Five Year Strategy June 2017 - May 2022 - Railway Children Africa
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Railway Children Africa Five Year Strategy June 2017 – May 2022
WE believe in a world where no child ever has to live on the streets
FOREWORD In the seven years since Railway Children Africa (RCA) was formed we have contacted and supported over 10,000 children and young people living on the streets in East Africa. In that time we have identified, applied, reviewed and adapted our approaches to increase the likelihood of children genuinely connecting with us, and our chances of genuinely providing the support they need. This means we not only befriend a child today, but we change the course of their lives tomorrow. Children on the streets have no-one to guide them, provide for them and protect them. As human beings we need this and every child needs an adult to fulfil this role. Without this, children face exclusion, violence and, all too often, early death. We can change this. We can help the children we contact on the streets to form relationships, feel like they belong, make choices about their future and stand a chance of achieving their dreams. This takes time, commitment, dedication, patience and an unwavering belief in the children themselves. Our experience means we now know enough about the complexities of the issue to have developed solutions good enough to offer more broadly across the East Africa region. We will continue to learn and to innovate and to adapt but we will also advocate for, invest in and deliver the interventions we know children need. This strategy will enable us to scale up the work that we have developed in a small number of cities in Tanzania and Kenya, to a greater number of cities in those countries and over time to other countries within East Africa. It will also enable us to focus our energies not only in effective practice with development agencies, but also in working with national and local governments so these practices can in time be owned, funded and delivered by the authorities themselves. This strategy will also enable us to start to challenging and changing the negative perceptions that all too many people have about children on the streets. We will encourage people to understand that every child on the streets is simply a vulnerable child that has been let down again and again by those who are supposed to support them. It is the responsibility of all of us to step in and provide that support. We look forward to working with all the development partners, implementing agencies, government departments, corporate sponsors, academic institutions and individuals we will need to connect with to deliver on this plan. Yours sincerely Pete Kent East Africa Regional Director
Railway Children Africa was founded in 2010 and registered as an independent NGO affiliated to the Railway Children Group of international NGOs. Together, we work to achieve our collective vision: ‘A world where no child ever has to live on the streets’ MISSION ‘To create and enable sustainable change for children who live alone and at risk on the streets’ OUR BELIEFS Integrity: We will always act with integrity towards our supporters, partners and peers, acting in the best interests of our beneficiaries at all times. Bravery: We are not afraid to push the boundaries, try new things or challenge the status quo in order to change the world for children living on the streets. Innovation: We are constantly reviewing our work to find new and improved ways of doing the best for our beneficiaries. We push ourselves to deliver sector leading work in the interests of children living on the streets. Effectiveness: Our work is constantly judged on results and impact and then assessed to ensure maximum return on investment both in our programme outputs and financially. Every penny of donors’ money is invested with care and attention to detail.
The Issue Tens of thousands of children continue to live on the streets of East Africa. Their lives are typified by neglect and abuse. The most recent national studies show that approximately 50 per cent of 13 to 17-year-olds in Tanzania and Kenya, have experienced violence at the hands of relatives and/or authority figures. 29 per cent of girls in Tanzania and 24 per cent in Kenya reported that their first sexual experience was forced. (VAX studies, UNICEF 2012) These statistics explain why significant numbers of children leave their homes. Once on the streets, children often experience extreme violence. Brutal murders of children living on the streets are not uncommon. Our recent headcount across Tanzania found that at least 10,500 children are living on the streets of the six major cities. In the Kenyan town of Kitale alone 2,887 were counted. These children have been deprived of their most basic human rights. Together with their families they need a long-term and sustained response built on an understanding of their life experiences to date. National and local governments do recognise the issue and some have passed laws that specifically include the protection of street children. However, the political will to create systems, policies and procedures that support children on the streets varies enormously. Not only that, social welfare, education, health and law enforcement services are not sufficiently integrated, resourced or developed to meet the complex needs of these children.
Our approach – Strategic
goals
Since 2010 RCA’s work has focused on developing effective interventions for
children on the streets. This has been done through investment in local
partners in Kenya, and investment in both partners and our own capacity in
Tanzania.
Through the 2017-22 strategy we will continue to strengthen organisational
capacity in Tanzania and from that platform we will support and deliver
effective services for children in Kenya and in other countries across the
east Africa region.
RCA works at three interdependent levels in order to achieve sustainable
and long-term change for children struggling to survive on the streets.
1) Meeting immediate needs – developing and enabling quality
interventions for children.
2) Challenging perception – so that communities are more likely to
support and protect children around them.
3) Strengthening government systems – working to advocate for and
co-create with governments’ robust laws and systems that respond
effectively and empathetically to children on the streets.
Our work will focus on at least 12 cities across East Africa over the five
years. From day one of the strategy we start with six cities in Tanzania
and two in Kenya. Throughout the period we will carry out assessments and
situational analyses and support work in further cities in Kenya, and other
countries where the need is high and where the capacity of local CSOs and
funding environment allows. We will work in close collaboration with RC UK
to ensure our collective efforts can impact as many children on the streets
in the region as possible.
Our Strategic Goal over the next five years is:
To measurably reduce levels of violence experienced by
street connected children and youth across the East
Africa region.
To do so we will ensure that:
1) Children and youth on the streets are safely reintegrated back home or
in to their communities.
2) Communities that live and work in areas where street connected
children are found, in particular around transport hubs, provide an
increased level of protection for children, reducing violence against
children in target cities by 50 per cent by 2022.
3) Street connected children in 12 target cities are protected by the law
and provided with support as per national systems and plans.
Children living on the streets are some of the most vulnerable people on our planet. Our work is designed to reach and support any child on the street, from any background and in any situation. However, we recognise that some individuals or groups have a higher level of vulnerability so our programmes provide particular care and attention to children living with disabilities, girls and children living with HIV. This specialist care is provided through unique elements within the programme design, specific staff being recruited or trained, and through creating links to relevant external services. services outside of our programme.
Communications Within this strategy RCA will promote the RC brand to be recognised across the region. In increasing our profile we will be better placed to deliver our Strategic Goals, particularly 2 and 3. Children are often stigmatised on the streets. Violent acts against them are commonplace and are committed with impunity. Children on the streets are often perceived as a nuisance, as thieves, as a threat – rather than children that have been let down by their families, communities and society. Our communications strategy is designed to build our profile so we can leverage more influence and support, but also to challenge the negative perceptions that many people hold. We will give children on the streets a voice. We will undertake a marketing audit and develop a communications strategy to focus on channels for each of our target audiences: the NGO sector, government, funders and targeted members of the public segments. This will include: 1) Publication of training materials, research, impact evaluations. 2) Dissemination of the same. 3) Targeted personal engagement with key stakeholders. 4) Active engagement in sector forums. 5) Public engagement through media campaigns. 6) Development of RCA digital and social media channels. RCA will work closely in collaboration with the RC group globally to feed in to global campaigns, and enrich our communications work in the region.
Fundraising
There is growing recognition in the international funding community of
the need to address violence as well as a focus within the UN Sustainable
Development Goals to ‘leave no-one behind.’ These factors enhance the
importance of our work with international funders wanting to invest in East
Africa. We will maintain our investment in our own internal processes and
procedures, and in our people, to ensure that we remain a strong partner for
donor organisations and individuals.
Economies in East Africa continue to grow. Tanzania and Kenya have seen
consistent growth rates in GDP of over five per cent for the past five years.
There is a growing middle class, increasing tax revenues and a number of
maturing and emerging industries all of which present opportunities for us to
expand our income streams. The long-term vision is that national governments
in the region will finance services for children and we will advocate for
budget allocation. But we are realistic. We know that in five years we will
need to continue to fight for funding to ensure children on the streets get the
support they need and deserve.
We will develop three broad income pillars. Initial focus will be on the first
two pillars, the third will be tested as we move through our strategic plan.
1) Institutional grants – from bilateral and multilateral donors.
2) CSR – strategic corporate partnerships that develop value for all
parties.
3) Localised fundraising – test and develop the East Africa market in
social and sporting events, and in direct marketing.Our people We can achieve nothing without our dedicated staff, volunteers, and directors. Our people are our greatest resource and we cannot support children on the streets without them. In the field our programme work is based on identifying strengths and this is equally true of our staff. We aim to be an employer of choice in the sector, we pay competitively and offer a workplace that recognises the skills and commitment of our staff, providing opportunities for continual development and growth. Governance RCA is an affiliate of RC Global. Together we are committed to the highest standards of governance and total compliance with all laws and regulations that apply in national, international or UK law that binds us. Our Board is made up of a mixture of East African and UK-based directors with a range of skills, experience and contacts ensuring we achieve our mission of being a robust, safe and strong organisation.
Operating models: Sustainability We strive for sustainability in a number of ways. For children on the streets, we design and deliver our programmes in such a way that enables lasting change in the lives of the children, young people, families and communities we work with. We strengthen resilience, help develop self- worth and enable children and their families to positively engage with and contribute to their communities and wider society. Given the levels of deprivation faced by children on the streets, this can take a great deal of time, dedication and skill. We also strive to ensure that the services we develop can be sustained beyond our investment. This means strengthening our CSO partnerships and committing to long term work with local and national governments, conscious of the limited resources available in East Africa. Service Delivery Partnerships Where there is a city with an identified need, and there are local NGOs in that city that share our ethos, values and commitment, we will work to invest in and strengthen those agencies so that in time quality services can continue to be provided without our involvement. Direct Delivery Where there is a city with an identified need or particular gaps where services are not being met, we be ready to deliver these ourselves, and in so doing will demonstrate to others how effective support for children can be provided. Training We will promote and market our training materials and methodologies so that any agency in the region working with children on the streets can benefit from the approaches we develop. Strategic Partnerships We can achieve more working together. We will continue to develop strategic partnerships, where there is a mutual benefit and a shared aim of creating sustainable change for children on the streets, across a range of sectors, such as: • Government departments • Corporations • Local, national and international NGOs • African Union, UNICEF and other relevant UN agencies • National and global networks • Academia • Individual experts • Funding agencies • Media companies
IMPACT
Over the course of the five-year strategy we will contact and support at
least 15,000 children on the streets across the region.
We will ensure that at least 3,000 of them are returned home and the issues
at home are properly addressed so that the child and their siblings (more
than 12,000) are safe, they are fed, they are back in school and they are
part of their community.
We will help at least 3,000 homeless youths to find a place to stay, to
secure some reliable income and to move away from street life.
We will create child-friendly spaces in bus stands across at least 12
cities in the region and create effective referral mechanisms for street
connected children that arrive in those bus stands.
We will work with at least one national government in the region to
enshrine in law and national policy the recommendations laid out in the UN
General Comment on Children in Street Situations. We will work to ensure
that these are applied by all statutory and non-governmental agencies in
that country.
FINANCIAL PLAN
In order to deliver this strategy, and ensure we achieve the impact we
believe we can deliver for children on the streets, we need to secure the
necessary funds. The chart below outlines what is required.
As part of the RC group globally, we will continue to rely on the financial
support of RC UK. This support, alongside grants already secured with our
development partners, will ensure that plans for Year 1, and to an extent
plans for Years 2 and 3, can be delivered with confidence. Our fundraising
plan outlines how we intend to leverage funds here in East Africa and
secure the funding required to deliver on all of these plans.
16/17 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 TOTAL
Funding required £0 73 551 892 1,244 1,537 4,297 £, 000’s
RCA Secured £ 573 540 229 138 60 65 1,032
Expected RC UK £ 524 319 452 503 530 534 2,338
TOTAL 1,097 932 1,232 1,533 1,834 2,136 7,667RCA 5 Year Strategy 2017–2022
Theory of Change
IMPACT
IMPACT
To measurably reduce levels of violence
experienced by street connected children
and youth across the East Africa region.
Projected budget Children and youth CLWS experience Government and
OUTCOMES
OUTCOMES
requirements are on the streets more support from civil society
met via a range are able to re- communities as collaborate
of funders and engage with their they arrive in in delivering
activities. communities, to target cities effective
return home, to and report less interventions
school, earn a incidences of for CLWS that
living and be safe violence on the are in line with
and free from street. internationally
violence. agreed standards.
Accountability ceiling (RCA contribute to but not be fully responsible for outcomes above this)
Relationships Quality services Campaigns Identified laws
OUTPUTS
OUTPUTS
formed and provided in 12 delivered to amended and
maintained with a cities. Street targeted audiences Standard Operating
range of potential work, drop in, that challenge Procedure lay
funders – robust reintegration, perceptions of out how local
impact evidence youth work, CLWS and a number government and
available for youth housing, of CLWS champions civil society
donors and ongoing emergency identified in all respond to CLWS in
learning. shelter. 12 cities. target countries.
RCA maintains Civil Society Comms strategy RCA works
robust M&E Organisations developed that with national
framework identified in identifies target governments,
INPUTS
and develops
fundraising plan
in conjunction
12 cities. Due
diligence done.
Training provided
audiences and
engagement
channels
UNICEF, and CSO
networks to
analyse laws and
INPUTS
with RC UK. in methodologies - includes policy and make
& in Standard development of recommendations
Operating materials and and plans for
Procedures. referral pathways change based on
for safe bus UN Gen Comment.
stand work.
Violence against children across East Africa is normalised, 50% of 13-17 year olds in
Tanzania and 48% in Kenya have experienced violence at the hands of relatives and/or
ISSUE
ISSUE
authority figures. 29% of girls in Tanzania and 24% in Kenya reported that their first sexual
experience was forced. (VAX studies, UNICEF 2012) Many children survive on the streets.
At least XXXX number counted in 6 major cities of Tanzania in 2017. 100% of children on
streets in Mwanza report some form of abuse. National Governments sometimes have political
will to address the issue but application of laws and regulations and delivery of services
is sporadic and greatly varied in quality.Railway Children Africa P.O. Box 138 Mwanza, Tanzania T TZ +255 (0)783 884 759 T KY +254 (0)705 783 277 E info@railwaychildren.org.uk W www.railwaychildren.org.uk Registered in Tanzania as NGO with number 1563
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