In Burundi, Help a Child works in collaboration with its partners, local authorities and community structures with the goal of protecting children from all forms of verbal, physical and sexual abuse, harmful practices such as recruitment of children in armed conflict, torture, forced or compulsory child labor, children’s consumption of harmful drugs, child exploitation, sale or trafficking of children, genital mutilation, early unions or forced marriage.
In addition to this, advocacy campaigns are conducted through its long-term child centered community development programme (started in 2013 and currently phasing in into a new 7 year programme cycle) to sensitize community members on children’s rights, referral child protection services, mediators and paralegal support providers, the importance of early childhood development and investing in children’s potential.
Help a Child supports children from an early age, particularly from the hardest to reach and most vulnerable families and communities, receive the care and support they need to develop, and to cope with the growing global challenges and inequality.
The core activities of Help a Child and its implementation partners are:
- Capacity strengthening for ECD care givers on the social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, positive parenting and early stimulation (this module includes health and nutrition) as well as the professional development of preschool teachers
- Awareness raising on the importance of early stimulation and positive parenting
- Advocacy for increased investment in pre-schools across the nation and the integration of standard ECD curriculum
- Construction or rehabilitation of ECD centers and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities
- Capacity strengthening for parenting groups and child protection committees
- Creation and capacity strengthening support for children clubs
- Sensitization of community members to prevent violations of children’s rights
- Advocacy for mandatory education for children, policy developments or changes in favor of strengthening the child protection system
- Referrals of cases of violations of children’s rights to relevant community structures offering specialized counseling, trauma healing, medical care, mediation or legal support services for victims
Sustainable Development Goals
We contribute to: 2, 3 and 4