Despite a century of campaigning the practice persists. But in my work as an archaeologist, I’ve learned how we can end it. This year marks a hundred years of official campaigning against female genital mutilation, a movement which began with an international conference in Egypt in 1920. Yet the practice…
“Trust the process” – talking about child protection in Kirua Vunjo Kusini, Tanzania
A story by Njeri Omesa, Tanzania The room was silent at the end of the short film – “Juma’s Story” – and I let the silence linger as I shut down my computer. We’d just started a “Kesho café” session with men and women from the 6 villages of Kirua…
Sierra Leone: “Change That Counts”
“Change That Counts” Results from the follow-up study of a community-led intervention to reduce teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone Access the recording of the webinar on the CPC Learning Network’s YouTube channel here. Dr. Lindsay Stark, Executive Director and Principal Investigator of the CPC Learning Network and lead methodologist in…
Sierra Leone: what we are learning about community based child protection mechanisms
Between 2011 and 2014 the Interagency Learning Group on community-based child protection mechanisms and child protection systems released a series of reports which document the development, implementation and preliminary findings of an innovative community-based child protection action research programme in Sierra Leone. This ground-breaking research was conceived in response to…
Five years on: Sarah Lilley reflects on what we have learned about community action to protect children.
Sarah Lilley is Deputy Head of Child Protection, Save the Children UK and Coordinator for the Inter-Agency Learning Initiative on Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms and Child Protection Systems. Five years ago: a weak evidence base and an emerging consensus on the need to strengthen community-based child protection mechanisms and child…
How schools can help protect children in Kenya
Increased access to safer schools is key to improved protection for girls and boys – a review of findings from recent research in Kenya. Research work undertaken in Kenya in 2011-2013 by the Interagency learning group on community-based child protection mechanisms and systems strengthening has highlighted how children in rural…
Ken Ondoro, researcher, Kenya
The Exchange speaks to Ken Ondoro, researcher, about his experiences living and working inside some of Kenya’s poorest communities. Exchange: Ken, please tell us a little about yourself KO: I was born in a town called Oyugis in the west of Kenya but later moved to Kisumu where I stayed…
"We don’t report because that’s a family affair"
“We don’t report because that’s a family affair” A grounded look at community-based child protection in three rural and urban areas in Kenya. The Interagency Learning Initiative on Community-based Child Protection Mechanisms and Child Protection Systems and the Community Child Protection Exchange presented a webinar with Mike Wessells, Kathleen Kostelny…
Chathuri Jayasooriyya, independent child rights and protection practitioner and advocate, Sri Lanka
The Exchange speaks to Chathuri Jayasooriyya, an independent child rights and protection practitioner and advocate based in Sri Lanka. Exchange: Hello Chathuri, please tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be working in child rights and protection CJ: I was born in the central province of…
Boi-Nancy Tangula on how stopping female genital cutting is a big challenge in Sierra Leone
The Exchange recently spoke to Boi-Nancy Tangula in Sierra Leone who is working to change community perceptions of children and harmful traditional practices such as female genital cutting. Exchange: Hello Nancy, can you tell us a bit about yourself? BNT: My name is Boi-Nancy Tangula . I am a Sierra…