Today,
7 July 7, 2013 USWO minority right based NGO with precence Minister of Labour
and Familiy Affairs, Child Rights Community Committees (CRCCs) from Dami A and
B villages, and Ismail Yahya-Coordinator of Child Protection of Save the
Children International (SCI) has begun the distribution package of support to
the 60 Hargeisa minority street children in Dami A and B settelments in
Hargeisa. Today, the first group of 20 street children had received one package
of support containing 1 mattress plus 1 bed sheet for each every child.
During
the street children sleeping package distribution event, the USWO chairman Mr.
Abdilahi Hassan Digaale requested the parents of these minority street children
to commit that their children shall no more continue staying and working in the
streets. He also thanked to SCI and the Somaliland government for their
continue keen consideration on child protection issues particularly to the most
vulenarable minority street children. Mr. Digaale added “this support is not
the first of it’s kind provided by Save Children Internation, but also it has
provided direct family support including income generation and livelihood to
families from minority communities in Hargeisa.
Ismail
Yahya, the Coordinator of Child Protection of SCI in his words at event he
welcome the hard working of USWO management team, togather with the Child
Rights Community Committees members and Ministery of Labor and Socail Affaires,
for their organization of the package distribution event, he underlined that
the SCI is committed to continue to work with this project with USWO and other
stakeholders including the parent committees and government concened agencies.
Mr. Yahye called to the parents whom their children has received the sleeping
package today, keep their children in all times.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF
THE PROJECT
USWO in collaburation with Save The Children
International (SCI) are jointly implementing a re-integrate 125 children into
their families program in vulnerable minority settlements of Daami A and B in
Hargeisa. These children currently live and work in the streets of Hargeisa
town. These children exposure all forms of abuse including sexual abuse, child
laboring; etc. USWO in collaboration with CRCCs, MoLSA and SC shall undertake
the reintegration exercise.
Reintegrating
on street children into their families and community is, however, no
straightforward task. It requires
concentration and concret strategy with effective child friendly process in the
line with principles of child right convention. One of the first steps is to
indentify number of street children from DAAMI (A+B).
The
main objectives is:
- To reunify street children from DAAMI (A+B) with their families;
- To re-establish children’s normal life with their parents/care givers;
- To regain the normal behavior of the child by establishing Parent Child relationship and better understanding of each other’s rights and responsibilities.
(left) Identification
of street children at Jajabka.
(Right) identification
of street children at Red Sea.
USWO Child Protection Officer and CRCCs mobilizer doing
individual registration and interview of street children
The total children registered and
interview range 111 so far. Generally, the physical appearance of the children
interviewed seem despair including family livelihoods. About 80% of the
children are found not completed lower primary schools due to poverty and/or do
family support child laboring tasks. The average age of the children assessed ranges
between 8 to 14 years old. About 60 % of the children interviewed have no
primary protection concern, in particular those who live alone in street and
have no contacts with their parents or relatives. About 48% of the children
assessed need to have urgent intervention and join education and/or have skill
to work for. It has been noted also that the child reintegration assessement
revealed the following findings:
- 32 of children rejected to have family reunion;
- 60 of the children accepted reunion to their families; and
- 19 of the children are found unable to decide to make family reunion neither from their families nor children’s say.
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