A SHORT HISTORY OF CARE FOR ME!

In summer of 2011, SOS Children’s Villages senior managers asked for the international campaign that would fulfill both a global need and satisfy the SOS Children’s Villages strategic plan. The project had initial name of “A Child’s rights to quality care”, which, following the kick off meeting, was changed to Care for ME!

The campaign was launched internationally in December 10, 2012. By then there were only seven countries that had have conducted the Child care assessment and reports were submitted.

Child care systems are improved to ensure a child right to quality care across the country through partnership building and networking. Social workers are accountable and deliver technical support to both informal and formal care providers. SOS Children’s Villages is launching its first global advocacy campaign, Care for ME!  Quality Care for Every Child. They advocate a holistic approach to alternative care, in which the best interests of the child, along with all other children’s rights, are fully respected.

The campaign is being launched in about 15 countries from all over the world, with more expected to join in 2013. Each country doing the campaign has carried out an assessment on the situation of children in alternative care in their countries. So far, in Africa there are countries like: Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Botswana, Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Cape Verde, Gambia, Benin etc. have done their assessment and some had launched their campaign. With Care for ME! SOS Children’s Villages hopes to address some of the root causes of child right violations and ensure that all vulnerable children, whether in alternative care or living with their families, receive the quality care they are entitled to. What each report has in common is the fact that vulnerable families should be empowered. The separation of parents and children must be prevented. Where alternative care is deemed necessary, individualized solutions provide the key to quality care. SOS Children’s Villages believes that every child, whether living within a family or in alternative care, has the right to experience the positive, stable and loving relationships that he needs for a healthy personal development.

In SOS Children’s Villages Tanzania the campaign will be officially launched on December 10, 2013 this is universal human rights day and December 14 SOS Zanzibar. The child care Assessment report based on the implementation of UN Guidelines on alternative care is already presented to Liaison and advocacy international office and the major goal for our campaign is: strong coordination among MVC stakeholders in Tanzania. And the UN guidelines on alternative care are better known and used in policy analysis, planning, and development at all levels to all alternative care providers and to the DSW. Care4Me campaign is based on the key findings and recommendation drawn from Children’s rights situation analysis (CRSA) and child care assessment reports.

To date the number of MVCs in the country is about 3,000,000. These children are living without parental care or at risk of losing parental care. These include double orphans who are 230,256; maternal orphans 462,688; paternal orphans 1,283,067; children cared by elderly who are 327,514 and those cared by siblings who are 200,091. Also children residing in residential homes were 11,565 in 2012 and children who are in conflict with the law and kept under prison 453, detention 578, retention 80, and in approved schools 80 (CRSA, 2012)

Table 2: Registration status of some institution which provide alternative care

Institution's region	Whether institution is registered		Total
	YES	NO
Dar es salaam	11	22	33
Pwani	7	7	14
Tanga	4	6	10
Kilimanjaro	9	20	29
Arusha	13	26	39
Manyara	2	3	5
Dodoma	7	2	9
Morogoro	3	9	12
Singida	0	6	6
Tabora	3	4	7
Shinyanga	1	4	5
Mwanza	7	18	25
Mara	1	3	4
Kagera	2	10	12
Kigoma	3	2	5
Iringa	7	28	35
Mbeya	2	7	9
Rukwa	3	0	3
Lindi	0	1	10
Mtwara	0	2	2
Ruvuma	2	8	10
Zanzibar	10		10
	97	188	294

Source: DSW (2011) Institutional Care Assessment situation analysis report

Recommendations by CRSA

Basing on the findings, it is recommended that;

Child social protection and upholding of children rights

·         SOS Children’s Villages can consider designing a model of small family care options at Iramba and through that programme assist in promoting access to education and protection of children as well as conducting FSP outreach program to empower vulnerable families.

·         SOS can design programme on targeted districts like Iramba, Unguja, Mtwara and Mara to scale up efforts to eliminate worst forms of child labour targeting households with abused or orphans children.

Awareness Raising and Sensitisation in regards to children Rights

·         SOS Children’s Villages can consider establishing a sensitization programme at Mtwara focusing on enabling young mother who are victims of teenage pregnancy to rejoin school and complete their education cycle.

·         SOS can work with other child development partners to conduct awareness raising education to different players responsible in promoting children rights at families, communities and at school targeting Iramba, Mtwara and Dodoma.

·         Large parts of population are not aware on child rights and their responsibilities to children. SOS should organize awareness seminars on child rights and elimination of child stigma at ward development committee, full councils and community members at village level.

·         SOS can design a national sensitization programme targeting community/local culture that are resistance to change e.g. female genital mutilation in Dodoma, Singida, Mara and early marriages in Zanzibar, Mtwara, Lindi and Coastal region.

Capacity Building and Empowerment in realization of children rights

·         SOS can setup programmes aimed at strengthening the capacity of law enforcement agents in safeguarding rights of most vulnerable in accordance with the roles and responsibilities embodied in the law of Child Act 2009.

·         The concept of children’s council is fundamental in promoting children participation and raising voices for various issues of children rights. SOS needs to popularize awareness creation, information sharing and institutional capacity building of children council.

·         There is inadequate technical knowhow on the part of implementers of children rights to support vulnerable groups. SOS can support training for child care staff at different level in selected districts notably Iramba, Mtwara and Dodoma.

·         SOS in collaboration with other social partners can provide training and support to frontline workers, including FBOs, CBOs, Local volunteers, Police, Prison wardens, school teachers, nurses and staff of child care facilities about child social protection by targeting districts. Such as Iramba, Unguja, Mara, Coast and Dodoma.

Income Generating Activities and realization of children rights

·         SOS can increase facilitation through finances and human resources to implement child rights programs and enabling the communities to have income generating activities so that they have enough resources to meet their needs without tasking their children into child labour.

·         SOS can assist child headed household to establish income generating activities that are locally beneficial to the household which have markets, and produce goods and services that are easy to market, sell and generate enough wealth to the household in order to reduce children degree of vulnerability.

Nutrition and Food Security on children rights

·         SOS can increase facilitation in Iramba especially in terms of finances and personnel to implement child right programs, such as school feeding, health services at school, enough water and toilets, and enabling the communities to have income generating activities so that they have enough resources to meet the survival needs of their children.

Water and sanitation on children rights

·         SOS through local government should set aside financial, material and human resources for effective implementation of child development programme targeting on school water supply, school feeding, and income generating activities to communities and more specifically to child headed elderly headed household.

Information Education Communication on children rights

SOS can design communication programme or multimedia campaigns to support social norms that protect children and prevent child abuse and exploitation in Unguja, Iramba, Mtwara and Mara. The focus should be on meeting concerns needs of children, by involving children themselves and communities.

RECOMMENDATIONS by child care assessment reports.

• ·         Awareness creation of policy and legal framework at various levels. Service providers should get some insights related to policy and legal framework in the area of their interest and create awareness to the beneficiaries and other service providers. Alternatively the review of laws/policies/international agreements linked to children issues should be incorporated into the college’s curriculum.
• ·         It is essential that frontline workers have the knowledge and skills to handle child protection cases effectively, appropriately and sensitively.
• ·         Coordination systems of all stakeholders from the government to the Non- governmental organization should be established. The ministry of Health and Social Welfare together with selected potential partners should establish overall monitoring body like Children Commission which will act as coordination body for all actors from the Government and Non-Governmental organizations and at different levels.
• ·         Family strengthen programmes should be established to reduce the burden of the extended families and motivate children to live in the families.
• ·         Before ratifying inter-country adoption Tanzania need to review our legislative instruments to ensure of monitoring system and supervision system for the child who is adopted abroad are in place. 
• ·         Government and other stakeholders should put a system of evaluating and monitoring approved residential homes or institution so as ensure quality care. Guidelines on admission process, placement and review procedures should be given to the service providers.
• ·         Information about admission process, placement and staff capacity, financing and monitoring systems in various institutions public and private facilities should be gathered and reviewed collectively to ensure provision of quality care. SOS village’s team in collaboration with the department of Social Welfare and other stakeholders is recommended to do this assignment.
• ·         Self-reliance Training of future parents (Youth) especially standard seven leavers and secondary school leavers is recommended. Folk development colleges and VETA are potential training centres. Both human and material resources should be supported by the government or other development partners to ensure quality products.
• ·         Guidance and counseling programmes at various levels like schools, colleges and at community level should be established. Guideline and strategies related to guidance and counseling should be developed to provide a direction for various development partners.
• ·         Parenting education at community level is important. Parenting education can be mainstreamed into other programmes. For instance NGOs, CBOs and FBOs can also organize workshops and seminars. Parent meeting at schools is also a good opportunity for parents to share some experiences. Care providers should get parenting education from the formal systems (institutes/training centres)
• ·         Staffs who expect to work with children issues should get some insights related to laws and policies. Therefore the review of laws/policies/international agreements linked to children issues should be incorporated into the curriculum or put as a separate subject. Then at the field level (working station) they will be in a position to make some decision and plans with reference to the policies/laws.
• ·         Donor agencies should first consider employee capacities especially at managerial, technical and financial areas before giving some funds. Alternatively they can provide support related to capacity development or collaborating with other partners before giving them some funds.