 10% even before 15)
- 30% of all people live in poverty
In Guatemala:
- 25% of school-age children are out of school
- 29 out of 1000 children die before their 5th birthday
- 26% of children are engaged in child labour (one of the worst statistics in Latin America)
- 24% of girls 15 and older are illiterate
- 30% of girls are married before the age of 18 (and 6% before 15)
- 59% of all people live in poverty
Objectives
1. Protect children’s rights and end violence (physical, psychological and sexual) against children and adolescents.
2. Eradicate child labour by promoting education and strengthening local capacities to ensure the sustainability of so called Child Labour Free Zones (CLFZ).
Activities
Child Protection Programme
- Psychosocial support for children and adolescents who experience trauma related to violence.
- Life-skill workshops at schools about different topics such as: sexual violence, self-esteem, children’s rights, bullying, human trafficking, social media, etc.
- Parents and teachers trainings (on how to recognize and deal with child abuse).
- Community activities to increase awareness about violence against children.
- Advocacy meetings with relevant stakeholders, to increase awareness and develop joint actions on how to prevent violence against children.
Stop Child Labour Programme (ends in December 2021)
- Workshops for teachers and community member to increase their leadership within the school and the communities.
- Recreational events for children to decrease school dropout and promote school enrollment, such as: football championships, Children’s day festival, art workshops.
- Parents training about the importance of their children’s education.
- Advocacy meetings with relevant stakeholders to increase awareness and develop joint actions on how to combat child labour and create Child Labour Free Zones
- Therapies for children and their families.
- Community activities to increase awareness about the harmful consequences of child labour
Partners:
Nicaragua
Asociación La Amistad
Asociación Infantil de Niños y Niñas Trabajadores
Asociación Inhijambia
Fundación Centro de Atención Profesional de los Niños de la Calle
Instituto de Promoción Humana (Inprhu-Somoto)
Puntos de Encuentro
Guatemala
Centro Ecuménico de Integración Pastoral – CEIPA.
Fundación Esperanza de los Niños –Childhope.
Asociación Nacional Contra El Maltrato Infantil – CONACMI.
CONGCOOP.
Proyecto Miriam
Refugio de la Niñez
