AMECEA: Communications Department Ready to Support Catholic Care for Children Movement Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
The Social Communications Department of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) in collaboration with the Catholic Care for Children (CCC) in three AMECEA countries; Zambia, Uganda and Kenya are primed to commence awareness creation for holistic care of vulnerable children amid COVID-19 crisis.
In an interview with the Project Manager of CCC-Kenya (CCCK) Sr. Delvin Mukhwana on Thursday August 6, the proposed partnership between AMECEA Social Communications Department and three CCCs in the region “is to help bring understanding to the people on the importance of having a holistic family and community-based care for the vulnerable children.”
The CCCs managed by Religious congregations under their umbrella bodies: Zambia Association of Sisterhoods (ZAS), Association of the Religious in Uganda (ARU) and Association of Sisterhoods in Kenya (AOSK) run various Child Care Institutions (CCIs).
According to the Kenyan-born nun the various CCIs include “homes which care for children who are physically challenged; rescue centres which have a combination of children who have been abused sexually, physically and emotionally, children who are trafficked, those forced into some cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early marriages and other vulnerabilities.”
Other categories she explained further, include “Rehabilitation centres which accommodate children who are either physically or mentally challenged; children from the street or those who have been in juvenile institutions and are in transition to be rehabilitated back to their families or community; children’s homes which are specifically for orphaned children, those neglected or abandoned from the age of zero to about nine years,” and Homes which is a general term caring for all sorts of vulnerability including those who are HIV positive.
Majority of the children in Homes are those who cannot be integrated back to their families because they were either abandoned by their families or their next of kin cannot be traced.
The objective of the AMECEA Social Communications Department in the partnership is to “support communication function of the CCC projects in AMECEA region towards improved service delivery during the Covid-19 period.”
This will be achieved through various strategies including “creating awareness within the mainstream Church safeguarding structures at national, diocese and parish levels,” and “Conducting a rapid assessment of communication needs for CCC projects.”
The AMECEA Social Communications Department will also ensure that the bishops, pastoral coordinators and national Child Safeguarding officers are informed on the CCC holistic approach to child care and family strengthening.
Explaining some of the pillars for the CCCs, Sr. Mukhwana a member of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary (DHM) congregation said, “CCCs are rooted in the Catholic faith which mandates us to care for children and other vulnerable persons.”
“We are also informed by social sciences that are clear about the importance of nurturing family bonds for holistic, healthy development across life span and understanding the risks associated with separation from family care, especially in institutional settings,” Sr. Mukhwana underscored, adding that another pillar for CCCs is “the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that spells out the child’s right to a family.”
The proposed partnership is supported by Gerald A. and Henrietta Rauenhorst (GHR) Foundation who seeks transformational change in health, education and global development, and partners with the world’s experts to achieve impact.
The GHR Foundation which helps the religious to realize their charism especially in the care of children and strengthening families has partnered with AMECEA Social Communications so as to strengthen communication on Covid-19 and care for the children in the region.
