By Madeeha Ansari

AS part of a global research project on forced migration, I was able to listen closely to the stories of children who had perhaps one, perhaps two parents of Afghan origin, and whose only memories were of life in Pakistan. The most powerful, common motif reverberating through their experiences was: ‘I was born here’.

In September 2023, an announcement was made giving undocumented families and individuals of Afghan origin a deadline of Nov 1 to exit the country. This impacts an estimated 1.7 million people, and includes communities that have experienced protracted displacement since the 1980s. For many, a second and often a third generation of children has grown up in Pakistan. However, without pathways to citizenship, their position has remained insecure — even for registered refugees, Proof of Registration (PoR) or Afghan Citizen cards have been subject to renewal after a certain time period.

What, then, is identity? If identity is a document, then it could be a valuable key opening doors to education, livelihoods, the dream of a future different from that of an uprooted generation. The PoR or Afghan Citizen card fit into some doors, enabling bright-eyed young people to enter formal schools and build, brick by brick, those imagined futures. But identity as a document can be a vanishing key, as many now fear deportation in the second phase of the plan as currently shared.

The fear of repatriation was one reason why some of the most vulnerable communities — often in informal, urban contexts — chose to remain invisible, even if that meant giving up even the most basic rights. There was nothing promised to them, yet they fought to stay — moving multiple times, even from the rubble of bulldozed settlements. Perhaps, then, identity is more than a piece of paper, and has something to do with homes built and rebuilt, relationships forged, children born and raised.

They were born here. When embracing friends, saying goodbye, tearing up at the border while facing uncertainty ahead, a voice somewhere whispers: they belong here.

In a parallel reality, children born in Pakistan would have had access to the same kind of birthright citizenship, according to the 1951 Citizenship Act, as those who came as refugees to the country in 1947. They would be able to open bank accounts, own property, enrol in schools with the confidence that comes from a secure national identity. In this alternative vision, they would have the responsibilities that come with citizenship rights, part of a social contract and contributing to a shared and harmonious future.

But our reality is less than utopian, with a crippling economic crisis and worsening security conditions driving both public and policy reactions. One question is whether the sudden exodus of Afghan communities will truly impact, for the better, the fuel prices having a paralytic effect on families in Pakistan — or the rising threat of violence from angered Taliban neighbours.

For the children and families now being sent to holding centres or across the border, the signs are pointing to a humanitarian and “human rights catastrophe”, according to the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. It will be the latest wave of disruption and displacement, this time to a barely post-war pariah country with little international support, and few or no remaining personal networks to moor them. The likely scenario will be the setting up of yet more camps during a harsh winter, with little time to prepare for their arrival and basic survival in terms of food and shelter, let alone livelihoods and education. The journey itself is fraught with physical protection risks for women and children, who are ever the most vulnerable in a crisis. Once there, unless there are provisions for protection, sanitation and hygiene in camp conditions, there will once more not only be risks in terms of disease but also physical and sexual violence.

They were refugees here. And if they go ‘back’ to Afghanistan in this way, they will be refugees there. In the medium term, there are big question marks surrounding livelihoods and education, and whether Afghanistan has the capacity to absorb such a large number of people. For children, sudden and involuntary migration can have a deeply traumatic impact for which there are unlikely to be psychosocial support mechanisms, or the provision of safe and child-friendly spaces that can provide stability. In fact, there is a high likelihood of families relying on negative coping strategies such as early marriage and child labour to survive. Girls are expressing terror at the prospect of losing their chance to go to school, in the only country where female education is banned.

As of Nov 5, an estimated 128,000 people have left via Torkham. While this is a fraction of the intended numbers, there are reports of minors being separated from caregivers, and of Pakistani Pakhtun minors being mistakenly sent across the border. If anything, all this indicates that an undertaking of this magnitude needs more time, careful planning and communication across stakeholders — including governments, UN agencies, civil society and individuals at risk — to ensure that any return is truly what we as a country have for decades promised it will be: voluntary, safe and dignified.

Identity is a tangled mesh of past and present. For third-generation children, growing up in a ‘host’ country means their identities are informed by transmitted memories and culture — but also very much by their lives and experiences in the only home they have known. We owe it to them to consider them, their protection and rights in any next steps, so they can say with pride that they were born in Pakistan.

Featured Photo by Kevin Kremer

The post Born in Pakistan appeared first on Cities for Children.

The countrywide closure of schools in 2020 as an emergency response to the Covid-19 crisis led to huge disruption in education for children in Pakistan. The implications were disproportionately serious for girls, in a country with already slow progress towards gender parity. In order to help and support street-connected children to continue learning through this time, Cities for Children developed and implemented the Seekho Sikhao Saathi (SSS) or the “Partners in Learning” program. The pilot was implemented in partnership with 8 schools of the Pehli Kiran School System, which were committed to serving children in the absence of digital options.

The Partners in Learning program is based on a Child to Child model, equipping older children (Big Partners or “Baray Saathi”) to deliver playful early learning sessions to younger children (Little Partners or “Chotay Saathi”) within their communities, in safe ways.‘We look at the impact of the Partners in Learning for girls, not just in terms of immediate learning, but also in terms of longer term relationship with education – and themselves.’

For Little Partners, female Big Partners represented strong female role models, adding structure, learning and to their lives so that they returned to school ready to learn. For Big Partners, we looked at the impact on various domains of socio-emotional learning, and the value of the program in preparing girls for the opportunities and challenges they may face across various private and public spaces.

The outcomes for girls who were Little Partners were important in terms of establishing a base that they could build on in terms of literacy, numeracy and foundational skills. Girls who took on the role of Big Partners happily reflected on how they developed a positive self-image, more confident communication and relationship management skills. The responses also reassured us as to their willingness to stay in school and continue their paths in education.

See the Impact Summary below for more details on Partners in Learning – Impact on Girls:

Partners in Learning – Impact on Girls Summary Document

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The welcome address was given by Ms. Afshan Tehseen, Chairperson of the NCRC, who drew attention to the invisibility of street children and shared her own experience of working with them over the years. Madeeha Ansari (Founder, CfC) shared the findings of the policy brief in detail and talked about the importance of ensuring every child has the right to a childhood. Susan Andrew (Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF) applauded the rights-based approach adopted in the policy brief. Other distinguished panelists included representatives from civil society as well as the media.

Madeeha Ansari (CfC Founder)

Click here to read the full policy brief on street-connected children.

The policy brief launch is a huge milestone in our journey towards making sure street-connected children be seen, heard and counted. Our engagement with policy-makers began exactly a year ago on International Day for Street Children, 12 April 2021, when we organized a National Parliamentarians Consultation to start a conversation around adopting a rights-based approach towards street-connected children in Pakistan. Since then, we have been engaging with civil society as well as government to address the pitfalls of the current system and developing policies that best suit the issues on hand.

The next steps involve a call to action on implementing the policy brief and partnering with policymakers to make sure the recommended steps from the brief are turned into policies to bring a real system-wide change.  

Afshan Tehseen (NCRC, Chairperson)

Some of the key recommendations that were pointed out included reviewing and amending relevant federal and provincial legislation affecting street-connected children, removing barriers to formal schooling such as the requirement for B-forms and age-related barriers, expanding the availability of drop-in spaces or non-residential facilities and establishing a case management system.

The post LAUNCH: CfC and NCRC Policy Brief on Street-Connected Children appeared first on Cities for Children.

WHY would children, given an option, ever want to stay on the streets?

This question arose when speaking to staff from a reputable organisation in Peshawar, with decades of experience in outreach and rehabilitation for children who live or work on the streets. It takes special skills to engage with that subset of ‘street children’ — or the more nuanced term, ‘street-connected’ children — who have left home of their own accord and drift between urban spaces. Experienced personnel can tell you the answers are not straightforward.

The welfare approach, as codified in law in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act, 2010 (amended 2018), would offer to these children the safe shelter that seems at first glance to be the single most important element missing in their lives. The streets of Peshawar offer a range of serious protection risks including sexual exploitation and abuse, and exposure to alarmingly high incidence of substance misuse. The KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission established under the act has the explicit mandate to offer welfare services, including shelter, to children found begging, living or working on the street or “facing extreme poverty”.

Why, then, have the issues not been resolved?

One answer would be the lack of actual services. While the commission is tasked with establishing child protection units in every district, there have not been adequate resources allocated. The 12 protection units initially established with Unicef support could not be maintained upon donor exit, and the shrinking of civil society in Pakistan has meant that several facilities run by NGOs have also shut down.

The Peshawar High Court recently took notice of the rising numbers of children on the streets, and responded to several petitions regarding the implementation of the child protection act. One positive directive from the court has been to ask the Social Welfare Department to produce a detailed report about the issues faced by such children, as well as the state of current welfare facilities.

This is an opportunity to really explore the varied experiences of children; critically re-examine the systems of support available; review fractures in coordination between different departments; and to assess whether the welfare approach alone is enough. Those who argue for a holistic, rights-based approach say, it is not. Children with experience of the streets, especially those who have lived independently, have a strong sense of agency. Even if rounded up and taken through a system which places them in institutions with everything that they seemingly lack — shelter, food, opportunities to learn — they may resist or even try to run away.

Every city context is unique, but in Peshawar children with loose family connections, who leave home due to violence or neglect, may find strong systems of peer support. As a colleague from Dost Welfare Foundation shared, they may enjoy being able to choose what they eat, to earn an independent income, to spend it on going to the cinema. The streets, for some, are an unfathomable but very real choice.

This is not to say that they should be left to their devices in a world that would leave no chance for the kind of childhood every child deserves. Every child has the right to an education, the right to safety and shelter and all the elements of the welfare approach. It is just to say that, in order to be effective, it is important to take children and their lived reality on board.

This can influence the kinds of options that would be considered for investment. Residential institutions alone cannot reach every child and may not also be the right fit for every case. Ins­tead, the first step should be for the So­­cial Welfare Depar­tment to gather — as instructed by the court — enough information to determine an appropriate resp­onse, and set up the continuum of services children may need. This could include prevention of violence at the family level; connecting with poverty alleviation programmes; action against organised networks that exploit children; or the establishment of ‘one-stop’ drop-in facilities where they can access learning, hygiene, or referrals to other services including drug rehabilitation. The partnerships that the government is establishing with organisations offering vocational skills can be a particularly powerful way of giving children the tools to build a better future.

One revolutionary rights-based idea would be to start the research process by talking to the children themselves, to understand the nature and scale of services needed. Stakeholder consultation should complement efforts to gather useful, disaggregated data around how many children are out of school, how many are in hazardous labour, how many are physically on the streets and why. With a strong, informed response, there can be hope to design real alternatives for street-connected children.

The post Choosing the Street appeared first on Cities for Children.

by Madeeha Ansari

IN February 2021, a landmark bill to ban corporal punishment in all educational and childcare settings was moved in the National Assembly by MNA Mehnaz Akber Aziz and passed with cross-party support. The Islamabad Capital Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill 2021 was then sent to the Senate where it was cleared by the Standing Committee on Human Rights — but not without amendments. Two guest senators called in to apply a religious lens had reservations, backing the right of the teacher to apply discretionary force to maintain discipline, and to prevent “moral deterioration of society”.

Whether or not these reservations have actual basis in religion, they certainly point to social and cultural norms that justify violence as a means of teaching a lesson. The validation of the use of corporal punishment “for the benefit” of children formerly lay in the law — in section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which the new legislation overrides. However, it also lies in a tradition in which older people are vested with the power to teach through force — to hit, spank, pinch or use other creatively cruel means to punish a child for ‘not listening’, or ‘not learning’.

Violence as a means of establishing authority is a concept perpetuated across generations, from a time pre-dating the articulation of child rights. The idea of childhood has evolved even since 1860, when the PPC was formulated: no longer is it a time when children are to be seen and not heard, straitjacketed into a mould. The thinking around the effectiveness of corporal punishment has — or should — also change, based on scientific evidence. A comprehensive review of studies published by The Lancet journal in June 2021 presents overwhelming evidence that physical punishment actually makes children’s behaviour worse over time, rather than being linked to positive outcomes.

Fear of pain or humiliation can be a tool for deterring ‘bad behaviour’ as long as the threat is present — but not for self-regulating behaviour when the adult is not present. As for learning, the impact can only be detrimental, pushing children away from the teacher as well as the space of learning. The answer to a question has never magically dawned upon a child after being struck, or while squatting in a ‘rooster’ position, but substantial numbers of children in Pakistan have been driven away from school for fear of physical punishment and non-physical humiliation.

Violence as a means of establishing authority

is a concept perpetuated

across generations.

Learn more here: https://citiesforchildren.co/our-work/positive-caregiving/

The ICT Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, passed in the joint session of Parliament on Nov 17, is a step towards recognising children’s dignity and human rights, as well as the science that points to the adverse impacts of violence on children. Remarkably, it is rooted in an evidence base that confirms the harmful effects of corporal punishment on the cognitive, social and emotional development of children, and directly addresses the psychosocial effects — including the creation of aggressive behaviour. Children experiencing corporal punishment in childhood are more likely to use violence to resolve conflict with peers, bully others, or to be involved in partner and domestic violence later in life.

The new law is hugely welcome, especially as a blueprint for other provinces where it can be taken forward by the Ministry of Human Rights. Its coverage spans spaces where children access education or protection services, including formal, non-formal and religious schools; childcare institutions, including foster care and rehabilitation centres; and the juvenile justice system. It also lays out varying penalties for violation of the ban — ranging from censure and withholding promotions, to dismissal from service. The call for a complaint system and clear consequences for violation add an important practical dimension, even though the highest level of consequence — disqualifying the offender from future employment — seems to have been removed in Senate deliberations. Presumably, this would have been for the most egregious form of violence or offence, so it can only be hoped that employers hiring people to work with children would carry out some form of background check.

What is essential now is the formulation of rules of business to take things forward. Protocols for implementation will be needed for the designated competent authorities — the Ministry of Education, Wafaqul Madaris and the Ministry of Human Rights. There will need to be greater clarity on the mechanisms for complaint and redress, and on how the penalties are to be applied. In addition, while experiences from all over the world have shown that legal prohibition of corporal punishment works, it is not enough. Teachers, care institution staff and — in the case of juvenile justice systems — the police, will need support in order to change and to embrace new codes of conduct in practice.

To transform a classroom culture that they themselves have known, teachers need to be equipped with alternative tools and strategies to corporal punishment. Another important aspect that will have to be addressed is how parents and caregivers approach the issue. The law is not a blanket ban that covers the private sphere or aims to regulate what happens within the home. However, there is a strong link between the home and the school: when holding workshops with teachers on positive approaches to discipline via Cities for Children, one response that came through was that children ‘did not know how else to learn’, because that’s how they were taught at home. Parents from underprivileged communities, working hard to send their children to school, would themselves tell the teachers to hit their children into submission and learning.

According to the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, “No culture owns corporal punishment, but all have a responsibility to disown it”. Cultural norms can change — as can people. The first step is to declare certain practices as unacceptable, which the bill clearly lays out. The second step is to share, through public campaigns and specialised trainings, the evidence that those practices don’t work; that they actually harm children and affect who they become in the world; and that there are other, better ways of teaching both academic and life lessons. The case for love is powerful, and is ultimately reinforced by science, religion and culture — we just have to adjust our lens.

The post Corporal punishment as culture appeared first on Cities for Children.

On World Children’s Day 2020, we are committed to a future where the #VoicesofYouth are amplified and understood. In the spirit of representation, Cities for Children conducted a “mythbuster” campaign to tackle some of the misperceptions that exist regarding street-connected children in Pakistan. Our hope is to help build a future in which street-children are counted, seen and heard.

While some children in street situations may be vulnerable to recruitment and exploitation by gangs, “street child” is not a monolithic identity. Some may be unaccompanied children “of the street,” but as urban poverty rises, an increasing number of street-connected children find themselves “on the street” to earn for themselves and their families, who they return to. This phenomenon is only growing due to the pressures created by the COVID-19 economy, with high unemployment as well as rising prices.

Society tends to alienate and stigmatise the “street child,” particularly criminalising their survival actions. Children on the streets are often stigmatised for being there, being treated as a nuisance or being labelled a “menace.” The language used to describe them and what they do often does not take their lives, their background and their own agency into account, either using a frame of victimisation or of criminalisation.

Let’s take the time to understand where street-connected children come from, and what pushes them onto the streets. Not all of them have the same story!

Although street children are exposed to a number of dangers on the street; they are often highly resilient individuals who have learnt to develop apt survival skills. Street children actively build connections and friendships in order to earn a living for themselves and at times for their families.

It is important to understand that street children should be able to exercise their right to participate and to be heard, as specified by Article 12 under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Otherwise, policies created for their own benefit may end up being a less effective use of resources.

Research suggests that children forcefully removed from the streets will eventually return. They are used to practicing their independence, and are often distrustful of law enforcement agencies, as they or their families may have in the past faced harassment from the authorities as evidenced by the UNICEF Street Children Evaluation Report[1]. In addition, they may lack appropriate support in facilities set up for their own protection and may exhibit behavioural issues that present challenges for staff without adequate training.

While a large majority of street children are indeed boys, there are a number of girls who work and live on the streets as well. At least 10 percent of street-connected children around the world are girls. Gender matters, and risks for girls and boys can differ.[2] Reports by the Consortium for Street Children have stated that “Girls experience high levels of violence on the streets, including verbal abuse and physical and sexual assaults”^[3].

Poverty and financial constraints are the primary “push factors” for children to seek income generation activities on the streets. This can mean that parents face difficult choices, and often have to choose between schooling and work for their children. This does not mean that parents do not care or have their children’s best interests at heart, or would not respond positively to viable alternative options. According to the UN General Comment No. 21 on children in street situations, it is important to “help parents or caregivers to secure, within their abilities and financial capacities and with respect for the evolving capacities of the child, the living conditions necessary for the child’s optimal development”.[4]

Cities for Children takes a rights-based approach towards children and communities in urban poverty, by which we hold certain economic, cultural and social rights to be inalienable for all. We believe that every child has the right to a childhood – the right to read, to play and to feel safe. In order to provide these rights, we have a duty to understand and address the realities faced by street-connected children, and design solutions that work for all.

[1] UNICEF Street Children Evaluation Report: https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/files/CP_Street_Children_Evaluation_Report_Final.pdf

[2] Consortium for Street Children: https://www.streetchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CSC_Myth-Busters_FINAL1.pdf

[3] Consortium for Street Children: https://www.streetchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CSC_Myth-Busters_FINAL1.pdf

[4] General UN Comment No 21: https://www.streetchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/1-07fc61ac163e50acc82d83eee9ebb5c2/2017/07/General-Comment-No.-21-2017-on-children-in-street-situations.pdf

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A core aspect of Cities for Children’s mission to protect the “Right to a Childhood”, is the Right to Play. The role of play in a child’s life is essential for early learning, understanding and brain development. It is also closely linked to positive mental health. 

In order to open up a conversation on the importance of play, on 4th August 2020, Cities for Children hosted a unique panel of remarkable speakers, in collaboration with British Council Pakistan. These included:

• Dr. Paul Ramchandani, the first LEGO Professor of Play in Education, Development and Learning at Cambridge University
• Ms. Umbreen Arif, senior Education Advisor to the Federal Government of Pakistan
• Dr. Nishat Riaz MBE, Director Education at the British Council
• Madeeha Ansari, our Founder, as moderator. 

Setting the Stage

To start off, Dr.  Ramchandani – a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist by training – explains the importance of early childhood in preparing a child for their future. He states that a child’s well-being, safety, play and learning are linked together very closely. His expertise and vast knowledge breaks down the psyche of a child’s brain. 

 “Billions of brain cells and neurons are present in the childs brain from the day they are born. These are not just there, they are actively developing. Learning is happening all the time.” 

The development of a child’s brain in its earliest stages is absolutely mind blowing, and it is in fact, the earliest stages of a child’s life that shape them into the kind of person they become later on. 

“We know from developing body research that early experiences that children have, make a huge development to this brain development. So, things can change later in life but the outlying trajectory of what’s possible is set quite early so the kind of parameters that a child has are set quite early.”

What we took away from this was that essentially, our job as educators, caretakers, and parents in this crucial time is to instill happy memories into the child’s brain. For them to look back, and be content with the accumulation of their childhood memoirs. For that, we have to provide them with a positive and nurturing environment to grow in, not just physically but also mentally and spiritually. 

They should have a safe space, where they can truly express their feelings through play and various other tools. Play is the child’s way of exploring and understanding the world. It helps them learn how social relationships work and are formed. As Dr. Paul said,

“All the time children are doing this learning about the social world and they’re like young scientists exploring the world. Play is a critical part of all of that particularly for younger children – as children grow up, it underpins a lot of these aspects of learning and development.”      

The challenges for Pakistan

As a country, Pakistan was already facing academic challenges, in terms of education quality and access. As Nishat Riaz shared, “45% of children in rural areas of Pakistan at the Grade 5 level can’t understand sentences meant for Grade 2.”

These challenges were greatly exacerbated by the lockdown caused by COVID-19, with worrying implications in terms of learning losses for children. However, as Umbreen Arif shared, the government was quick to respond and worked to minimize the extent of the damage. There are over 300,000 schools across Pakistan, so organising this is surely not as easy a process. At the same time, as Umbreen shared,

             “Sometimes when you’re faced with challenges you find opportunities that you do not find in normal circumstances.”

There is light at the end of the tunnel, and this ordeal provided some space for institutions and educators worldwide to rethink their approach and move away from “boxed learning.” In Pakistan, the government took this opportunity to explore technological advancement for education and was able to start a nation-wide digital platform known as Tele-school. This concept has found a way of incorporating academic learning in a playful manner into the homes of the learners, with the support of partners.

Additional plans include creating processes and SOPs to follow for when the schools open, to ensure children’s safety while also ensuring that learning continues.

Reimagining education

At this critical juncture, there is the opportunity to address what Nishat described as a “crisis of creative learning.” Part of this can come through training programmes for teachers, equipping them with new skills and new ways of thinking. As Nishat shared, during the time of school closures there was a large appetite on the part of teachers for training courses through which they could upskill – and as the frontline workers, they will need additional support to address both mental health and educational needs of children returning to school in an ongoing crisis.

As they return, it is really important to give children that the support and opportunities to express themselves, at their own pace comfortably. Play and playful methods can play a powerful role in terms of reinforcing learning, motivating children to attend school and building the resilience to cope with tough situations. 

Our take – investing in happiness

As advocates of playful methods, we are keen to ensure that new and innovative techniques are explored to help children return to school. We know from our Hasti Basti (Happy Hoods) projects that creative methods can be powerful tools to build socioemotional skills for children, equipping them for life. As Madeeha said, “We have seen shy children gain confidence and confident children act with empathy and build friendships with others. We’ve also seen children facing really difficult circumstances, like separation from their families, smile – and for us, that matters.” 

There is scientific evidence showing that positive experiences can actually change the way the brain looks and develops and how it responds to stress.  As said by Nishat Riaz,

   “It’s in our hands to carve the future.”

We hope to make it a happy one!

The post The role of play – reimagining education appeared first on Cities for Children.

Today was the International Day for Street Children. It passed, unmarked, barely ruffling the stillness of these days of quarantine. In this, the strangest time in living memory, it is hard to be stirred by anything beyond the heightened consciousness of ones own fragility.

The war has come home.

It has swept the world in a quiet wave, pushing over the foundations of the lives we took for granted. And while we wait in our fortresses surrounded by cloudy dread, it is of course difficult to spare space in our minds, our newsprint and our Twitter feeds for those who are invisible on a clear day.

But clarity matters. It’s important to know that those empty streets and stillness come at a price. Not all have the security of fortresses, and everyone needs to care. Like it or not, this is a war that we really are all in together.

Why care now?

Street-connected children are those who live on the streets, work on the streets or depend on the streets for survival in some way. So some have homes to return to, and some don’t. Many of the safe spaces they used to access, such as drop-in centres, are closed until further notice. 

Social media has come alive with some trends that are repeated, because they are important. Here’s why #SafeSpacesForStreetChildren matter too:

#PublicHealth

Without access to information and adequate medical care, many children, young people and adults living in urban poverty are at risk of contracting and spreading coronavirus without even knowing. Contrary to initial observations, children too are affected by it – especially if they have low immunity. The danger of this insidious disease is that it can be carried without exhibiting any symptoms – which, for congested slum communities, can have exponential, catastrophic consequences.

#StayHome

Everyone agrees that the “smart” thing to do right now is to stay home. But what of those for whom the street is home? Children who experience homelessness or live on the streets are at risk of police harassment and of being detained in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. In places like Pakistan where prisons are already overflowing and that hazard is being recognised, the last thing we want is for street children to be criminalised.

#WashYourHands

The new rule is “at least” 20 seconds. But what about those who lack access to clean water and sanitation? 

#SocialDistancing

When ten people are crowded into a single room, with ten single rooms in close proximity, this is hardly an option. Furthermore, families in lockdown conditions are under extraordinary stress, especially when livelihoods are being affected. The risk of unreported domestic abuse rising is a terrifying thought.

What then?

There has been a rise in global generosity at this time, which is beautiful to see. Individuals and organisations are stepping up to provide monetary and in-kind support to families whose income has been disrupted and who will bear the brunt of this crisis. Government, too, has taken notice and there have been some historic efforts in terms of emergency support.

However, the wave seems to have swept away some of the principles that took a long time to build into good practice – for instance, looking at how vulnerabilities can differ according to gender and age. Perhaps the champions of those sensitive approaches are themselves under too much psychological and emotional strain to speak up, but they should be factored in so the impact of generosity is magnified.

It is important to see children, and for at least some of us to put them at the centre of what we are doing. Then we will be able to see their needs, and address them accordingly – in terms of disseminating life-saving information in ways that they can understand and practically apply; in terms of creating life-saving options for hygiene; and ensuring safe spaces for them to live.

Today was the first day of summer. Through the open window, the birds haven’t ceased their busy exchange; the blossoms are at their most dazzlingly proud. For so many, it has been a gentle war. But it is without end, unless we dare to care.

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