Governance Area: Social inclusion

Strengthening the voice of older people

Issue

Forty percent of older people in South Africa live in poverty, resulting in poor health, increased likelihood of illness and disability, and difficulty in paying for basic needs like food and shelter. .

Project

HelpAge International aims to make the National Development Plan more effective in addressing the key needs of older people, by promoting the inclusion of their concerns into the design and implementation of development activities. This will be achieved by developing a strong and cohesive voice for older people across the country, bringing together key civil society organisations (CSOs) to advocate more cohesively for their improved access to services and their delivery. Strengthened collaboration between these groups at provincial, district and national levels will ensure that older people’s issues brought to the national stage reflect grassroots concerns.

It is expected that by the end of the project, CSOs will be in a better position to coordinate their work and engage constructively with government representatives to influence decisions on older people’s issues at the local and national level.

HelpAge International

HelpAge helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty, so that they can lead dignified, secure, active and healthy lives. They work with like-minded organisations in over 65 countries across all continents. They have an office in South Africa and have worked in the country for several years with local partners on a range of issues affecting older people. HelpAge will be responsible for the overall management of the project. It will be in charge of the capacity building component of the project and will provide technical assistance to the South Africa Older Persons’ Forum (SAOPF) on documenting and delivering advocacy messages.

www.helpage.org

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Partner organisations

The South Africa Older Persons’ Forum (SAOPF) was established in 2005 by the South Africa Human Rights Commission. Its mission is to identify and articulate the concerns and needs of older persons, as voiced by them, and, in consultation with government and other key players, to ensure that these needs are addressed in legislation, services and programmes.

Promoting the integration of refugee communities

Issue

The South African refugee protection model is based on local integration. This policy promotes refugee integration into society and participation in social and government processes. However, refugees are not integrating effectively into society.

Project

This project recognises that while services provided to refugees by government are important and help to alleviate pressing needs, a long term improvement in the situation will require that refugees themselves are able to influence the policies that affect them. This will be achieved by building the capacity of leaders of refugee organisations to better represent and organise their communities, and for these groups to design and implement issue-based advocacy campaigns.

It is expected that the project will lead to refugee communities engaging in dialogue with the government, and building better relations with their host communities.

Lawyers for Human Rights

Lawyers for Human Rights was established in 1979 (LHR). It strives to promote awareness, protection and enforcement of legal and human rights through the creation of a human rights culture. LHR has a specialist programme that advocates, strengthens and enforces the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and other marginalised categories of migrants in South Africa. LHR also work in the areas of land reform and housing, environmental justice, strategic litigation and penal reform.

www.lhr.org.za

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Strengthening indigenous stewardship of natural resources

Issue

The Eastern Malaysian state of Sabah is abundant with mineral and ecological natural resources, but stewardship of these is no simple task.

Project

The Partners of Community Organisations in Sabah (PACOS Trust) is seeking to improve the vital role that indigenous peoples of Sabah play in monitoring and stewarding these resources. State recognition of their roles in protecting indigenous peoples and community conserved areas (ICCAs) has not been consistent and this grant will help to remedy that.

The focus of the work will be to increase the resilience of the traditional practices, protocols and customary laws that indigenous peoples already use to conserve and protect the resources. The people will be supported in documenting their customary institutions, to aid with the development of plans and priorities for increasing their recognition, for greater dialogue between community organisations and government institutions and for the increased participation of local indigenous peoples’ group leaders in regional and international networks. The PACOS Trust also wants to support local groups with participating in international policy development on indigenous peoples’ issues, such as the bi-annual sessions of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The project will also be supported by Natural Justice, a South African organization that has a strong track record of providing legal and legislative support to civil society organisations working on indigenous peoples’ issues.

The PACOS Trust recognises the expertise of indigenous peoples in natural resource stewardship and the importance of their involvement in a sustainable solution to addressing challenges. By building a strong role for indigenous peoples in the policies of the conservation and restoration of the local ecosystems, habitats and species, the PACOS Trust will forge constructive engagement between the people who know these resources the best and the groups and powers that can help preserve their future.

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Eradicating the spirit child phenomenon

Issue

The Spirit Child Phenomenon (SCP) is still a problem in northern Ghana’s Bongo region, where traditional soothsayers label certain disadvantaged children as messengers of bad luck, leaving them at risk of being killed by traditional healers known as concoction men.

Project

AfriKids is looking at issues surrounding SCP in order to address how to drive down the problem. The organisation will provide the education, incentives and stakeholder engagement to embed the cultural and technical change into the affected communities that will help to eradicate the phenomenon.

Training and awareness campaigns on child rights and healthcare will be run in local communities. Technical and financial support will also be provided for the concoction men and for families and women’s groups, while there will also be greater engagement between the various community groups and government health and education facilities for children associated with SCP. This culturally sensitive project will also focus on empowering women within the affected communities, helping them to work directly with key male decision makers.

AfriKids has already eradicated the practice in the Kassena Nankana district. It is hoped that the work to embed this change in communities in Bongo will result in it becoming a sustainable operation of continuous education and information that will help to make SCP a phenomenon of the past.

The Honourable Nana Oyer Lithur, Ghana’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, said that the work has been transformative.

“I would like to use this opportunity to commend AfriKids Ghana for the extensive work on the subject of the “Spirit Children” in the Kassena-Nankana East and West Districts of the region,” he explained. “We are happy to hear that the practice of killing spirit children no longer exists in these districts. What is even more significant is the involvement of the practitioners of the tradition known as concoction men in the solution process”.

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Promoting the recognition of carers in India

Issue

The need for long-term care for people with chronic illnesses and disabilities is universal, and the rapidly increasing demand is an urgent challenge facing countries throughout the world. In India, carers – like elsewhere in the world – are often unheralded and are usually unpaid family members.

Project

Carers Worldwide UK is supporting carers in India, who are mostly women, to advocate for the social provisions and protection needed to reduce their vulnerability to impacts such as reduced earnings, poor health and loss of education. Carers Worldwide is partnering with socially-focused CSOs in Jharkand, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, to build on the lessons of an earlier advocacy pilot project, which highlighted the importance of helping carers through participatory processes such as group-led actions. The pilot has already achieved a number of important outcomes – including establishing self-help groups that have allowed carers to come together for the first time, participation in a government-run livelihood scheme and raising their profile with local government officials – and this project aims to help take that work even further.

The carers most affected by poverty in each of the three districts will receive livelihood and training options compatible with caring and will learn engagement and advocacy skills, to allow them to participate in their own development. The project will also support district level Carers’ Associations, allowing people to communicate with peers and giving them a platform through which they can make their issues known to development and district government agendas.

“This project is creating the first opportunity for carers to come together, be seen and make their voices heard,” explained Anil Patil, the founder and executive director of Carers Worldwide. “This is a huge step forward for this vulnerable group who, until now, have been unrecognised by their communities and the wider society. In partnership with NBJK, SACRED and Samuha, we believe we will achieve significant change for marginalised carers over the next three years, transforming the lives of them and their families as well as laying firm foundations for a carers’ movement across India.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZRBuhvtrMg?rel=0]

Carers Worldwide

Carers Worldwide works with carers in developing countries.

It aims to improve support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenges of caring for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health problems.

www.carersworldwide.org

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Strengthening women’s participation in governance

Issue

Many women in Pakistan were put off taking part in the 2013 general election by lack of transport, pressure from political parties and control of polling stations by armed men.

Project

Supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Foundation, Peace Direct and Aware Girls will help promote the participation of women in electoral processes in in the districts of Swabi and Marden by training, educating and encouraging women to voice their opinion. Peace Direct and Aware Girls will help promote the participation of women in electoral processes in the districts of Swabi and Marden, building on lessons learned.

By training 60 young women and providing education to at least 900 women, this project encourages women in the conflict-affected areas of Kyber Pakhtunkwa province to voice their opinion and improve their leadership skills to ensure greater political participation. Citizens’ committees will address women’s rights issues and develop advocacy tools to lobby government. The project will also improve dialogue with local politicians and government, ensuring issues are addressed and accountability increased.

It is anticipated this project will lead to improved public attitudes supporting women’s participation in electoral and political processes, as well as increased accountability among community leaders, political parties and public bodies.

Peace Direct and Aware Girls will develop a best practice model to encourage greater participation by women in political processes. Citizens’ committees will be replicated in Peshawar district with the assistance of local civil society organisations to raise awareness about the importance of community accountability for good governance.

Peace Direct

Peace Direct is an international charity dedicated to supporting local peacebuilding believing that people have the power to find their own solutions to conflict. It seeks out local peacebuilders making a difference, raises funds for programmes, offers management support and advice, and builds recognition for their work to put them in touch with those in the wider world who can assist with funds and influence.

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Aware Girls

Aware Girls is led by young women working for women’s empowerment, gender equality and peace in Pakistan. It works to strengthen the leadership capacity of young women enabling them to act as agents of social change and women’s empowerment in their communities. www.awaregirls.org

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