Rafiki began its advocacy work in 2008, after realizing the enormity of child abuse cases, much of which were unreported due to cultural influence and social pressures. It became clear from communicating with families and community members that most adults affected by child abuse did not know to whom to turn when their child was abused. Furthermore, there were minimal or no official consequences when incidences of abuse were reported. Our first opportunity to address the issue came in 2008 with the establishment of a holistic child rights program. Working with children throughout the community, this program was designed to halt the abuse of children and to bring unity in community awareness, thus providing care and protection for the children.

The extreme sensitivity surrounding the topic of child abuse convinced Rafiki that a community-focused approach was more likely to result in a community-driven response that fights child abuse more so than an organization-based solution that imposes the concept and need for children’s rights. Rafiki also aligned with local government to encourage a proactive posture for the implementation of a program that supports children’s rights and the support and encouragement of community initiatives.

What We Do

Within the community, we identify all stakeholders who have responsibility for protecting the rights of children (i.e. chiefs, assistant chiefs, police, teachers, parents/guardians, community health workers and community paralegals.) We work together to identify their roles and responsibilities in protecting children’s rights and counsel them on how they could best interact with each other in carrying out these roles. Once comfortable with their identified roles, we provide support through training and mentorship to help them fulfill these roles and responsibilities within and for the community.

We also partner with the District Children’s Officer, at the systems level, and participate in activities and facilitate processes that strengthen Rarieda District’s Area Advisory Council (AAC). The AAC safeguards the survival, development, protection and participation rights of children in the District through oversight and guidance to local organizations, addressing children’s issues at the district, division and local levels.

Child-Led Organizations: As adults in the community have become more comfortable and less threatened by the concept of children’s rights, children have been able to engage in more active participation at home, school, and in the community. Rafiki is building upon this paradigm shift while it is still in its infancy in order to enhance children’s engagement in their own personal, physical, social, emotional, moral, and intellectual development. All indications point to this approach strengthening children’s participation in their own development, helping to achieve a unified response to protecting children’s rights. We are hopeful, and fully expect, that this will continue to entrench this attitudinal shift within the community and culture and continue to prevail when these children become adults.

Child Rights Clubs, or otherwise known as ROC Clubs (Rights of a Child), have been established in 13 primary schools and in five community Psycho-Social Support (PSS) centres. These clubs are now supported by community paralegals, both in cooperation with schools and under the mentorship of Rafiki. These clubs help to increase child participation in a safe and non-threatening way, which helps children to understand that human rights is a basic entitlement, just like education; while always providing the encouragement for children to unearth the confidence to become positive agents of change in the community. Rafiki feels strongly that this will ensure that change is able to adequately transcend to future generations.

COMMUNITY PARALEGALS: Rafiki initiated this program with the help of community volunteers who held the interests of children in their heart. We trained them in advocacy and child rights, yet they remained as central decision makers regarding their own lives and communities. Ultimately, they devised their own way of empowering the wider community to find positive approaches to challenging the cultural and social tendencies that tend to ignore instances of abuse. Community paralegals have created their own niche in the community, supporting the education of children’s rights and responsibilities taught through schools and PSS centres, as well as becoming liaisons and extension workers for police and the chief, assistant chiefs, and village elders; always ensuring community-wide child safety.

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS (CHWs): Rafiki incorporates child rights education into the health and mentorship program with CHWs. This enables CHWs to integrate their child rights knowledge into their home visits and lectures focusing on community-wide family health education. Where CHWs find instances of child abuse, the cases are promptly reported for further investigation and involvement by paralegals in partnership with local and village administration.

GUARDIANS & PARENTS: Rafiki creates a safe space in community forums such as the monthly Guardian Support Groups and community meetings, wherein parents and guardians have the opportunity to ask questions of paralegals and discuss children’s rights and responsibilities. This helps to alleviate myths and reduce anxieties concerning the rights of children and enables adults to understand how their children and future generations will benefit from such a change in attitude.

Guardians and surviving parents also learn the importance of children’s birth certificates, as well as the need to process death certificates promptly when a parent dies. Both documents are vital to protecting children’s citizenry rights and act as tools for helping children to claim their rightful inheritance when they come of age.

LOCAL POLICE: Rafiki formed an alliance with local police in late 2008 with the goal of establishing a victim support unit for abused children and women. The unit, established in 2009, continues to work with the police to build their capacity, particularly in the area of Psycho-Social Support (PSS). This alliance helps to enhance their understanding and role in protecting the legal rights of children and women, and engenders a more compassionate approach towards those who report incidences of abuse.

Rafiki also plays a key role in helping to strengthen partnerships between community paralegals and police. This creates a greater level of cooperation between police, community investigations, and controls.