National Consortium against Child Exploitation
Action in cooperation with Groupe Développement
Project presentation
Beneficiaries : 63000 children and teenagers
Action :
- Protection of children and youths through teaching them to read and write, having them go to school and receive education.
- Assistance, training, psychosocial and financial rehabilitation of marginalized children and victims.
- Training, networking and coordination of players and beneficiaries.
The tools used will be applied to further advantage in the form of training modules and manuals that will be distributed on both a national and international scale – especially in countries where this problem is taboo.
Financial data : This programme has been budgeted over three years. The total budget amounts to € 2,412,000. Okworld funded € 35,000 in 2006.
Project life
October 2006 : Based on a ïdgroup co-worker visit
Vision is the NGO we assist in Lahore, in the North of Pakistan. This NGO was set up by Tahir. Tahir is an ex-professor of a law university in Pakistan. He spent around ten years in the United States of America as a teacher and then returned to his native country to become a consultant. He first created an association that aimed at protecting boys from all forms of abuse (sex or violence). After having set up a structure for these boys, the boys in question asked Tahir to direct his action to their younger ‘brothers’ so that they would not fall into the same trap – after all for them it was already too late.
Needing to understand how to help children cope with these problems, Tahir decided to visit protection centres for children in India, where he managed to forge an idea as to what could and must be done. He returned with the conviction that it was essential for the children concerned to help themselves and adopt the project. At the beginning it was a day centre. The children were able to arrive in the morning, eat and wash, but had to leave the centre in the evening. Of course it turned out that over time the children did not want to leave at the end of the day and return to ‘troubled’ areas such as Data Durbar or the ‘Herra Maudi’ district and overnight stays were included.
Today this project involves renting a house that can accommodate around 15 children, with youth workers from the association to look after them day and night. The children feel in security and can play freely and have a life that is ‘nearly’ normal.
It is important to bear in mind that nothing is imposed on the children and it is up to them to define the rules to be applied in the centre. These rules have been put into writing and each child has signed them. In the same manner as having these rules applied by the children, the monitors are only there to help and do not ask the children to talk about their life before joining the house. During group learning sessions, the children can express themselves, use drawings to help discussion, play games, dance and talk.
As for the centre itself, it is a very old house with barely any amenities. There is just a sink for the kitchen and the bathroom has no equipment whatsoever. There are no tables, or chairs and the children even sleep on the floor.
When the children were given pillows arguments broke out because it was the first time in their lives that they had owned something themselves! To add a little story, the children all set about writing their names on their pillows and since that time they have never left them behind! The importance of the name is extremely relevant as when the monitors work on the streets (out-reach) in order to find children, they teach them to write their first name in order to enter into contact with them and encourage them to come to the centre. In reality, a majority of children don’t know how to read or write when they live in the streets.
