1. Education
Education is one of the most powerful tools in breaking the cycle of poverty. Sawi Youth Association will train educators on child-friendly learning skills to benefit communities. We will also support the construction and rehabilitation schools.
Equal access
Every human has the right to education, but many people are excluded because of high costs, language and cultural barriers, geographical remoteness, or special needs. We will work to ensure free and equal access to quality education at all times, including in emergencies, as well as access to learning for young people so they can reach their full potential.
Education strategy
Our education strategy focuses on:
· Promoting inclusive, safe, healthy, child-friendly learning environments
· Improving the skills of teachers
· Creating culturally relevant, gender-sensitive lessons and offering essential life-skills training.
Reaching out
Sawi Youth Association will actively reach out to youths including children who have never been to school or have dropped out because of cultural or financial reasons. We will be working to break down the barriers that prevent many girls being educated and will set up projects to help thousands of them into school. We will also encourage children, parents and communities to be actively involved in decision making around education and campaign to improve governance at all levels.
2. Health
Children have the right to a healthy start in life. From fighting diseases to boosting nutrition, Sawi Youth Associations health programmes will help to save thousands of children's lives each year. We will train professional and volunteer health workers on early education and care skills, to benefiting communities.
Preventable childhood illnesses
Our community-level health programmes will include immunisation, child nutrition and hygiene promotion. We will work to prevent and combat preventable childhood illnesses such as malaria, diarrhoea and malnutrition. Maternal and reproductive health
Maternal health will be another key area of our work, particularly pre- and postnatal care and birth attendance. Sawi Youth Association will organise camps to train traditional birth attendants, which will result in a marked decrease in infant and maternal mortality rates.
We will also implement reproductive health programmes in most of our local communities that will be working in, with the main focus on HIV.
3. Water and Sanitation
There is a global crisis in water and sanitation, with diarrhoea killing at least 1,200,000 under-5s each year. Sawi Youth Association will works with communities to improve access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation and to raise awareness of the importance of hand washing and waste management. Sawi Youth Association will support households in developing countries to improve their sanitation facilities, and helped communities to build or refurbish water points.
Education key
Billions of people lack access to basic sanitation and are forced to defecate out in the open, contaminating food and water supplies. We will educate communities about the importance of sanitation and encourage them to strive for a total ban on open defecation.
4. Protection
Protecting children and young people from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence is central to everything we will do. We will provide child protection training for community members and staff of partner organisations across the world.
Many children experience abuse every day from people they know and trust and it threatens their survival, development and participation in society.
Global problem
The 2006 United Nations Study on Violence Against Children, which estimates that worldwide:
· 40,000,000 children are abused each year
· 150,000,000 girls and 73,000,000 boys experience sexual violence
· 1,800,000 children are involved in commercial sexual exploitation and child abuse images
· 1,200,000 children are victims of trafficking. Long-term solutions
Sawi Youth Association will do more than introduce short-term fixes for these problems.
We will raise awareness of children’s right to protection and work closely with families and communities. We will also deliver target programmes to address specific protection issues - such as child trafficking, corporal punishment in schools, female genital cutting and child marriage. At local, national and international level we will work to influence policies and make sure there is an adequate legal framework to protect children.
5. Economic security
Children and Youths are often the first to feel the effects of poverty, being forced to go hungry or leave school to earn an income for the family. We will work with community partners to ensure that families in extreme poverty have the skills they need to increase their income and can access financial services. Sawi Youth Associations will train people in agricultural, vocational and business skills. We will also support microfinance organisations and local savings and loans groups.
Youth opportunities
Over the next decade, 1.3 billion young people will be entering the workforce, but only 300,000,000 new jobs are expected to be created. To reduce poverty, one of our key priorities is to make sure that young people have opportunities for decent employment and are equipped with the necessary skills to create jobs for themselves.
From financial literacy to vocational training and apprenticeships, we will work to harness the tremendous power of this new generation to help break the cycle of poverty.
Loans and savings
Hundreds of thousands of people will achieve financial stability through our microfinance partnerships, which will provide small loans to poor women and youths.
We will also support village loans and savings schemes. Having access to lump sums and building savings, helps people to protect their households from emergencies and plan for the future.
6. Youth Participation
Sawi Youth Association will help thousands of sawi youths to learn about their rights and speak out about issues that affect them. Children and Youths have the right to take part in decision-making but all too often their involvement is limited or non-existent.
Speaking out
From setting up local youth groups to supporting young delegates at international conferences, we will help children to express their views and influence decision-makers. By strengthening their confidence and leadership skills – through projects such as media and journalism – we will support youths to lead advocacy initiatives and make positive change. We also work with their families and communities so they understand how important it is for youths to have a voice and contribute as active citizens.
Vulnerable children
Sawi Youth Association will deliver target programmes so that we can reach the most marginalised and vulnerable groups, including those outside of school, younger children and youths with disabilities. We will also support children’s and youth organisations in monitoring government implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
