Dear Friends and Family,
On behalf of Arigatou International’s – End Child Poverty, we would like to wish you a joyous holiday season filled with peace.
As we continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic, we sincerely appreciate your unwavering friendship, partnership, goodwill and support throughout the year. During these holidays, we turn our thoughts and prayers to you, for making our progress and impact throughout the year possible.
Our new reality has galvanized the need for us to put children at the centre of responding to emergencies by supporting, protecting and empowering them. It has been clear to us that children want to be heard and truly, their voices are vital in the change process towards addressing poverty.
Thank you for standing with us as we continue to work towards building a better world for all children. May the season bring rest and good tidings to you and your loved ones.
Best,
Arigatou International – End Child Poverty
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“Elections is like water, it’s very fluid but we have an opportunity to shape the directions”
It is within the view of this captivating statement by Anne Maua, a youth from Coastal Kenya that the ‘Youth for Peaceful Elections’ forum was shaped.
The forum brought together 30 diverse young people from Kenya, aimed at reflecting approaches that can enable young people to meaningfully engage in electoral processes while promoting peace. It was convened by Arigatou International – End Child Poverty in collaboration with Norwegian Church Aid’s Eastern Africa Regional Peace programme and other partners.
Among the approaches catalyzed in the forum was the need for meaningful and actionable civic education among young people. Discussions in the forum revealed that civic education enhances meaningful youth participation and engagement in in governance and public processes. Youth were urged to be zealous about civic education processes initiated by either the government or Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). This would better their understanding and engagement in public processes including elections, thus avoid being used to fuel violence in electoral processes.
“Ignorance about civic education is not an excuse for the youth; they need a better future. They must not be silent, and must participate creatively in the calls to action” Carine Umutoniwase, young peacebuilder.
Young people were further called upon to take stock of the United Nations (UN) resolution 2250 (on youth peace and security) to embolden their engagement and actions towards promoting peaceful elections. They were reminded of the 5 pillars of the resolution (participation, protection, prevention, partnership, integration and disarmament) and how these can be infused as guiding tenets towards peaceful elections.
“Sustainable development is only realised if peace prevails after elections. It is the responsibility of every young person to ensure we deliver on the aspiration of a prosperous nation. We must encourage honesty, transparency and accountability from voter registration to elections” John Musila, youth.
In enabling young people to promote peace amid elections, there was need to promote safe spaces for youth. Such spaces would enable youth to freely express themselves, where they can convene and air out their views and emotions and a space that can address youth needs and interests.
“Youth space cannot be confined by time or scope; it should transcend time age and tribe, a space that is not necessarily homogenous. It should address the youth needs and interest” Stellas Kasura, youth.
This forum was the first in a series of follow up conversations and actions towards ensuring youth promote peace ahead of the general elections in Kenya, 2022. Some of the follow up actions will be radio talk shows as well as social media engegements.
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On 6th December 2021, GNRC coordinators and contact persons from 57 countries that the GNRC is operating in, convened for a 3-hour virtual meeting to discuss the GNRC Assessment Report and plan its implementation. The meeting was graced by the GNRC Secretary General, Dr. Mustafa Y. Ali; the President of Shanti Ashram and Vice Chair of the Arigatou International Advisory Group, Dr. Kezevino Aram; and the GNRC Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean region, Mrs. Mercedes Roman.
Dr. Aram commended the efforts of the members in supporting the in-depth assessment of the global Network. She lauded members for the work they have done over the years to promote the well-being of children. She remarked that the recommendations presented in the assessment report serve as valuable markers as GNRC marches towards a stronger, more invigorated Network and the GNRC 6th Global Forum. “In the last 20 years, the GNRC has evolved considerably and there are renewed expectations and demands to deliver on the Panama Declaration and commitments,” she said.
In his presentation, Dr. Ali noted that the goal of the assessment process was to solicit members’ views on how best to reinvigorate and strengthen the GNRC as it enters its third decade. He mentioned that a total of 100 adults participated in in-depth interviews, 81 children and three Arigatou International directors took part in focus group discussions, 68 adults and 86 children filled out online surveys, while eight others answered prepared questionnaires. “Their comments, insights and recommendations will be instrumental in shaping and guiding the GNRC’s work over the coming years,” he added. Dr. Ali described the assessment as a success, noting that the exercise had been a multi-stage collaborative process of GNRC members and coordinators, children, directors and staff of the Arigatou International, and partners, that had produced a broad list of recommendations presented in the assessment report.
During the meeting, it was noted that the suggestions put forward during the exercise were cross-cutting yet wide-ranging and cover the entire length and breadth of the Network, its functions and activities. Implementing these recommendations thus would help strengthen the GNRC’s core competencies and capacity to make impact on child rights and wellbeing.
At the meeting, the GNRC Secretariat invited all coordinators and contact persons to join hands in refining the recommendations and prioritizing what is most important to members. Six cluster areas were identified within which the majority of the recommendations fall. As a next step, participants at the meeting agreed to organize working groups around each of the cluster areas as follows:
Major recommendations from the assessment have been listed by working group in Annex 1
The working groups are the link between the recommendations and action. The extent to which the results of the working groups will influence action will depend on the acceptability and feasibility of implementation. It should also be noted that while the working groups will focus on the areas within their jurisdiction, they will often address cross-cutting issues. As such, strong coordination will be required between working groups.
The responsibilities of each working group are as follows:
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As we come to the end of 2021, we reflect on what has been a challenging year in which the world remained deeply impacted by COVID-19. Many are entering the holiday season gripped by stress and anxiety as a result of the pandemic. We take a moment to remember those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, and those who have lost their livelihoods.
On a positive note, we mark an important milestone in the history of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC). This year, the GNRC Secretariat conducted an extensive assessment of the global Network, which you may be pleased to note now has organizational presence in 61 countries.
The goal of the assessment process was to solicit members’ views on how best to reinvigorate and strengthen the GNRC as it enters its third decade. A total of 100 adults participated in in-depth interviews, 81 children and three Arigatou International directors took part in focus group discussions, 68 adults and 86 children filled out online surveys, while eight others answered prepared questionnaires. Their comments, insights and recommendations will be instrumental in shaping and guiding the GNRC’s work over the coming years. In this regard, I am pleased to share that we are well on course to implementing the recommendations provided during the assessment.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family happy holidays, and a very blessed and fruitful new year.
May the New Year bring more opportunities for us to collaborate in building a better world for children.
Yours in service,
Mustafa Y. Ali (PhD)
Director, Arigatou International Nairobi, and
Secretary General, Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC)
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Fred Nyabera, the Director of Arigatou International – End Child poverty has been elected to serve in the International Partnership on Religion and Development (PaRD) steering group for the period 2021 – 2023. He is among 6 individuals elected in the new steering group, drawn from Faint Based Organisations, Civil Society and Academia, representing various organisations around the world. The organisations include; Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa, Islamic Relief Worldwide, United Sikhs, World Council of Churches and World Vision.
Election of the new steering group took place earlier this month (November), followed by PaRD General Assembly where a formal hand over between the current and the newly elected Steering Group took place.
Aside from the handover, the General Assembly provided an opportunity to share experiences and lessons learned, discuss current challenges in the field of religion and sustainable development and set priorities of work. It is in this view that the Director, Arigatou International – End Child Poverty took part in the panel on Ending Extreme Poverty & Ensuring Food Security, during the Assembly. He further sought opportunity to present the nascent Sustainable Development Goals Academy for Children; a safe learning space and programme for children to contribute to the global development agenda.
PaRD is a unique and dynamic global multi-stakeholder partnership. It brings together religious and other civil society organisations, intergovernmental and governmental entities and academia. It focuses on the positive potentials and contributions of religious actors to the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
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