Child Rights Information and Documentation Centre
Child Rights Malawi : AECL Malawi
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About Us : CRIDOC

Vision Statement : “A social order where children are an integral part of the Family, Community or National life and their basic rights are respected accordingly”

Mission Statement : “To help redress child rights violations and create an environment, through child participation and empowerment, by creating access to information on child rights and/or related issues through Research, Documentation, ICT models, Education, Advocacy and Networking.”

Values Statement : CRIDOC believes in and upholds the values of:

  • Equality and Equity
  • Respect for Human Dignity of Every Child
  • Access to Information

Background

Child Rights Information and Documentation Centre (CRIDOC) is a non-profit making research and professional organisation, primarily concerned with creating access to information on child rights or related issues through Research, Documentation, ICT models, education, advocacy, networking and any other means as may be deemed appropriate from time to time. Until it was registered as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) this year (2006) under the Trustees Incorporation Act of 1962, the Centre was hitherto being implemented as a project under the Association for Elimination of Child Labour (AECL).

George Kayange, founder of CRIDOC
George Kayange, founder of CRIDOC in India where he worked as an intern.

The Centre was founded as a documentation and ICT project on child rights issues in 2003 by a Malawian media intern, who was at the time working as a voluntary editor for the Child Labour News Service (CLNS), an on-line project run by Global March Against Child Labour in New Delhi, India. Author of children’s book on HIV/AIDS entitled “Gone for A Walk,” and a journalist by profession, the intern was particularly inspired by the heart-rending true stories of child exploitation, abuse and neglect, featured on daily basis on the CLNS website, and sourced from various news agencies around the world, including Malawi.

Shortly before completing his internship programme, the intern began to strategise how he was going to contribute towards the improvement of the worsening child rights situation in Malawi using the information and communication skills, expertise and experience acquired at Global March. The first step towards achieving that vision therefore was to identify the existing gaps as regards information dissemination on child rights issues for advocacy. He recognised that one of such existing gaps – and probably the most critical one – was the unavailability of a reliable hub of information resources on matters related to child rights; and to fill that gap, he developed an innovative project to establish the largest and the most contemporary (with ICT elements) Information and Documentation Centre in Malawi. His long-term vision was to see the Centre expanding into the remotest areas of the country through the establishment of Community Tele-centres Network (CTN).

George Kayange, founder of CRIDOC
Benedicto Kondowe - CRIDOC Cofounder and human rights advocate.

The intern had also demonstrated further his determination and ambition in ensuring the realisation of the dream by voluntarily attempting to “construct” a virtual (on-line version) Information Centre through the development of the very first website of the would-be CRIDOC project with support from the German Chapter of the Global March Against Child Labour who provided the first server space to host the site, and also the wonderful support of a very close workmate, Bhupendra Singh Kunwar, who also contributed enormously his time, expertise and energy in the development of the first website.

Click here to access the very first CRIDOC website!

Back home, George has been assisted by a human rights advocate in Malawi, Benedicto Kondowe, who has worked hard to translate what was only a concept into a real organisational structure.

Benedicto has co-founded the organisation by putting in place institutional frameworks such as identification and setting up of a Board of Trustees, facilitating the registration process of the organisation, putting in place financial and administrative policies as well as facilitating the development of the organisation’s constitution, etcetera. Currently based in the UK, he is leading and coordinating a fundraising and resource-mobilisation campaign for the organisation’s sustainability.

CRIDOC
Today, the concept of volunteerism in all CRIDOC’s programmes and activities has been inspired by its founding intern. In the photo above, the intern is embracing one of the many rescued former child labourers at a rehabilitation centre in India.

Today, the Centre puts particular emphasis on the uniqueness of every child and the complexity of grappling with issues concerning children’s welfare in Malawi, especially in the face of the gruelling poverty, HIV/AIDS and orphanage, high illiteracy rates, child labour, juvenile justice, the plight of street children, and many other social ills affecting our children. As such, the Centre therefore takes a lead at providing guidance, motivation and information to children and all those involved in research and child rights issues, in terms of facilitating for the necessary interventions, available resources, education and professional support.

The Centre respects the rights and dignity of children and all those concerned with their education and social welfare, and seeks to promote awareness on child rights issues through media, public relations, seminars, conferences and other traditional and non-traditional modes of communication. It actively participates in advocacy movements at national level on issues like speedy implementation of government laws and policies affecting children and young persons.

Existing Internal Capacity and Structure

The Centre, even before it was registered until this year, has so far been involved in a number of activities which has made it acquire vast capacity to continue working particularly in the area of child rights using various approaches, including that of volunteerism. Some of the many activities, which CRIDOC has been using to reach out to the targeted population, are:

On-line Campaign: CRIDOC has identified the use of the website as one of the most crucial means to advocacy and information sharing in the modern age. The website is updated regularly so as to keep the Malawian populace abreast of the current trends in development, especially with particular interest in child rights and related issues.

Research: For instance, CRIDOC was voluntarily involved in the research on primary educational standards with the Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education (CSCQBE), while operating under the Association for Elimination of Child Labour (AECL). The research led to the publication of a report entitled ”Are Public Funds Making a Difference for Pupils and Teachers in Primary Schools?”

Material Development : For instance, CRIDOC steered the Media Committee for the Child Labour Day in 2004 in conjunction with the ILO/IPEC and UNICEF, where among other things contribution voluntarily towards production of various promotional/advocacy materials, including leaflets and newsletter.

Currently, the Centre has a pool of professional and dedicated volunteers and interns who are always eager to contribute their time and skills to the organisation’s cause and, at the same time, learn new and have their already existing skills enhanced to greater heights.

At Governance level, CRIDOC has a ten member Board of Trustees drawn from various disciplines such as law, education, theology, medicine, communications, and business. These are people of high calibre and standard in society.

Project Justification/rationale

United Nations leading agency for youngsters said on January 7, 2003 tens of millions of urban children around the world are living in poverty and life-threatening environments, and urged municipal authorities to place the best interest of the child at the forefront of their decision-making.

Based on the Poverty and Exclusion among Urban Children Report – released by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) through its special programme dubbed Innocenti Research Centre (IRC) – a press release revealed:

"These children deserve to live in a protective environment - one that safeguards them from abuse and exploitation. This was the commitment reaffirmed by Heads of State and Government in 2002 at the Special Session on Children and we need to take it seriously and translate it into action," UNICEF Deputy Director, Kul Gautam, said at the launch of the report.

Many people in Malawi – and indeed in many other developing countries – have virtually no reliable source where they can get comprehensive information on child rights issues affecting such children. Where information is available it is most often outdated or not easily accessible.

CRIDOC therefore is trying to put in one place, in an accessible manner, all kinds of information related to child rights. The Information Centre, thus, hopes to fill a yawning gap through Research, Documentation and information dissemination.

CRIDOC is a newly conceived initiative that seeks to provide access to information on child rights or related issues through Documentation, Research, Website and/or other ICT models.

The project has two main phases. The first is the On-line segment or Head Start, which is largely based on the use of the Internet. Most of the information you are reading now constitutes the Head Start. All activities are administered on the Internet rather than other means of communication. The implementation of this phase began in India way back in 2003, as it did not necessarily need to wait for the ultimate registration of the NGO this year, nor does it have to wait for full funding to kick-start the rest of the programme activities.

The second phase is the off-line segment, which comprises all other activities that do not directly involve the use of the Internet, such as the library (with books, printed reports and pamphlets, newspaper clippings, video documentaries, a computer network, etcetera).

Secretariat

As newly registered organization, the Centre is yet to recruit a fully-fledged staff to carry out its programmes and activities. With only the Executive Director in the acting capacity (previously known as project director until registration) and the Acting Programme Manager, the organization mostly (and primarily) relies on the volunteers and interns who spend their precious time to contribute towards the implementation of the activities in various ways for no pay. The volunteers are involved in carrying out research, documentation of resources at the Centre, fundraising activities, etc.

In return, they gain experience and expertise, which they use when they finally get employment with other already long established organizations.

Board of Trustees

The affairs of the CRIDOC are managed by the Board of the registered trustees – at least at policy level – who exercise all such powers of the CRIDOC as are required to be exercised by the General Assembly Deacons regarding the financial, management and general administrative matters and all other matters of fundamental importance.

As a newly established organization, the Centre has put in place a ten-member Board of Trustees drawn from various disciplines such as law, education, theology, medicine, communications, and business. These are people of high calibre and standard in society. The following is a list of the trustees:

  1. Esme Chombo (Law-LLB Hons, LLM)
    Lawyer, currently Justice of the High Court

  2. Rev. Gertrude Kapuma (Theology-M.A.)
    Theologian/social worker, currently Vice President of All Africa Conference of Churches of Southern African Region

  3. Julita Nsanjama (M.A. Public Health Nutrition )
    Currently education Coordinator, Action Aid Malawi)

  4. Dixie Maluwa Banda (PHD, Academician, Psychology)
    Currently Dean of Education at Chancellor College, University of Malawi

  5. Stella Twea (MA in Women Law)
    Gender activist, currently Director of CAVOC
    Also Chairperson of Task Force on Gender Based Violence (GBV) of the NGO Gender Coordination Network

  6. Aaron I Shaba (BSC, Education Consultant)
    Currently Principal – Lilongwe Academy

  7. Charles Dzamalala (Pathologists – College of Medicine)
    Cuurently Medical Duirector – Malawi Cancer Registry

  8. Christopher Chibwana (Lawyer, LLB Hons.)
    Currently Legal Officer – Malawi Communicatio0ns and Regulatory Authority (MACRA)

  9. Pastor Kenani Phiri (Theologian, M.A.)
    Currently General Secretary – Malawi Council of Churches

  10. Mr. George Kayange (Dip, in Journalism)
    Journalist by Profession, he once worked as a media intern for Global March Against Child Labour where he developed the CRIDOC Concept and eventually co-founded the organization in Malawi with Mr. Benedicto Kondowe.


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