 |
|
|
|
 |
USAID Information:
External Links:
|
|
|
|
|
Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
Program for Reducing Abandonment of Children
Implementing Partners: Save the Children UK
Funding Period: September 2006 -
September 2011
Amount: $6,592,445
Purpose: Prevent the abandonment and separation of
children in the three zones of Kinshasa, Mbuji May, and
Bukavu and the areas surrounding those population centers
Objectives:
- Improve children's access to the children's justice system, and reinforce the system to better guarantee children's rights
- Ensure the durable family and community reintegration of separated and abandoned children
- Improve children's access to protection in communities by raising awareness of children's rights
- Ensure that National initiatives (laws, action plan, strategies) are better implemented in line with Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Develop detailed knowledge of target groups of the program to inform national and international interventions and advocacy
Psychosocial Support and Reintegration of Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Implementing Partners: Cooperazione Internationale (COOPI)
Funding Period: December 2008 - December 2011
Amount: $4,945,045
Purpose: Respond to the suffering of survivors of sexual
and gender-based violence, raise awareness in communities of the incidences
and ramifications of violence, and enable communities to act to prevent future
incidences of violence
Objectives:
- Enable individuals affected by sexual
and gender-based violence to resume their roles within family and community
- Strengthen community responsiveness to sexual and gender-based violence
to protect individuals against future incidents of violence
|
The Program for Reducing Abandonment of Children works in the urban centers of Kinshasa, Mbuji Mayi, and
Bukavu to assist children who have been separated from or abandoned by parents or caregivers, and children
who have suffered abuse or unjust imprisonment. It works closely with local partners, Community Child Protection Networks
(RECOPE), and child support centers in that effort.
Following up on work initiated under a previous USAID/DCOF-sponsored activity, this project works to restructure existing
community networks. Those networks of community members provide opportunities for participants to discuss child protection
concerns and identify steps that groups and individuals can take to address incidences of child abandonment or abuse.
The project also conducts activities to educate and sensitize caregivers and community leaders on child protection issues.
In Kinshasa, discussion groups of both adults and children—those who are providing care for younger siblings—as well as
religious leaders, address issues such as dialogue within the family, children’s rights and needs, and the demystification
of diseases that cause parents to accuse their children of witchcraft.
In addition to working with local organizations to directly assist children and families, project staff members
work with government officials to implement policies and strategies for the protection of children. The project offered
technical support in the drafting of the Child Protection Code, and is providing financial and logistical support to DROC’s
National Child Council, the national structure in charge of monitoring children’s rights.
USAID also funds The Psychosocial Support and Reintegration of
Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Eastern Democratic Republic
of Congo project, implemented by Cooperazione Internationale (COOPI). That
project works in selected towns in Province Orientale and Province Maniema,
encouraging citizens to take measures to prevent incidences of sexual and gender-based
violence, ensuring that survivors of such violence receive necessary treatment,
and assisting those individuals in reintegrating into their families and communities.
The project’s approach is holistic, multi-sectoral, and community based.
It addresses the physical, psychological, and social needs of survivors, providing
medical, psychosocial, socio-economic, and legal aid to individuals. COOPI’s
key partner for the project is CIP, the Centre d’Intervention Psychosocial,
a national NGO comprising psychologists who assist survivors of violence
or natural disaster in reintegrating into society. The project also works
with public institutions, human rights and legal organizations, community
leaders, and community-based organizations—primarily women’s groups
that promote women’s empowerment and gender equality within communities.
Back to Top ^
|
