On 25th November 2021 the GNRC Secretariat through its Network in Kenya convened a roundtable meeting in Nairobi for partners to respond to the multi-dimensional impacts of COVID-19 on children and youth. The partner’s roundtable gathered together 20 participants from the Network in Kenya including representatives from the Department for Children Services, Islamic Foundation Kenya, The Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa – Elim Church, Mombasa, World Vision Kenya, Bare Care, Partnership for Economic Policy, Centre for Sustainable Conflict Resolution, National Muslim Leaders Forum, The Cry Of A Young One, and Kesho Alliance.
Discussions at the roundtable centered on experience-sharing on the impact of COVID-19 on children in Kenya and neighboring countries. The meeting came up with recommendations for action, that could be spearheaded by the partners and other like-minded organizations. The discussions were guided by the 2020 Arigatou International Global Week of Faith in Action for Children, which highlighted the need for interfaith action in mitigating the problems affecting children during the pandemic.
Participants highlighted the challenges children faced including lack of quality education, mental health, and nutrition; noting that the pandemic had exacerbated inequalities and other forms of poverty and violence against children. It was further observed that radicalization into violent extremism had spiked during the pandemic period.
The roundtable echoed the need for concerted and collaborative efforts, including awareness raising, social protection, and research and advocacy, in responding to the impact of the pandemic. Some of the suggested actions were food donations, provision of hygiene packs (masks, sanitizers, and soaps), awareness creation on risk-reduction, providing psychosocial support, and mobilizing financial support to support the livelihoods of underprivileged families and other vulnerable groups in the community including children with disability.
Discussions concluded with members committing to strengthen collaborations among partners and move forward in implementing the recommendations made, and building upon the 2020 Global Week of Faith in Action for Children and the GNRC Panama Declaration on Ending Violence Against Children.
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On the 19th of November 2021, GNRC members in the Middle East and the North Africa (MENA) region were invited by Prayer and Action for Children to the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children celebrations in Dubai, UAE. The event, which was inaugurated by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence in UAE, was attended by about a hundred participants from the UAE government, international and local civil society organizations, interfaith organizations, and private institutions. The event was also attended by three Arigatou International Directors: Ms. Rebeca Rios Kohn, Director of Prayer and Action for Children; Rev. Fred Nyabera, Director of End Child Poverty and Dr. Mustafa Y. Ali, Secretary General of the GNRC and Director of Arigatou International – Nairobi. Faith leaders from all the major faiths and spiritual traditions across the world joined the event to offer their prayers during the interfaith service.
During the global hybrid (physical and virtual) ceremony, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, welcomed participants to the prayer and action ceremony and expressed his joy for having UAE host such a meeting through the Interfaith Alliance for Safe Communities. He noted that the government of UAE is keen to promote interfaith coexistence among the diverse cultures in UAE. Sheikh Nahyan pointed to the importance of protecting the wellbeing of children through ethical and religious disciplines. He added that the UAE strongly believed in religious diversity and affirmed its commitment to respecting human rights and promoting peace and valuing the other.
In his video message, the President of Arigatou International, and Convenor of the GNRC, Rev. Keishi Miyamoto, urged all people of good will, faith leaders, and faith communities to ensure all children return back to school even as the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic that has stretched the mental, social, and economic might of human beings. He called for urgent action by leaders worldwide to prioritize children’s mental health, emotional, and spiritual well-being. He noted that all children have a right to identity, education, health, protection and participation including those from underprivileged communities.
Attending the meeting virtually was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, who encouraged members to invest in children from their earliest years and ensuring that we build a just, inclusive and safe society for them. She added that in order to build back better we ought to reach to all children especially those in vulnerable communities and integrate services for children, such as education and health.
In his speech the member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Dr. Benyam Mezmur, pointed to some of the problems in the developing world that have restricted children’s access to education including access to basic needs, lack of peace, and lack of quality healthcare and education. He implored to humanity to reach furthest to the underprivileged and vulnerable in the communities especially in the developing countries.
During the ceremony, the GNRC Secretary General, Dr. Mustafa Y. Ali, was invited to moderate a dialogue session on, “Prioritizing children’s social, emotional, and spiritual well-being in times of crisis.” The topic sought to analyze the challenges children and young people undergo, especially during the pandemic. Participating in the panel discussion was Ms. Muzoon Almellehan, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador; Dr. Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Peace Nobel Laureate; Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, JD. Vice Chair, The International Conference of Rabbis and Executive Vice President, The New York Board of Rabbis; Dr. Husna Ahmad, Secretary-General, World Muslim Leadership Forum; and Dr. Reham Abdullah Salamah, Al- Azhar University.
The World Day event culminated in the Wear My Shoes campaign award that aimed at highlighting grassroots efforts and actions to mitigate the global learning crisis. GNRC members in Ecuador, Cuba, Mexico, Myanmar and Serbia were awarded for their creative submissions.
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The GNRC AS Local Workshop for Children in Preparation for the GNRC 4th Forum was organized from 7- 9 February 2012. It was attended by 30 children and youth from various Schools and religious communities in Cairo. Participants were Muslims (Sunni), Christians (Coptic Orthodox, Arab Orthodox, Coptic Catholic, Roman Catholic, Anglicans, and Protestants). They aged 14-18 and the Workshop was held in the Church of Archangels for Arab Orthodox Community in Al-Daher Area, Cairo.
Members of GNRC Egypt Committee and representatives of GNRC Organizations were present throughout the workshop, as well as board members of the Church of Archangels for Arab Orthodox Community.
The three working days were facilitated by Miss Hind Farahat and Miss Rand Farahat
Continue reading Local Workshop for Children In Preparation for the GNRC 4th Forum, Egypt, February 2012
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An article presenting Arigatou International and its work, titled “How a Small Buddhist Movement is Teaching Children in the Interfaith World to Live Together” was published in The Interfaith Observer.
Continue reading Arigatou International featured in The Interfaith Observer
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The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities among children, and an aspect where this is more evident is the children’s right to good quality education.
If children don’t have the same access to the internet, education during the pandemic cannot be the same for all. This was one of the main conclusions that children from Colombia and Cuba shared on Friday, November 5, during their participation in one of our guided tours to the virtual exhibition Faith in Action for Children.
More than 20 children from different rural communities in Colombia joined this interactive activity thanks to the support of local faith leaders who provided the location and the devices to make this dialogue possible.
Despite all the efforts, the online session was marked by difficulties in accessing the internet. Several children in Cuba tried to join the dialogue, but only one of them could make it, which led to the conversation about how the pandemic has made education harder for many children around the world suffering disproportionately from the lack of digital gadgets and access to the internet.
Ana Isabela, 8 years old from Santiago de Cuba, shared how she and other children in her community have been supporting their peers with limited technological access by providing educational information that they collected online and printed to give to their peers together with some school supplies. This child-led project was awarded by Arigatou International in 2020 and received a seed grant to kickstart it. Learn more here.
Children in Colombia have been gradually returning to face-to-face schooling, but as Laura, 11 years old, said “it is not yet the same as before”. Laura belongs to a rural community where access to the internet is scarce and limited.
During the dialogue, Laura and her peers had the opportunity to review the drawings, articles, and videos of other children from around the world about the impacts of the pandemic on their lives, and they reflected on how other children in disadvantaged regions have even more difficulties catching up with their studies as they cannot have online lessons or watch lessons on TV. In this scenario, parents and adults in general “should support children more, stay closer to us, and be more patient with us” recommended Ana Isabela.
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