Children’s rights to be cared for, protected and participating
are at the heart of
World Vision’s programming. We need to protect and respect
children in order
to have a healthy world.
CHILD PROTECTION AND PARTICIPATION
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is promoted in
communities through special events where children can play, sing,
dance, act and compete with each other in fun games. World Vision
Myanmar believes that through parental and community awareness,
children will be brought up in more loving, safe and caring
environments.
In Myanmar, however, many children from poor families live
desperate lives on the streets, estranged from their families. The
root causes of children’s homelessness are poverty, fractured
family systems that abandon children, lack of education and a lack
of awareness of children’s needs and rights.
World Vision Myanmar’s ResponseWorld Vision provides care and
protection to 2263 orphans and vulnerable children in 12 projects,
including drop-in centres and temporary shelters for street
children, rehabilitation for child soldiers, and community based
schooling and vocational training for working children.
Child Protection and Development projects for vulnerable
children, especially those found living on the streets in Yangon,
Mandalay, Tachileik, Kawthoung and Mawlamyine provide emergency
shelters that give immediate care and support.
Child Protection is being integrated into all Area Development
Programmes (ADPs) and projects.
T h e
• Myanmar has 149 orphanages
• 22.0% of children had no parents
• 28.6% had one parent
• 44.1% had both parents
• 05.3% unknown
• Of the children in the orphanges, in 2011, the Myanmar Survey
Research found that:
• 111 are registered with the Department of Social Welfare
CHILD PROTECTION
At government level, for child protection, World Vision Myanmar
collaborates with the Department of Social Welfare and the Ministry
of Home Affairs. Priorities are: · Street and working children ·
Traffi cking in persons · Under age recruitment of soldiers ·
Alternative care to reduce institutionalisation · Corporal
punishment
World Vision supports the tracing of relatives, the assessment
of children’s needs and their reintegration with their families
where possible.
While family reconciliation is the preferred option, for
children who cannot be reunited with their family, World Vision
provides alternative care such as: children’s villages, group
homes, foster care, and referrals to local partners.
To reduce institutionalisation, World Vision facilitates
communities to fi nd solutions for vulnerable children especially
‘kinship care’ with other relatives.
www.worldvisionmyanmar.net
Three Major Domains of Child Protection
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization working to
create lasting change in the lives of children, families and
communities living in poverty.
Prevention of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence against
children
Protection of children who are experiencing hurt or are at risk
of harm
Restoration and reintegration of children who have been exposed
to neglect or abuse back into their families and communities.
May Thet Htar Oo is an orphan who was just 8 years old when she
was rescued from life on the street. Six years later, she has found
a foster family with whom she can live as a daughter and a sister.
‘Standing on Their Own’ is a Child Protection project that supports
children’s progression into independent living and fi nds them
foster homes where possible.
Standing On Her Own
Children are our past, present and future
World Vision Myanmar’s Child Protection Strategy includes:
World Vision Myanmar is focused on:
May Thet Htar Oo was 6 years old when her mother died. One week
later her baby sister was accidentally killed by her alcoholic
father, who also died one month later. May Thet and her two
brothers survived by themselves, in a hut where they lived on rice
cooked by May Thet. When she was 8, she heard about World Vision’s
emergency shelter called Lan Pyaw Kalay Centre. “I was very excited
when my brother told me that kids from Lan Pyaw Kalay Centre can
attend school and have good meals. At home I rarely had curry to
eat with my rice.”
Now in fi fth grade, May, who wants to become a doctor, is known
for being a hard working and disciplined student regularly getting
top marks in her class. “When I become a doctor and earn a lot of
money, I will support the children who cannot afford to go to
school, and I will also adopt one or two street children,” she says
with a big smile.
• Responding strategically and effectively for children
experiencing neglect, abuse, exploitation and all other forms of
violence.
• Using advocacy effectively to infl uence local, national and
regional child protection policies and practices.
• Acquiring technical skills to empower communities, including
children, to respond to child protection
An Ecological Approach to Child Development
