What matters at Christmas

I am thinking of Christmas today... and not just because there are already Christmas displays in some of the shop windows here in London! Today, I came across a great blogger, who is also doing the NaBloPoMo challenge (to write a blog post each day during November), called  Glorius Mettle. It made me reflect and want to write a post on Christmas too (although, yes, I do realise it is still quite a few weeks away!)

As well as this, I create an update for a child rights advocacy organisation each week, so they can pick up on all the latest news. Yesterday, I saw that according to the charity, Shelter, 80,000 children will be facing homelessness in the UK, this Christmas. I am so shocked by this figure.  Shelter’s chief executive, Campbell Robb said that such things should not be happening in twenty-first century Britain and that:

"No child should be homeless, let alone 80,000. But tragically, with more people struggling to make ends meet and homelessness on the rise, we’re bracing ourselves for an increase in demand from families who desperately need our help."

I have spent Christmas in some very different places, and each time I had the opportunity to be working with people who truly cared about children, and gave them the help they desperately needed. Without those inspirational people, those children would not have had a very happy Christmas. Staff running children's homes in Ghana and Romania made sure the children had a great day, with food, music, a party, and of course, a Christmas tree! An organisation in South Africa made sure the children who came to its creche each had a gift to take home for Christmas.

Last Christmas, I was in London, and I volunteered for Crisis, a charity for single homeless people, and helped at one of its shelters. Whilst homelessness is a huge issue all year round, there is something extra poignant about Christmas. It is not an issue of material items and presents. It is the fact Christmas is often a time that people spend together, and that is why it felt so important to be able to create a space where people could do just that, at one of Crisis's shelters. The guests could eat a Christmas meal and do various activities, like art, watching films, and playing games. Crisis also looks to the future - there were services at the shelter, from hairdressing, to help with putting CVs together, and getting free legal advice. People have been able to turn their lives around using these services. (Some of my fellow volunteers were once guests at a Crisis at Christmas shelter.)

I have seen that some people seem to truly believe in the 'spirit of Christmas' and want to help others in need, and I am so lucky to know people like that. It has also been such a positive experience to volunteer over Christmas, and I would definitely recommend it. For anyone who might want to make a donation instead, Crisis and Shelter both do great work!


Some of my Christmas photos!

Romania:

Christmas party and a visit from Santa arranged for the children at the home, Casa Mea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helping to take some of the younger children at Casa Mea to see the big Christmas tree in the nearest city!

Ghana:

With the tree, and then dancing on Christmas Day, at New Life

South Africa:

Christmas play, by children at Seawind Educare

All of these organisations are supported by my charity, CHW.

Ditch the Label and Stop the Bullying!

I came across a great anti-bullying charity recently, called Ditch the Label. I was doing some research for the Children's Rights Alliance for England, and needed some stats on bullying. Ditch the Label published their first Annual Bullying Survey earlier this year. It was really sad to see what children and young people have been experiencing.

Here are some of their findings:

• Up to 68% of young people in the UK will experience bullying.
• Young people with disabilities or from sexual minorities were found to be the most at risk of bullying.
• 60.2% of the young people who were bullied were targeted because of attitudes towards appearance.
• 57% of bullied students were dissatisfied with support services on offer.

When I read that last statistic, my first thought was that we have to do something to improve support services for these young people who have experienced bullying. Whereas, actually, it would be better to take action to try to stop bullying in the first place, and then there would be no need for such support services.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A report released last week, by The Children's Commission on Poverty, showed that poorer children in the UK were more likely to report bullying. Children from poorer families were asked if they ever felt embarrassed or were bullied because their families did not have enough money. 55% said they felt embarrassed and 14% said they had been bullied.

Another form of bullying has been on the rise in recent years. Yesterday, I blogged about the fact that so many children around the world do not have access to the internet. Sadly, those who can easily access the internet may use it for destructive purposes, including cyberbullying. Bullying can now extend from the school playground, right into a child's home, through the internet.  

Ditch the Label has also published an Annual Cyberbullying Survey. This survey showed that:

• 7 in 10 young people are the victims of cyberbullying.
• 20% of young people are experiencing cyberbullying on a daily basis.
• Young people are twice as likely to be bullied on facebook than on any other social networking site.

This page has some guidance on how to deal with cyberbullying - for children, parents and teachers.

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I think the name, Ditch the Label, is a great one for an anti-bullying charity. Often people label others, based on their appearance, or their interests, or their background, etc. They then form perceptions, because of these labels. In the worst case scenario, this can lead to abuse and bullying. It is important to try to help those who bully others, as with the right support, they can stop inflicting this pain on others.

A nice thing I have found about NaBloPoMo (the challenge to write a blog post everyday throughout November) is the discovery of other great bloggers who are also doing this challenge. I would like to share with you to a post I found yesterday on Mifusa's Blog: Presents of Presence. The post is here. First it highlights the most terrible consequence of bullying: suicide. Then it gives a truly inspiring video, of a man called Nick Vujicic, who was born without limbs, speaking very powerfully about bullying and about love. I wish more young people could watch this video, and hear Nick's message. Please share that post as much as possible to get the message out there!

Feel free to share any other useful sites or videos in the comment section below, or any advice or thoughts you may have. Bullying is a huge issue, and causes so much pain to so many people. I think that any time we can put in to the anti-bullying effort is surely time well-spent.

Why Children Need the Internet!

Given that you are reading this post, I can safely assume that you have a computer, laptop, tablet, smart phone, or some other device for accessing the internet. This means you are one of the 2.7 billion people who are online. Just under 60% of the world's population, however, does not have access to the internet!

I actually got the idea for this post because I am taking part in the NaBloPoMo challenge, to write a blog post each day in November. I read this post, on the yeah write site, about computers and technology, by another blogger Cynk, who is also taking part in NaBloPoMo. It made me think about how accustomed I am to using the internet. It is a part of my everyday life. For many others around the world, this is not so. Children who are not taught how to use computers, and the internet, will find it harder to get decent jobs as adults, in an increasingly interconnected, digital world. They cannot experience the benefits of having access to the internet.

Computers for the Children!

Yesterday, I blogged about a Homework Centre in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. They have a couple of computers there, and really want to teach the children how to use them, because they can see how useful such skills and knowledge will be for the children's future. They would like more computers. I am hoping that my charity, CHW, will be able to help with this in the future, or that I might be able to find someone else (either an individual or an organisation) who can help with donating computers to the Centre. This would not be the first time we, at CHW, have helped children's projects with computers. We raised funds to repair the computers at an education centre, run by the Atelier Sacelean Association, in Romania, and also raised the funds for a new classroom to be built for a school run by New Life Orphanage in Ghana. The new classroom became a computer lab. (The computers were donated by another organisation, but the room had to be built for the new lab!)

Computer Lab at New Life, in Ghana

The 'Digital Divide' and Children
 
The 'digital divide', ie the gap between those who have access to the internet and those who do not, is  a huge issue and one that will greatly impact a child's future opportunities in life. Often the 'digital divide' is looked at in international terms. Of all the people in the world who are not connected to the internet, 90% are in developing countries. Expense is a big problem. The founder of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has said:

"...the majority of the world's people are still not online, usually because they can't afford to be... In Mozambique, for example, a recent study showed that using just one gigabyte of data can cost well over two months' wages for the average citizen. The result of high prices is a widening digital divide that slows progress in vital areas such as health, education and science..."

The problem is not just an international one though. Access to computers and the internet varies within parts of the same country, meaning some children will have access and some will not. The quality of their resources will vary too.

This article by Laura Dimon, brings up the point that New York's digital divide is holding young New Yorkers back. She shares a quote from Manhattan's Borough President, which states that over 75% of school facilities have a maximum download speed which is 100 times slower than the target speed in the National Broadband Plan. These students will not have a fast enough connection speed to have access to all the educational resources they need.

Crowding around the computers at the Atelier Sacelean Association, Romania

What can be done?

Whilst organisations such as A4AI and Internet.org are looking to get more people connected to the internet, there are things which everyone can do to help. If you have any computers or laptops that you no longer use, or if your office or college will be getting new equipment, it is possible to donate the old computers to certain charities.  These charities can refurbish the old computers, if necessary, and will then distribute them to schools, education centres or other children's projects. It would be best to try to look this up, to find a charity close to you where you could donate electronic equipment (see how useful the internet is!). As well as helping children, this is also an environmentally-friendly way to get rid of old equipment.

Here is a useful list of ten tips of things to do before donating an old computer.

Also, if anyone has any ideas on getting some computers or laptops to the Homework Centre in South Africa,  please let me know. I would really appreciate it!

Children at the Homework Centre, South Africa

Thank you for taking the time to read this post... I am grateful that I have a laptop and access to the internet and can do things like take part in NaBloPoMo! I just hope I can use all the resources I am lucky enough to have, to help children around the world to get online too, and to open up more opportunities for their futures.

How to make a difference on South Africa's National Children's Day

Today is National Children's Day in South Africa! It is celebrated on the first Saturday of November. Earlier this year, my charity, CHW, linked with a new project - a Homework Centre in the Eastern Cape. It is the first South African organisation CHW linked with outside Cape Town (which is in the Western Cape). The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa.

Most of the children helped by the Centre are brought up by their grandparents, or are in single parent families. The Centre runs after-school programmes from Monday to Thursday, and gives children educational and extra-curricular support. More and more children want to attend the Centre. While this is good, it means the Centre itself needs more support, to maintain the high standard of assistance it gives the children. Those running the centre asked CHW for the funds for ten new tables. We raised the money quite quickly. The Centre has purchased the wood and the tables are in the process of being made right now! 

 

Children at the Homework Centre

Education is so important for children. Everyone at the Homework Centre believes this, and puts their greatest effort into supporting children with their schooling. There are ways that everyone can help though. In keeping with the South African theme, here are some ideas from the Nelson Mandela Day website:

• Find out from your local library if it has a story hour and offer to read during it.
• Mentor a school leaver or student in your field of expertise.
• Donate your old textbooks, or any other good books, to a school library.
• Offer to provide tutoring in a school subject you are good at.
• Paint classrooms and school buildings.
•  Donate a bag of art supplies.
• Mentor someone. Make time to listen to what the kids have to say and give them good advice.

There are more suggestions of simple good deeds to do here (and not just to do with children and education). Although the idea is to take action to help others on the official Nelson Mandela Day, which is 18 July, it would be great to take action to help children on any day of the year! As the slogan says, 'Make everyday a Mandela Day.'

Please feel free to add any more ideas on how to help support children with their education in the comments section below.

From the Nelson Mandela Day website

I admire the passion the founders of the Homework Centre have, for supporting the children's education and for aiming to give them a brighter future. The Homework Centre will keep me updated with the progress of the tables and I look forward to fundraising for them again in the future! If you want to keep up with news from the Homework Centre, see their page on CHW's website.

NaBloPoMo: Posting every day this month!

NaBloPoMo is here! That stands for National Blog Posting Month and the challenge is to write a post every single day throughout November. I really want to try to do this. For me, this has been such an unbelievably busy year, and between working in the UK, South Africa and for shorter amounts of time, Ghana and Romania too, I haven't always had the chance to blog. (Sometimes I haven't even had electricity, let alone an internet connection!) I want to take this opportunity to write about children's rights issues which have caught my attention recently, and also to share my experiences, in case they are of some value to people interested in children's rights and welfare. My work has included attending the Equal Education Public Hearings in Cape Town, assisting with educational projects for Roma children in Romania, drafting the education chapter for the Children's Rights Alliance for England's Annual Report, and researching and producing a document for a Cape Town child rights organisation, to help with their advocacy work on establishing an Ombudsperson for Children in South Africa.

Schoolboy speaks out at the Equal Education Public Hearings, Cape Town

There have been other challenges this year too, and it has been tough emotionally. A mother I know in Cape Town found out that her adopted daughter was deaf, and I tried to help her fundraise for a cochlear implant, to allow her little girl to hear. My charity, CHW, has also been trying to support eleven siblings who lost their father to cancer at the beginning of the year. I have known this family since 2010, through the Romanian charity, FAST, and this has been such a devastating time. Although the struggle to help children in need can get very tough, it is something we must not give up on! 

I am looking forward to both taking the time to write my own posts, and to reading others' blogs this month. It will be good to learn from other people and see what things they are posting about during NaBloPoMo!

A chance for children to complain about violations of their human rights

This year's theme for Blog Action Day is Human Rights, so I will take this opportunity to blog about a new chance for children to be able to complain about violations of their human rights at an international level. 

Image courtesy of africa at freedigitalphotos.net

There are nine UN human rights treaties. Each of the nine treaties has its own treaty body, or committee of experts, which monitors the implementation of the provisions of these treaties, by the states which have ratified them. One of these treaties is dedicated to children's human rights - the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC sets out children's most basic human rights, such as their right to survival, and protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation. It also sets standards in healthcare, education, and legal, civil and social services for children. Its treaty body is the Committee on the Rights of the Child. 

Currently, seven of the treaty bodies may, under certain conditions, receive and consider complaints or communications from individuals. This does not include the Committee on the Rights of the Child. This means that a child cannot complain to the Committee about violations of their human rights. This situation could change though...


A complaints mechanism for children's rights violations

In December 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the CRC on a communications procedure. So what does this mean? An optional protocol can either make provisions for procedures with regards to a treaty (in this case the CRC), or it can address a substantive area related to the treaty. States which are party to the main treaty can sign and ratify optional protocols. 

The communications procedure is the third Optional Protocol to the CRC. (The other two are the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.) The third Optional Protocol is not yet in force, because ten states have to ratify it first. After this, it will become international law. Children in states which ratify this Optional Protocol will then be able to submit complaints to the Committee on the rights of the Child, if their rights have been violated, and if they have exhausted all domestic remedies to seek justice. So far, eight countries have ratified the third Optional Protocol.


What sort of human rights violations would children be able to complain about?

Children would be able submit complaints to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, if their rights under the CRC had been violated, so long as their country had ratified the CRC. If their country had also ratified either or both of the other two Optional Protocols, children would also be able to submit complaints if their rights under these had been violated too.

Most countries in the world have ratified the CRC. In fact, only the USA, Somalia and South Sudan have not. Fewer countries have signed the first and second Optional Protocols. The ideal situation would be for all states to ratify the CRC and the three Optional Protocols, to give greater protection to children's rights globally, and to allow children to complain about human rights violations at an international level.


What happens next?

On the day the UN General Assembly adopted the third Optional Protocol, Save the Children made this statement: 

"Save the Children with over 80 international and national NGOs have been campaigning for many years to offer children a level of protection equivalent to that provided to adults by other core human rights treaties. Now that the international legal framework is created, the NGO coalition is dedicated to campaigning for the widespread ratification of the Protocol and making sure it is used to make a real difference in the struggle to protect children around the world."

It is important for as many states as possible to ratify the third Optional Protocol. Firstly, so that it will come into force (and just two more states need to ratify it to make this happen!), and secondly, so that as many children as possible will have access to the communications procedure and can complain about violations of their human rights. 

An international coalition concerned with the communications procedure, called Ratify OP3 CRC, has provided material which explains more about the Optional Protocol itself, including a child-friendly leaflet, as well as an advocacy toolkit and template letters you can send to your government, to urge them to ratify this Optional Protocol. All of these resources can be found on this page. 

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Giving them a way to speak out and complain against violations of their human rights at an international level, is an important and empowering thing to do.

Call for help in editing children and youth's statement on sustainable development!

Below is a message from the UN CSD Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) about editing a statement to be presented on behalf of children and young people on sustainable development. It is a really nice chance to be involved as the statement will be read out on behalf of all children and youth, under the age of thirty, in the world. If you are under thirty and want to help out with editing this, read the message from MGCY, which I have pasted below, and follow the link.

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Dear Children and Youth,

Please find attached our statement for the High Level Political Forum.

This statement will be read on behalf of all young people...therefore its important that you take a few minutes to read it, make comments, edits or suggestions so that it adequately reflects ALL of you.

You can make the changes using this google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K9yb2aQWqnhHUKYp7lAYcy4bTKr3TiuXZQvjoO8E01Q/edit

Please circulate it to your networks, members and friends so that as much feedback as possible is given.

Please make sure that you edit aspects that you don't like...we need to make this concise and effective. We also only have 3 minutes for this statement.
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