Bishop Makenzie Donates Books to CRIDOC

Bishop Mackenzie International School (BMIS) in May this year donated to Child Rights Information and Documentation Centre (CRIDOC) three cartons of assorted books to be used at the resource centre in Area 18B, in Lilongwe, which CRIDOC is co-managing with the Youth Alliance in Social and Economic Development (YASED).

The donation is a big boost to the two organisation’s plans of putting in place a refurnished resource and information centre ion the area.

YASED and CRIDOC have teamed up to re-establish and re-organise the Youth Centre which had previously been managed by YASED only since the inception of the organisation the past ten years. The building was a donation by the Lilongwe City Assembly.

The building is located next to the Assemblies of God Church, just beside the market in Area 18 B Township in Lilongwe, the Capital City. The Centre covers an almost one-hectare of land, with enough land for a basketball court as well as a volleyball court.

The township itself – Area 18 – in which the centre is located is centrally positioned and has more “second-class” residents, with at least 90 percent of the youth either in school or completed secondary school education, thereby making it extremely more convenient for a contemporary Youth Information Centre than most of the Townships within the city. The nearby townships surrounding it include Area 25 (the most populated township in Lilongwe); Area 47; Area 49; Gulliver; area 43; Area 15; Area 30, Area 12, Area 11; and area 10.  Most of the youth/children living in these Areas, however, neither have easy access to the Internet nor any leisure centre where they can spend their time usefully and beneficially. As a result, these youths, especially those who have finished secondary school education but remain unemployed, are at risk of indulging in hazardous behaviour that leads them into all sorts of problems, including contracting HIV/Aids.

However, due to unavailability of funds, the YASED Centre does not only lack appropriate resources (like books, computers, magazines, etc), but the building itself also remains in a dilapidated state, for example, with broken window and fragile doors, thereby rendering the centre unsafe and unsuitable to keep any appropriate resources.  It does not even have basic utilities like electricity, water and telephone. Furthermore, the remaining land earmarked for the basketball and volleyball courts is also in appalling condition.  There is no fence around the premises, which is not conducive for any youth information centre of a contemporary nature.

Besides the on-line (internet) resources, the Youth Centre will constitute off-line materials such as child rights related books and literature, posters, over 10000 reports and conventions on various child rights issues, over 10000 pamphlets on Human rights issues and documentation of newspaper clippings and magazines.

It will also have video documentaries on issues relating to youth/children (which means it will have a television screen complete with VCR and DVD players). These will be very helpful in making the centre as interactive as possible particularly for children and young persons who will be using the centre.

There is going to be a network of at least 10 computers for registered users of the Information Centre. Thus, it is planned that CRIDOC and YASED will not only be involved in providing information on child/youth rights to society, but also – and most significantly – empowering children by providing “informal” Internet lessons to school going children who have been registered with the Youth Information Centre through their schools’  “Institutional Membership.” At least three days within a week (preferably on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) will be dedicated for this particular service where the children will first be given a brief introduction to computer basics, using the Internet, accessing websites, etc.

Then the school (plus individual pupils) will be encouraged to purchase copies of the Online Resource on Child Rights manual for their library, which has been developed by CRIDOC, as one of the several income-generating activities for the centre.

To demonstrate the belief and commitment of YASED and CRIDOC in an all-inclusive society, it will also ensure that the Youth Information Centre maintains an audio library for persons with visual impairment. This library will contain audio books on a variety of child rights subjects – fiction and non-fiction. This will give an opportunity for persons with visual impairment – especially children – to expand their horizons and improve their outlook towards the world by getting involved in all matters affecting them. YASED and CRIDOC believe that human/child rights affects all, including parsons with disability.