Child Protection
Why Child Protection?
Children in our setting are exposed to violence, abuse, physical and sexual exploitation, early or forced marriage and trafficking. Many children will spend their entire childhoods away from home, sometimes separated from their families.
Even where they are not directly targeted, children witness household violence, experience terror, and deal with uncertainty and anxiety daily. The lasting effects can be both physical and emotional, impacting heavily on children’s learning, behaviour, and emotional and social development. Very rural communities also deprive children of access to health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, and other basic needs.
What we do
AECA undertakes child protection training to all our beneficiaries and supports local actors to ensure that efforts to protect children in our communities are timely, well-coordinated, and achieving maximum coverage, quality and impact.
Our Interventions
2. Strengthening advocacy, policy and integrated approaches to better prioritize and deliver safe and inclusive child protection services through key partnerships.
3. Strengthening already existing and locally owned child protection coordination systems and improving local service provision through close collaboration with county governments, civil society, protection actors, other clusters/sectors and national actors.
5. Improve the quality of child protection prevention and preparedness measures and responses through quality monitoring systems, stronger analysis and the building of an evidence base of good practice.
Impact 2022-2023
2,200+
Children trained on their rights and responsibilities.
123+
Caregivers trained on child protection and parenting skills.
7
Child abuse cases reported to authorities
12
Communities trained and sensitized on community based child protection.
3
Civil society child protection actors meetings facilitated.
6
Schools adopt child friendly school policy.
Stories Of Change
I am a community social worker, supporting local children. I have worked very closely with AECA in promoting child protection within Homa Bay County. The organisation has facilitated my activities promptly thus rescuing so many children from early marriages and eminent destruction.
I got married at 14. My marriage was nothing but an opportunity for poverty and deprivation. After one year and a half into marriage, I left my kid with my husband and went to work as a sex worker in Homa Bay town. Teacher Jacinta from AECA approached me asking me if I would be willing to go back to school. I am now waiting to join my first year at a local vocational training center.
I dropped out of school at 12 and became a fisherman at a Kokidi beach. Due to peer pressure, I became addicted to alcohol and bang and leaved a bad life. I thank God for meeting AECA. Through their mentorship and prayer program, am now changed and working as a fishing equipment seller and as a church youth leader.