Building courageous communities to protect our children

THE National Adoption Coalition of South Africa (Nacsa)) is working hard to build courageous communities that put the needs and rights of our children first. In support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals adopted in August 2015, the Courage Child Protection community engagement programme is uniquely placed to drive goal 16.2 – to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children by 2030.

Courage is a powerful, picture-based tool kit that helps child protection organisations, communities, families and individuals to identify and solve the child protection challenges that they may encounter. Since its launch during Child Protection Week 2015, train-the-trainer workshops have been conducted with child protection officers, organisations and communities in South Africa, Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe. At the Swedish Foundation for Children without Parental Care Global Conference in 2015, Courage trained representatives from 30 different countries and is now being used as an important child protection tool across the globe.

“Our primary goal over the past year has been to find partners who can use Courage to effect real behaviour change at a grass-roots level,” said Dee Blackie, global project leader for Courage on behalf of Nacsa.

“Beyond our adoption community, we have engaged with local and global child protection organisations like the UN, Unicef, Higherlife Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and our own Department of Social Development, all of whom positively endorse the programme. One of Courage’s key success points is its accessibility, being picture-based and freely available to download off the website means that anyone can access the programme and start to make a difference in their community straight away.”

Courage has also made inroads in the practical implementation of the SA Children’s Act, launched in 2010, especially amongst social work students.

“We have run Courage workshops at the universities of the North West, Free State and Witwatersrand, and many more have shown an interest in making Courage part of their curriculum,” said Katinka Pieterse, the Nacsa chair.

She adds that the programme helps students take their theoretical knowledge and apply it in a practical way, and everyone leaves the workshops inspired to make a difference. There are further plans to expand on the Courage tool kit in 2016, including:

A practical parenting guide that prioritises the developmental needs and rights of children.

A personal empowerment programme for teenagers called Courage Heroes, incorporating practical tools for identity development, rights awareness and sex education.

A personal empowerment programme for young adults called Courageous Living, incorporating practical tools for mindfulness, entrepreneurship and financial awareness.

Child Protection Week starts today and runs until June 2. Nadine Nagel