WVM drills staff in child protection
World Vision has challenged its staff to ensure that they champion child protection issues in various Area Programmes (AP) to ensure that the welfare of children is safeguarded by protecting and promoting their rights.
The organization, in partnership with its local stakeholders and support offices is working towards mainstreaming disability and child protection issues.
The World Vision strategic plan also seeks to reach out to about 5.5 million children (directly or indirectly) by 2020 in sectors of education, health, water and sanitation, among others, across the globe.
According to Central Zone operations manager Rachel Kathyanga, there is need for collaborative efforts among all stakeholders so that children have a better family, place or world to live in.
Kathyanga was speaking last Tuesday during a week-long training workshop in Salima for zonal members from different departments, one of the central region’s lakeshore districts.
“The main aims of this training are to promote Citizen Voice and Action (CVA), to enhance Child Protection and Advocacy (CPA), and to encourage Disability Inclusion and Mainstreaming,” said Kathyanga.
She emphasized the need for the staff to learn from each other given the wealth of experience they each bring from their respective APs.
“The urgent need to move CPA from theory to practice in our different Area Programmes cannot be overemphasized,” she said.
“The community should also be empowered through advocacy until they have boldness and courage to approach World Vision with questions on the impact on the ground,” said Kathyanga, adding that this would ensure checks and balances for accountability purposes on both sides.
In her remarks, Lizzie Lombe, the zonal advocacy and justice for children coordinator urged participants to ensure that they document CVA related matters with timelines so as to bring out tangible, quality and timely results.
“This is also to enable the citizens hold stakeholders accountable to their commitment as they empower them to influence policy. More often than not, we leave out children in decision making,” said Lombe.
She said that children have a different view of issues that affect them and it’s critical that the organisation incorporates their voice in all community advocacy efforts.
“As development facilitators (DF), coordinators and others, we also need to share notes with different stakeholders on what is expected of the organization and children,” she said.
CVA is a tried and tested tool of ensuring project sustainability at the community level and if sustainability is achieved in all projects, the development organizations World Vision included, would make a lasting impact in the lives Malawians.
