International Day for the Child : emerging challenges to tackle problems

In Mauritius and worldwide, many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) work in favour of the development of the child. In the context of the International Day of the Child, News on Sunday inquires into the works accomplished by the Ombudsperson and one NGO in order to have a clear image of what is being done for the benefits of the Mauritian child.

The Ombudsperson for Children, Rita Venkatasawmy, is currently abroad and we have called upon her assistant, Ismail Bawamia, to talk on behalf of the office of the Ombudsperson.
“On the whole, the situation of children in Mauritius is more than satisfactory. Mauritius is a signatory of the CRC.

We have a Ministry responsible for Child Development to implement policies regarding protection and welfare of children. We also have an Ombudsperson for Children, who ensures that rights, needs and interests of children are given full consideration by everyone. The police have a special brigade to deal with minors,” Ismail Bawamia says.

He adds that “there are laws to protect children like the Child Protection Act, the Education Act …

Education is free and many initiatives have been taken in schools to make education accessible to all children, like free transport and free hot meals. Children benefit from vaccinations and free medical treatment, both pre and ante natal.

So many things have been initiated and today, we are recognised as Africa’s most child-friendly country.” As highlighted in the last two reports of the Office of the Ombudsperson, there are children who feel that they are left out or neglected in our present system. Last year’s report underlined the problems of children in conflict with the law who are sent to the RYC and the CYC. “These children were living in deplorable conditions and were not benefitting from any proper rehabilitation programme.”

The situation of children in Agaléga is also mentioned. This year, investigation concerning the circumstances of children living in a pocket of poverty has been reported and the whole problem of child poverty has been analysed.

 Mehdi Bundhun: “Protect, rehabilitate and empower street children”

“SAFIRE is a Non-Governmental Organization, whose calling is to help street children in Mauritius. Since its creation in May 2006, SAFIRE has expanded its activity in nine regions of Mauritius, and is now working to rehabilitate more than 200 children into society. Our national objective is to contribute to the protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in street situations and the promotion of their rights.

Our Mission is to empower the children and sensitize their family in their immediate environment about their rights and needs for them to change their behaviour as regards to their situations and advocate with partners and decision-makers to mobilize their commitments and responsibilities on children’s rights.

Our activity is based upon two methods: in the streets directly and by the means of our pedagogical farm. Our street educators try to develop a significant and durable presence within the public space. The aim of this activity is, first of all, to become a regular passer-by in the neighborhood in order to establish contacts with the inhabitants and youngsters in a situation of advanced marginality.

Over time they attempt approaches to develop relationships of trust with some of them. A sustained presence allows the educator to integrate into networks and to ‘permeate’ the neighborhood’s landscape. He/She can thus construct bonds, figure out the issues, ease tensions, and evacuate frustrations. The educator develops beyond sympathy a form of ‘methodological empathy’ with the inhabitants of the neighborhood.

We provide those children an informal education by the means of our pedagogical farm where we propose an overall educational program emphasizing on the development of the child. Various educational and pedagogical activities are proposed, such as organic-agricultural and animal farming, literacy courses, arts and crafts, and music and sports activities.

Mehdi is of opinion that “we need to know the definition of the ‘street children’ which we define as children aged from seven to 18 who come from pathological families. Some are abandoned, neglected and left to fend for themselves in an environment that is not of affection; these children feel rejected by their surroundings, wander the streets and are at risk of all the social ills.

In Mauritius we have various types of communities, different social levels of people, different types of educational institutions (private, religious, and governmental schools), different ways of living, and different cultures. Assessing the current condition of the Mauritian child is thus a difficult job, according to all those factors and our work is to identify those who are in the most difficult situations.

What we are observing though is that nowadays, illicit substance trafficking and consumption as well as other social ills are growing problems in our society and directly affecting Mauritian children. We also observed that these problems do not only affect only one community but all of them. Moreover, poverty is the main reason for all these ills. Education may be free in our country but some families cannot afford to send their children to schools. Children coming from families without any income are often asked to find small jobs for a little money.

We also often have children who attend schools regularly but are facing problems to adapt to our educational system, which has now turned into a very competitive environment. It is sometimes due to the attitude or they are just unconscious or unaware of their future, which is why we are here to provide help and support to those children and their families. But what we can observe is that the authorities, by the help of the advocacy of NGO’s like ours, are offering much more than they did before. There are now more facilities and more progress for the welfare of the children and respect of their rights in Mauritius.”  

Despite all the improvements for the welfare of the children, he still thinks that “what remains to be done is to accompany children in street conditions or in difficult situations to rehabilitate them and to reintegrate them into a society that respects their rights and human dignity. Our mission is to sensitize families, authorities and other partners in their commitments to children’s rights.

According to a study of Safire published in 2012, an estimated number of 6,780 children are in street conditions in Mauritius and this number is on a rising curve. ‘In our opinion, if poverty and unemployment are still increasing, there will always be the problem of street children. We suggest that stakeholders such as NGOs, government, partners and sponsors, and the public need to work together so as to keep a proactive and sensitized society for the respect of the rights of the Mauritian child,” Mehdi Bhundun concluded.

The conditions of children, who are victims of several forms of abuse and placed in shelters by the CDU, have been also looked into. The Ombudsperson office is of the view that these children need special attention and the State should strive to improve their lives. There are also children with disabilities, who deserve a better treatment

The Office believes that there are so many things to be done. Government is to adopt a child – rights- based - approach in dealing with present and emerging challenges. Children should have their say in all matters concerning them. Their voices must be heard. They must be given the opportunity to take up challenges and participate actively in society.