Regional Reports - the European External Action Service

SCNE, SCD, FSCE, ANPPCAN and PADET, are the key actors in this field. In selected woredas
of North Wollo, SCD and its two-partner national NGOs (PADET and ANPPCAN) have
successfully accomplished the tasks of general child rights awareness creation, mobilizing and
organizing child rights clubs and community structures, and also in strengthening capacities of
governmental institutions (example the judiciary and Law enforcement bodies) for the protection
of child rights.
ANPPCAN alone is behind the formation and participation of over 50 child rights clubs in
schools across North Wollo woredas. It has also similar project in North Gondor (Dabat and
Wogera). Likewise, PADET and ANPPCAN have jointly mobilized other local level NGOs,
CBOs like Iddirs, religious leaders and local officials (Woreda and Kebeles) in Woldiya town,
Gubalafto, Kobo and Habru woredas, and this has contributed to both enhanced local level care
and support for OVC and to the nurturing of non-tolerant culture against child abuse.
The following are some of the indicators learned from the field work:
� In Kobo and Mersa towns, Kebele-based OVC committees have established income
generating schemes for targeted OVCs,
� Child Rights Clubs from schools in Mersa town and the surroundings are actively
participating in the protection and prevention of harmful tradition of early marriage and
abduction affecting educational participation of the girl child,
� With the support of the above mentioned NGOs, Police stations in selected woredas of
the zone have established children and mothers protection units.
� At zonal level, an initiative of forming all inclusive child rights advocacy forum is in
motion.
On a region-wide scale, the FSCE has facilitated the introduction as well as the operation of the
Children and Mothers' Protection Units in the Police Commission Structures. The supports
provided include training of personnel in child rights, developing formats for compilation of
information on incidences of child rights abuses and children in conflict with the law. With these
supports, the regional police commission has started producing monthly statistical reports on
cases of children and mothers rights, which is shared and fed into the FSCE data-base in Addis
Ababa. Moreover, as part of a phase-out strategy, FSCE is currently coordinating a task of
developing a regional Guideline for Police Officers in Managing Cases related to Child Rights.
By taking into account these diversified actions and the corresponding results at different levels;
the survey is convinced that child rights promotion is one of the visible contributions of NGOs in
Amhara. The current children who are well aware of child rights, when grown up, will not allow
the perpetuation of such abuses as early marriage, abduction, and denial of education rights of
children.
4.5.5. Environmental protection and community asset creation
This is one of the long-established engagement areas of NGOs and MBAs in Amhara. Physical
conservation structures like terraces, hill side tree plantations and backyard tree plots have
become common features of the regional landscape. Of course, the credit is shared among various
stakeholders. But NGOs like ORDA, FHI, SC/UK, WVE and EOC/DICAC, through their safety
net and other agricultural extension programmes have played vital role in promoting the
environmental rehabilitation and protection agenda in the region. In the 14 woredas where NGOs
coordinate implementation of the ongoing PSNP, environmental rehabilitation and community
asset creation are core activities.
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