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by Rashomi Silva

Children are the life and soul of a nation. Those innocent beings are like flowers and meant to be protected like flowers, with unequivocal love and tender care. But does this happen?

Often yes. However, millions of children live in outright destitution, in cumbersome environments, their rights deprived. There should be someone to speak for them, because often they are considered weaklings and despised.

Save the Children is an international alliance which was founded in 1919 in England, with the intention of making the voice of children heard. Its vision is to create a world which respects the child.

A world that listens and is willing to learn from children, when they are correct and a world where every child has hope and opportunities. Today Save the Children has turned out to be an international alliance with 32 members, operating over 100 countries around the world. Save the Children Sri Lanka is a joint a venture between Save the Children-Norway and Save the Children-United Kingdom. Save the Children-Norway has been in operation in Sri Lanka since 1974 and Save the Children U.K. has been in operation since 1979. It operates in seven locations throughout the country. The mission of Save the Children Sri Lanka is to make this vision a reality. Sri Lanka is taking small steps towards that world. However the challenges before them are strenuous and demanding. Nevertheless, there is no turning back for them.

Save the Children which regard children as the heart of their programmes and not merely as recipients has made them active participants. Programmes are carried out to address children's rights within the family, community and the legal system, and to protect them from the effects of the armed conflict. Throughout their years of commitment they have been working closely together with the government in dealing with the children affected by the armed conflict, paying special attention to the psychosocial well-being of these children.

To protect vulnerable children from land mines, Save the Children initiated a 'Children's Mines Awareness Action Group'. This was a child to child teaching programme aimed at educating children on dangers of land mines and how to protect themselves from the mines. Even the educational tools were designed by children. Injury statistics have shown that this programme has brought down the injuries to children remarkably. Save the Children is strongly opposed to the recruitment of child soldiers in warfare. A child separated from his family is far more vulnerable to recruitment than a child living with his family.

Therefore, while campaigning strongly against child recruitment at local and international levels, they work enthusiastically to reunite separated children with their families, or foster families where the child will be secured appropriate concern and protection.

It is stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that every child has a right to receive a good education. In the surveys carried out among children in the North and South, the majority of them, said their number one priority is education. It is only education that can take poverty away. However due to poverty, North-East conflict, displacement and because of being differently abled or simply because they do not have a teacher in school many children are deprived of their right of securing even primary education. Initially when Save the Children enrolled school dropouts back to schools they found that the Children were a bit reluctant to get back to school, mostly because the Children found that they are older than their peers in class who had been schooling continuously.

Therefore Save the Children designed a special 11 month programme for school dropouts. During that period the students will be taught so that they can catch up with their school work when they are placed in a class that corresponds to their age.

Save the Children found that this could work wonders. Children who were reluctant to get back to school were not only eager to get back to school they have showed tremendous progress in their studies. The vision of Save the Children is that all children in a community should have equal opportunities and participate in community activities.

To give a fair share of participation and opportunities to the differently abled children, several programmes have been designed to display and to improve the inborn talents of differently abled kids. Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) in Embilipitiya, which has been existing for the past few years not only gives the differently able formal education but has given an equal emphasis that the differently abled children interact with their able counterparts and play an active role in other community activities.

With the help of their donors and partner organizations programmes are now being set in motion to assess the physical needs of the differently abled children and to manufacture equipment locally.

This project is now being implemented by Mahaweli Authority in the Mahaweli areas. It is correct to say children have suffered most from the ruthless war that had been tormenting the country for over two decades.

Therefore they know the bitterness of war, they may have important massages to impart to us, they have their own dreams and hopes for the future. To provide them an opportunity to share their views and ideas on war and peace Save the Children arranged a Peace Summit in 2001. Children were given a chance to discuss their concerns with adults. In their 'Peace Corps project' Save the Children provided an opportunity for children and young adults from different ethnicities to stay together.

They worked very peacefully and most of them developed friendships with each other which lasted even after returning home. Employing children under 14 years of age in domestic work or industry or in a factory or in any other service is a punishable offence under the law. Children from plantations are being brought to Colombo and to the other parts of the county as domestic aides, as the children can be hired cheaply. With the intention of reducing child labour Save the Children has taken over the management of the creche of some plantations which were owned by the management of the plantation company previously.

Education sessions for the plantation workers were conducted to change the mentality of the parents. Save the Children is happy about their progress. Most of the parents are eager now to ensure their children a good education.

They do not want their children to be bequeathed the same doom that they inherited from their parents. The ownership of the creche was transferred to the parents so that they will have a sense of their worth. Save the Children also works in close connection with the Women and Children Bureau. 444444 campaign which started two years back also helped to track down child labourers.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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