In Commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP), the End Child Poverty Knowledge Centre in collaboration with the Sarvodaya movement held a day-long event with over 110 pupils, teachers and parents at Unagaswela Primary School, Karandeniya, Galle in Sri Lanka. Realizing that the school was located in a rural area with limited educational materials and facilities and that most parents around there were low-income earners, the event aimed at meeting the educational needs of the pupils as well as motivating them to keep focusing on education.
Three computers, books and other learning materials were provided to the children in the school. It was revealed that most children in the school were unable to attend online learning due to lack of digital gadgets like computers as well as the lack of Internet.
“In this school, there are 40 students who need assistance for their education. Their parents can’t afford money for a Computer, Smart Phone or any other technical device for their children’s Education in Online. During the Pandemic time, few children were able to connect with the conducted classes and one smart phone have been shared with two or three children at the same time. Other children had to travel more than 6 to 10 kilometers to get connected for the classes with a device of a friend’s home.” recalled the school Principal, Mr. Anil Jayawardhana.
Children were also enlightened about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by Mr. Shehan Koshila Kannangara, a trainee from UNDP, Sri Lanka. He emphasized on the need for children to learn about the SDGs and Sustainable Development in general as that was a key pathway towards eradicating not only child poverty but poverty in general. Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, President of the Sarvodaya Movement also added his voice to the significance of the SDGs, saying:
“Arigatou International and Sarvodaya are celebrating IDEP in Sri Lanka which we challenge us to think and act for a sustainable development and sustainable life pattern to make a better future for our children”
The event ended with guests, parents and teachers being treated to song and dance, performed by the children. The parents also appreciated the event for nurturing them and empowering them with new thoughts and values. With regards to education of their children.
At Arigatou International – End Child Poverty, we believe that giving children quality education is a vehicle that would drive them out of poverty. It is for this reason that our Right to Education program aims to increase children’s access to equitable, quality education especially for those children affected by poverty and other vulnerabilities such as the COVID-19 pandemic, violent conflicts, forced displacement.
“This is a remarkable day in my life. I’m sitting in front of a computer. Now I want to come to school everyday and learn something new” – Child.
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Isaiah, a boy from (Kiambu / Nairobi) spoke during a Children’s Online Safety awareness session organised by our partner in Kenya, Stepping Up Global. The event was held on 20th October 2021, as part of the “Together We Can End Child Poverty Worldwide” Campaign, and as a follow-up to the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP), 17th October 2021 commemorations.
“I have learnt that the internet can be a dangerous world. People can take advantage of you and therefore you should not post a picture of you or things happening in your family.” – Isaiah, 12 years.
Divided in two groups of ages between 6 to 9 and 10 to 13, the children were led in identifying and discussing about how they can avoid any form of violence and abuse in the digital spaces. They were guided through basic privacy practices in order to ensure their safety, including being advised to avoid sharing personal information like passwords, photos, their full name, their school name, home address and date of birth.
Recalling their experience in 2020, one child participants expressed, “I would wait until my parents come from work in the evening to use their phone to log into Google-classroom to attend my class. I was not (very) conversant with online spaces and one day I clicked on a link that advertised a prize of 1000 USD if you could join in and gamble. My parents intervened and advised me to shun such spaces online.” – Teddy, 12 years.
Mr. Samuel Ng’ang’a, the session tutor, advised the children participants to always seek their parent’s or caregiver’s permission and guidance whenever they are online. He cautioned them against visiting suspicious websites and webpages, including those that often lure visitors with cash prizes or presents. To curb this, children were advised to limit spending unnecessary time on the internet.
“Bad people are out there and are ready to take advantage of children online and harm them in various ways like kidnapping, sexual exploitation, cyber bullying. ” Mr Samuel Ng’ang’a.
Ms. Hannah Ngugi, founder of Stepping Up Global lauded the children for showing willingness to learn about online child safety. She emphasized that it is through such sessions that children would be empowered with information on online safety. She added that it was important for children to learn about policies and guidelines like the SDGs, so that they could remain safe online and be champions of sustainable development.
The session gathering 50 children, aimed to respond to increased online activity by children, in the wake of intensified digital learning during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis across the globe. This, coupled with ever-growing online exploitation and abuse of children, created a crux of concern that demanded immediate action. Furthermore, Stepping Up Global organised the awareness session to Goal 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aims to end all forms of abuse, exploitation, torture and violence against children.
At Arigatou International – End Child Poverty, we view the “Together We Can End Child Poverty Worldwide” Campaign as an opportunity to raise awareness and take action towards overcoming child poverty and promote the wellbeing of children, including their online safety.
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Over 70 children aged 7 to 16 years drawn from Mathare, Nairobi, were treated to a day of fun and games during the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP), 17th October 2021. Each with their talent, found a safe haven in a day-long children’s event organized by our partner, The Cry Of A Young One (TCOAYO).
From face paintings with distinct messages to ‘End Child Poverty’ and ‘Build a Better World For Children’, to dance competitions, comedy and public speaking skills; the children not only showcased their talents, but also meaningfully participated to make the event successful. The climax of this day was two football matches organised for children under 10 years, and the other for under 13. One child participant has this to say at the end of the football matches, “When we come together to play a match, no on loses. We all win because we have come together, had a good time, learnt from each other and maintained peace among ourselves.”
These child-led activities aimed to provide a safe and fun space for children to interact, while also raising awareness on the need to come together to address child poverty. Mr. Michael Kissinger, founder of TCOAYO explained that this approach was adapted by his organisation as useful method in strengthening the spirit of togetherness and promoting peaceful co-existence in the community. “This problem of child poverty can be well addressed if we come together with children through such events, talk to them and allow them talk to us, and express their talents, (through activities) like football”, he emphasized.
The event underscored the need to empower children through education and promoting their talents, in line with the IDEP 2021 theme, Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet. The children were enlightened about IDEP and its significance towards addressing child poverty, with a view to challenge them to become change agents in their community by taking action to overcome poverty.
“When you are educated and aware, you are empowered towards ending child poverty,” emphasized Ms. Zam Obed, from Child Life Kenya, and a member of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC).
At Arigatou International – End Child Poverty, we believe in empowering children to meaningfully participate in efforts to address poverty affecting them. This is one of our core rallying calls for the ‘Together We Can End Child Poverty Worldwide’ campaign, in which we commemorate IDEP, like through this event in Mathare, Nairobi led by TCOAYO.
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As part of the activities of the International Day of Eradication of Poverty(IDEP) and the larger ‘Together we can End Child Poverty Campaign’; on 9th October, 2021; over 40 children, youth and adults from different faiths gathered at the physical hub of the The SDGs Academy for Children at the Jumuia Conference and Country Home, Limuru – Kenya for a pre launch tour of the Academy.
The Arigatou International (AI) SDGs Academy for Children is a safe space and programme for children to learn about the SDGs by providing children with simplified and easy to use multifaith learning tools on the SDGs that will enable them contribute towards ending child poverty, and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
With the aim of enabling young people to understand as well as interact with the Global Goals; participants who were divided into four age brackets (of ages 6 to 9, 10 to 13, 14 to 17 and adults) were treated to half-a-day of fun and learning activities. These included; fun games, quiz sessions and an inter-generational dialogue between children, Faith leaders and policy makers. The learning further involved the Learning To Live Together (LTLT) model, pioneered by Arigatou International – Ethics Education.
In addition, children were taken round the 5 hubs of The Academy; Knowledge, Dialogue, Innovations and Solutions, Capacity and Faith and Fun which represent the 5 P’s of the SDGs that is; People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. Through its children-oriented and virtual learning tools the Academy provided the participants with a space to explore their creativity on how they can actively be involved in achieving sustainable development.
Fred Nyabera, Director Arigatou International – End Child Poverty closed the learning tour by appreciating children’s creativity and enthusiasm about the Academy. He urged the children and accompanying adults to spread the message about The Academy to their peers and share the knowledge they had gained as well.
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The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the need to give specific attention to restoring sources of livelihoods, especially for young people. This realization and reality formed the core of the discussions at a two-day consultation workshop for youth and Faith leaders organized by the Africa Faith Leaders Initiative (AFLI) between 23rd – 24th September 2021 in Limuru Kenya.
Aimed at reinforcing the discussions around practical applications of Istanbul Principles, the consultations provided space for youth to explore development effectiveness principles as well as building back better through Decent Work and Economic Growth as envisaged in Sustainable Development Goal 8.
Addressing the youth, AFLI Co-principal and General Secretary of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches, Rev. Nicta Lubaale, emphasized on the need for inclusivity where faith Communities work with other stakeholders in achieving SDG 8, with a focus on how the voices of young people can be acknowledged and included. The role of faith institutions was highly emphasized noting places of worship should be points of equipping young people and meeting their needs.
The place and role of the youth in development work cannot be overlooked as they are the bigger percentage in terms of population. Youth must be challenged to participate in consortiums that encourage them to explore their talents and creativity
“We are here for conversations about where Africa will be in the years to come. When you talk about Africa you must talk about the youth, because they’re many and their voices and inputs cannot be ignored” he emphasized.
On the other hand, Fred Nyabera, the Director of Arigatou International – End Child Poverty, who is also AFLI’s Co-principal, called for the need to have structures that are youth inclusive to enable them meaningfully and actively contribute to achieving the SDGs.
“The ‘older’ actors must be intentional about creating spaces for communication and on the youth must be intentional about claiming that space through innovation that can help in sustainable economic growth” he explained.
The youths called on Faith Communities to provide strategic interventions on how they can be engaged to ensure that they are promoting education and creating employment towards sustainable growth. They called for an inclusive society where young people are meaningfully engaged.
“The lack of soft skills is identified as a gap in the transition of youth from school to the job marketplace and this cannot be gotten directly from the University. We therefore invite faith leaders to fill this gap” Fasika Lachore, one of the participating youth.
However, Benazir Mohamed, one of the participating youth challenged fellow youths that:
“Often times we focus on what worked and not what did not work yet we should derive energy and lessons from these tough moments to propel us to the next level of growth”
The workshop also sought to build capacities that Faith Leaders have with regards to participation, advocacy and monitoring of development partnerships with specific focus on the Africa-European Union (EU) Partnership.
The youth were encouraged to take advantage of the existing wide-ranging people-centered AU-EU partnership, to advance their presence in implementation of the SDGs. Speaking at the workshop, the special advisor to the European Union commissioner for International Partnership, Bitania Lulu advised the youth to be informed and be aware of existing policies and opportunities to aid their engagement in regional and global processes affecting them and concerning the SDGs in general. She urged the youth to make use of the ubiquitous social media and other online platforms to enhance their visibility and their actions towards implementing the SDGs.
“Young people have shown that digital movements can distract the status quo. opportunities does not necessarily knock at your door, you have to go out and grab it and if the door does not work, try the window” she emphasized.
In conclusion, the consultations highlighted the need to promote actions that are development-oriented and policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
Arigatou International is a co-convenor of the Africa Interfaith Initiative on the SDGs. Through the initiative, we are able to widen our scope of contribution towards the realization of SDGs, particularly highlighting Goal 1 “No Poverty” with attention to ending child poverty. The platform also offers us avenues of collaboration with faith leaders and faith inspired organizations in Africa.
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