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 in
India where he worked as an intern. |
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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).
| Benedicto Kondowe - CRIDOC Cofounder and human rights advocate. |
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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.
| 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.
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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:
- Esme Chombo (Law-LLB Hons, LLM)
Lawyer, currently Justice of the High Court
- Rev. Gertrude Kapuma (Theology-M.A.)
Theologian/social worker, currently Vice President of All
Africa Conference of Churches of Southern African Region
- Julita Nsanjama (M.A. Public Health Nutrition )
Currently education Coordinator, Action Aid Malawi)
- Dixie Maluwa Banda (PHD, Academician, Psychology)
Currently Dean of Education at Chancellor College, University
of Malawi
- 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
- Aaron I Shaba (BSC, Education Consultant)
Currently Principal – Lilongwe Academy
- Charles Dzamalala (Pathologists – College of Medicine)
Cuurently Medical Duirector – Malawi Cancer Registry
- Christopher Chibwana (Lawyer, LLB Hons.)
Currently Legal Officer – Malawi Communicatio0ns
and Regulatory Authority (MACRA)
- Pastor Kenani Phiri (Theologian, M.A.)
Currently General Secretary – Malawi Council of Churches
- 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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