“As a result of the participation in the program (Hansti Basti), the kids now take initiative and show eagerness to participate in various activities… this is because they now feel more confident.” – Teacher, Pehli Kiran School System
About
For the past year and a half, we, at Cities for Children, have been working on promoting a child rights-based approach in the debates and discussions pertaining to street children. To ensure we are able to safeguard, promote and fulfil children’s rights, our efforts have expanded to include advocacy as well. With the support of the Consortium for Street Children, we have been able to work towards making street children’s voices heard by organising events such as the National Parliamentarians Consultation on International Day for Street Children, on April 12th, 2021. Cities for Children along with the Special Parliamentary Group on the SDGs in Pakistan organised this national consultation with the aim of receiving policies related to street-connected children. The details and takeaways from this event are available here.
One of the key takeaways of this event was ‘cooperation and coordination’ among a network of organisations working for or with street-connected children. Acting upon this takeaway, Cities for Children, along with other civil society organisations, collectively launched the ‘Mera Haq Hai’ campaign on World Children’s Day 2021. The three tenets of this campaign were Taleem (education), Shinakht (identity), and Tahaffuz (protection) as essential rights for children as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Learning and Impact
A joint open letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly and Members of Parliament was drafted with recommendations and was sent out to relevant parties. The UN General Comment No. 21 on Children in Street Situations was recommended as a reference guide for policymakers when developing strategies, and in ensuring street-connected children are guaranteed the right to education, protection and identity. Furthermore, the recommendations included: ensuring implementation of Article 25-A in each of the provinces, simplifying the process of obtaining documentation from union councils and NADRA, and strong safeguarding mechanisms and protocols to protect street-connected children.
Our work during the last few years has focused mainly on providing opportunities for street children by designing and implementing programmes such as Seekho Sikhao Saathi (Partners in Learning), Maar Nahi Pyaar (Care Don’t Scare!) and Hansti Basti (Happy Hoods) to allow children the right to play, learn and feel safe. However, through our advocacy efforts, we are proud to have entered and steered the conversation towards viewing children, and street-connected children in particular, as right-holders. In this way, we are trying to understand the reality of the lives of these children and working towards ensuring they are given a voice.
