19-10-2020 | di COOPI

Chad. COOPI protects the rights of the most vulnerable groups in the department of Mamdi

 

Since last August, COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale has been committed in the emergency project "Peacebuilding: Protecting the rights of the most vulnerable groups in the Department of Mamdi, Chad", funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). The project is the natural follow-up of the previous one called "Supporting the protection of children affected by the crisis in Lake Chad", also funded by AICS and currently being closed. 

The final goal of the project is to improve children's rights, to assist them to overcome the traumas they have suffered and to raise awareness among the adult population about the rights of children that our beneficiaries are deprived of.

To do this, the project's first step is to identify cases of children separated from their families, to assist them and reunite them, if possible, with their parents. To this end, we are planning to build 5 Child Friendly Spaces and 8 Multipurpose Centres where project leaders will carry out playful activities aimed at the psychological support of the children.

The same spaces will be used for activities involving adults and community leaders which will make them aware of their importance in protecting children's rights. These activities will be complemented by awareness-raising campaigns on different websites and on the radio, to raise awareness of children's rights and discuss together the obstacles to their full enjoyment.

Part of the project staff will then be solely responsible for the registration of children aged 0-17 years. Despite birth certificate is free if done within the first month of the child's life and if it is of fundamental importance for determining the identity of the person and for the respect of his/her rights, the birth declaration rate in Chad is very low and decreases further in rural areas and among displaced populations. This registration campaign is therefore intended to help end statelessness and promote the full enjoyment of rights. 

The humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad Basin has been going on for years now posing several problems, including that of displaced people and the consequent issue of peaceful cohabitation. We recall, in fact, that the problem of refugees also brings with it the question of reception, which is never simple and immediate, but must be addressed and supported. For this reason, the project will also use the built spaces to bring the inhabitants of the different villages together and stimulate them in the search for practical and effective solutions to the above-mentioned problems.

To date, in spite of the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties of the intervention area, the project has already carried out several activities - training, awareness raising activities, etc. - and many others are in progress.