The 'I have a Voice' campaign marks 20 years since the convention on the rights of the child. We are marking the 20th of every month between now and November by highlighting an important issue on which we think children's voices need to be heard! Scroll down for this month's feature…
Please pick up!
The law says that children have the right to be heard, and that their thoughts should be taken into account when adults are making decisions which affect them. Children are also entitled to other things, like the right to have a family and to be educated. But these rights are not always protected like they should be, and boys and girls can sometimes be put into situations in which they are afraid, or feel sad and lonely. Young people are vulnerable, and need special protection when they are faced with abuse or exploitation.When you have a problem, it's important that there is someone you can talk to. Sometimes, it's not possible to talk to your parents or brother or sister. Sometimes it's not even possible to talk to your best friend. But it is important to speak to someone, so that boys and girls know they are not alone when they feel scared or upset.
That's why Plan is supporting special children's telephone lines, where young people can speak to someone who has been specially trained to help them. Boys and girls in different countries can call up to talk in secret about their problems, without having to be afraid. Child lines offer a friendly voice; someone who will listen and give advice about all the issues that affect children.
By supporting child lines, Plan wants young people to know that they are not alone and that there is someone there who can help them. So if you are scared or sad or confused, you can pick up the phone because there is someone you can turn to. There are a growing number of child lines in different countries - maybe there is one in your country! To find out whether there is a child helpline in your country, and the number you need to call, click here to visit the Child Helpline International website.
To learn about the important work child lines do, read about the projects Plan is supporting in Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Mozambique. Plan also supports child lines in other countries, such as Pakistan, Egypt and Paraguay. Find out more...
Zimbabwe: Getting bigger and better
Zimbabwe's child helpline has existed since 1997 and was originally created to support children on the street. Today, the helpline is so successful that it received almost 120,000 calls in 2009!
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Zimbabwe's child line was set up in 1997 by a group of women who thought it was important to provide 24-hour support to children, because more and more children were moving to live on and off the street. The free telephone service started working in 1998. At first, the service was difficult for children to access, as you could only use it on fixed landlines – it was calculated in 2008 that there were only 400,000 fixed landlines but over six million children in Zimbabwe. There just weren't enough phones for the children to use. Now, mobile phones can also be used, which means that it is much easier for children to use the service whenever they want to. Since then, Childline Zimbabwe has become bigger and bigger, with the number of children using the service growing all the time, receiving almost 120,000 calls in 2009. In the first five months of 2010, the service received almost as many calls as during the whole of 2009! The number that children all over Zimbabwe have to dial if they want to talk to somebody is 116.
For more information about Childline Zimbabwe, click here to visit the website
Vietnam: the magic number
Vietnam's helpline is a great example of how children can be included in issues that affect them. Here, children chose the name and designed the logo for the helpline!
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In Vietnam, the special child helpline is known as "The magic number" - a name chosen by children themselves! They also designed the logo for the helpline, so that other children in the country would be able to recognise the helpline and would be comfortable using it. "The magic number" offers support and guidance to children and carers on all the issues which affect them. It helps children in difficult situations who feel they have nobody they can trust – children who have been exploited or sexually abused, for example. For the helpline to be really effective, it is important that as many children as possible know about the service, so that if they are scared or in danger, they know who to turn to. The information gathered from the child helpline is used so that child protection can be improved throughout the country, because the people who make the laws are given up-to-date information about the problems children are facing.
For more information about The Magic Number, click here to visit the website
Mozambique: A child-centered approach
In Mozambique children finally have a place to call when facing difficult situations such as neglect or violence. The helpline was officially launched in 2009, and it has already received 40,000 in the first half of 2010!
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In Mozambique, children who faced difficult circumstances such as neglect or violence or exploitation did not have access to appropriate resources to take care of them. Adults were aware of this problem, but for a long time were unable to deliver proper services to protect these children. A joint effort was made to try to identify and trace children who were vulnerable, and the first free child line was set up in 2007. In Mozambique, the number to call is also 116 - just like in Zimbabwe! Children can call from either a mobile phone or a fixed landline, which means that it is easier for them to use the helpline. After finding an office for the counsellors to work in, the service was properly launched in November 2009 to offer help to children and carers facing distressing or difficult situations, who needed advice to help them deal with their troubles. The helpline - Linha Fala Criança - is child centered, and it talks and listens to more boys and girls that any other child welfare service. In the first half of this year, almost 40,000 children called 116 in Mozambique to talk to someone about their problems.
For more information about Linha Fala Criança, click here to visit the website
Guatemala: The tenderness grandmothers
Grandmothers in Guatemala hope to go nationwide with "the tenderness line" - a confidential helpline which is raising awareness of child abuse in the country
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In Guatemala, a country where children face a number of problems, a group of grandmothers teamed up to provide a place for the people of Jalapa to turn to for confidential advice. The abuelas, as they are known in Spanish, offer children - and parents - the chance to ask for help, often in very serious cases including children that have been beaten or abused, for example. The abuelas support victims and encourage them to go to the hospital or complain to the police or other authorities if this is needed, and having the line has helped raise awareness about the problem of child abuse in Guatemala. The grandmothers are given special training every month, and one day they hope that "the tenderness line", as they call it, will go nationwide!
For more information about the Tenderness line, click here to visit the website
Remember, YOU HAVE A VOICE!... make your voice heard and leave a message on our world map!
