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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT and ADVOCACY PROGRAM

Based on the adage that "it takes a whole community to raise a child..." the community development and advocacy program aims to incorporate values formation and awareness campaigns of pressing issues concerning the protection of children's rights through organizing, training and campaigning.  In engaging government and community advocates, the program establishes organized units in the community who will be champions of child rights protection.

Program Components

1. Child Rights Advocacy

A. Community organizing and capacity building activities consist of the following, but not limited to:

  • Formation of community-based child protection network;
  • Information Educational Campaigns and Community Assemlby (pulong-pulong);
  • Empowerment of the sitio leaders of partner barangays through raining, advocacy and organizing;
  • Partnership with and training of the barangay officials on participatory governance;
  • Partnership with teachers and school administrators;
  • Strengthening relationship with other key stakeholders.

B. Sugbuanong Pundok Aron Sumpuon ang Child Abuse (SUPACA) is a child and youth organization with membership from the schools and communities (out-of-school). The activities include:

  • Organizing
  • Children and youth leadership formation
  • Issue-based focused group discussion
  • Thematic children’s forum
  • School campaigns (froom-to-room campaign and plenary seminars)

C. Organizing teachers through School Quick Action Teams (SQUAT) – training guidance counselors, school administrators and teachers on school child protection policy

D. Round table discussion on thematic issues on child protection

 

2. Family Development and Values Formation

Target population: Families and guardians of children in need of special protection and at risk, such as, but not limited to the following:

  • Orphaned children and abandoned children;
  • Battered and abused children;
  • Children doing harmful or exploitative labor;
  • Children who migrate out of the community without their parents;
  • Children of homeless street families;
  • Adolescent parents and their children;
  • Children at risk – when a child faces poor life outcomes in general, such as long-term deficits, such as school failure, death, economic dependency, or incarceration.

The program is based on the following principles:

  • The family develops a partnership with the family development worker (FDW);
  • The FDW helps the family assess its needs and strengths on an on-going process for a six-month period;
  • The family sets its own major goals and smaller goals towards the major goals, and identifies ideas for reaching them;
  • The family learns and practices skills needed to become more self-reliant;
  • The uses basic services available within the community as stepping stones to reach their goals.

Activities include:

  • Home-based family follow-up and early childhood development activities;
  • Community-based training on various topics such as health, education, family relationships, values formation, family budget and savings;
  • Social guidance (oras sa pamilya) is open in the target areas, where the residents have access to counseling, advices and referrals to external organization and services;
  • Training of peer counselors and formation of peer support groups.

3. Livelihood Development Program

Target population: Communities who are cooperative with previous and current projects of The Share-A-Child Movement, Inc. are deemed eligible for livelihood projects. The livelihood program is closely linked to the Family Development Program and consists of the following components:

  • Savings mobilization through Piso-Pisong Tigum (PPT) – Family budget training and promotion of savings done through group training, as well as individual home-based follow-up by the PPT Officer. Access to an external saving scheme adapted to the needs of the poorest families is provided through partnership with a local cooperative. This saving scheme is completely externalized, entirely managed and supported by the local cooperation which provides the collector, the passbooks and ensures the financial processing of all savings accounts;
  • Savings and budget management workshop;
  • Enterprise development through the “Dream Project” with a business plan as an output;
  • Cooperation with other government and non-government organizations and funding agencies.