Promotion and Protection of children in street situation

Promotion and Protection of children in street situation Program Experiences from Plan International, Egypt Mohamed Tag

Children in street situation in Egypt How many? Not known, between 100, 000 and 2 million Mostly in Cairo and Alexandria Official statistics show that numbers are increasing

Why children are on the streets? Direct Causes (in order of frequency) § Child abuse in the family or school § Neglect § Peer pressure § Sensation seeking § Older brother or sister on the street Indirect Causes (in order of frequency) § Low income of the family § Low educational level of the family § Family breakdown § Poor quality school § Large family size § Unplanned rural-urban migration § The declining role of the extended family

Girls are also on the streets… § Majority between 12 to 16 years old. § 1 out of 4 children are girls. § Girls face more adverse circumstances than boys. § Pregnant girls and young street mothers are particularly vulnerable (no access to health and rehabilitation services) § Babies born on the streets are at high risk of death, abandonment and kidnapping.

Plan program in Egypt § The initiative started in 2006. § Since 2009, 3159 children supported by the program (2437 boys and 722 girls) § 600 cases reintegrated to their families § 120 cases recruitment in factories and living on separate apartments § Partners: 7 local organizations, Caritas International, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood and Minister Social Solidarity § Plan as a member of the National Network and Child Protection Network, with a sub-group on children living on the streets. §Plan able to provide 24 birth registration for young mother’s babies in street situation

Overall objective of the program Promote solidarity in communities by mobilizing collective efforts and resources that enable street children to be protected and promote their rights and support.

Four Pillars of the Program Prevention Protection Rehabilitation Strategic Interventions 1. Awareness 2. Empowerment and Capacity Building 3. Partnership and networking 4. Advocacy 5. Increasing access to rights Integration

Pillar 1: Prevention and early detection The main component is about working with families and community members to raise awareness about the situation of children living on the streets, as well as working with key people (police, doctors, community leaders). The poorest families are supported with interventions for economic development. Such as savings groups and vocational training.

Pillar 2: Protection It seeks to protect children in street situation from all forms of violence, exploitation and abuse, whether on the street or shelters and workshops. Social workers are trained on child protection policy and reporting mechanisms.

Pillar 3: Rehabilitation Rehabilitate the child to be ready to become a full citizen and integrate back into the community. It has different components: psychosocial, literacy program, vocational training, recreational and art activities, hygiene and personal appearance, health program including keeping away from diseases, etc. Individual family research to understand the main reasons why the child is on the street and reintegration plan.

Mobile units § Health service § Legal services § Outreach for shelters and other programs

Reception Centers Temporary Care Centers § § § § Accommodation for a short period Health Care Nutrition Literacy Classes Social & Economical Care Vocational Training Recreation Permanent Care Centers § Permanent Shelter until Military age § Social and economical follow up with the family. § Medical Care § Nutrition § Education: all stages § Psychological and Social Care § Vocational Training § Recreation

Pillar 4: Reintegration in the community is the ultimate goal. It may happen inside the family or other accommodation opportunities. The children have access to equal opportunities with their peers in health care, education, entertainment, training and employment opportunities and to participate actively in the social life of their community

EFFORTS AT NATIONAL LEVEL National Strategy for the Protection and Rehabilitation of children in street situation (2003): § Change negative attitudes of the society towards children in street situation § Consider children in street situation as victims not criminals § Build the capacity of the personnel working in the field § Establish a data base § Mobilise financial resources Child Law Amendments 2010 § Defines children at risk § The right to free birth registration § The right for a mother to register her child at birth and to issue her child a birth certificate with only the mother’s name. § Child Protection Committees § Reform of the Juvenile System to become Child Protection System

National Network for Street Children (six months ago) § Strengthen cooperation of all partners in the areas of finance, resources, databases, literature, surveys, training and education. § Programs to achieve better services for children and their families. § Setting up pressure groups to advocate for National strategy on issues affecting children in street situation § Activate the child protection policies within the bodies and organizations dealing with children. § Put a strong and unified system for child protection

Impact of the 25 th Jan revolution on children in street situation Active role during the revolution: with the protesters (provided food and camaraderie) or pro. Mubarak (they got paid)) Some saw Tahrir as an opportunity for real change, they helped in cleaning “Children in street situation talked about anticipating how the government will change and someone will pick them up and send them to school, ” said Mossallam. “They want to talk about how good it felt to see police stations burning - it was a catharsis for them. ”

Impact of the 25 th Jan revolution on children in street situation. Number of children on the streets is higher, because there are less policemen, they feel there is more “freedom” They get more involved into illegal activities, because criminality is also increasing, and they get frequently “used” by others. All the mechanism established by law to protect children on street situation are not working, such as the Child Protection Committees. NGOs have many problems because of the situation in the government: delays in approvals to start new projects, limitation in mobilizing funds from abroad, etc.

Lessons learned § Build a strong relationship with children in street situation before even start working with them. § Not all children in street situation accept “our solutions”, sometimes we have to keep modifing our plans to adapt to their needs. § Working with young mothers in street situation is much more challenging and difficult than working with boys. Our approach needs to support the mother and the baby too. § Train professional psychologist to be able to work with children in street situation.

Lessons learned (cont. ) § The NGO partners’ capacity to coordinate with communities and other stakeholders is very important to raise awareness about the role that everybody places in integrating children in street situation. §The use of participatory techniques rather than lecturing has a greater impact on influencing the behavior of children in street situation. §The participation of community members, government officials and private sector in planning the program contributed significantly to the success of the implementation and its continuity. § Communities and the society as a whole play a key role in re-integrating children in street situation: accept them as a way of increasing their confidence and willingness to improve.

Challenges § The negative attitudes of the society towards children in street situation. § Shortage in specialized personnel and NGOs too. § Weak interest from concerned parties (Government, local organizations, police…) and media § For some local NGOs lack of financial resources. § NGOs focus more on rehabilitation activities and less on re-integration and income generating activities

§To the international community: to develop guidelines addressing non-discrimination and children working and/or living on the street in order to formally recognize these children’s vulnerability as a particular group and to provide more detailed guidance on how to develop integral protection systems that suit their needs § At national level, governments should be called upon to implement sustainable, propoor poverty reduction and child sensitive social protection programs, with a focus on marginalized groups and urban renewal programs that recognize the right of street dwellers to shelter. . § Strong and active networking among NGOs, as well as key government institutions and other stakeholders to press together for relevant advocacy issues. Recommendation s

§ Organizations need to work together to review government legislation and policies that impact on street involved children. § Civil society organizations need to support community responses to child protection and children’s participation, and facilitate their linkage with national child protection systems. § All actors within these systems (police, judiciary, health staff and social workers) need to be trained on the rights of children in street situation. § The situation of street involved children should be monitored to support the development and implementation of national strategies and plans of action for the realization of their rights.

§ Raise the capacity of NGOs working with street children in the area of advocacy and lobbying of policy makers and politicians. § Implement coordinated programs that help to facilitate the work of NGOs. § Build the sense of responsibility and capacity of families and communities to care and protect all children § Activate the mechanisms established by law such as the child protection committees. § To strengthen international commitment, cooperation and mutual assistance in preventing and protecting children in street situation. § National child protection and child welfare systems are needed, and should be adequately funded to operate effectively.