ETHIOPIA: Catholic Church to focus on Awareness Campaign for Child Protection Policy
Ms. Merhawit Chala, the National Child Nurturing and Protection Officer at Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat
The National Child Nurturing and Protection Office at the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat (ECS) is set to carry out an intensive campaign on awareness creation for the Child Nurturing and Protection Policy. According to the Officer in Charge of the National Office Ms. Merhawit Chala, this is part of the activities lined for the implementation process of the Ethiopia Catholic Church Child nurturing and Protection Policy which was officially launched at the Conference on 22nd May 2018.
“We have just established the office here at the Catholic Secretariat after revising the policy and therefore we feel the need to create awareness among people who are in contact with the children starting from families and workers at institutions which are under the Catholic Church. However, in the future we will expand to other institutions that work closely with children and are not owned by the Catholic Church,” she explained.
This awareness creation will be about what is included in the policy, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done especially when handling children in schools, health centres and other different organizations managed by the Catholic Church in the country. According to Ms. Chala, the awareness campaign program is already made.
“We also intend to publish the policy and have it distributed throughout the country especially in all the Catholic Institutions. We have also developed some guidelines on code of conduct and commitment form which will be signed by all people who are involved in child protect. We are currently on production of the relevant documents and then the awareness campaign will start soon.”
Apart from the campaign the Conference also intends to carry out capacity building for those working with the children on child protection. Meanwhile they are planning to establish Child Nurturing and Protection structures in all the 13 dioceses in Ethiopia.
Other activities which will come up later in the year include exposure visits in the region, and elsewhere where the child protection policy has been successfully implemented. According to ECS Secretary General Rev. Abba Hagos Hayish, CM, after the event of the 19thAMECEA Plenary Assembly in Addis Ababa, the conference plans to hold different workshops in various dioceses in the months of October and December where they will invite the Parish Pastoral council members, elders, youth activists and different faith groups.
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By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
