Eye of the Child

Eye of the Child (EYC) is a non-governmental organization based in Malawi that works to protect children's rights and provide legal defense for children across Malawi and the Southern African region. It was founded on 28 February 1995 as a response to abuse, exploitation and violence against children living in poverty and serious illness. The organization is currently led by Maxwell Matewere. EYC operates on multiple fronts, combining legal human-rights protection with social services for victims. It offers training to communities and students on children's rights, conducts legal work on behalf of exploited children, and works directly to rehabilitate children who have suffered abuse. Since 1995, EYC activists have fought against child kidnapping for slavery and the sex industry, sexual abuse, human trafficking and other violent traditions such as forced child marriage. The organization works to ensure that national laws provide treatment, rehabilitation and protection for abused and exploited children, and that Malawi's adoption and child-protection laws are standardized and enforced. In 2007, EYC organized meetings in 26 different public locations across the country to teach about the dangers of child slavery. It also trained about 30 local organizations and created community watchdog committees to monitor at-risk children. With the help of these committees, by 2010 nearly 300 children identified as minors in slavery had been rescued. The committees removed children from dangerous and exploitative work settings and returned them to protective and developmental environments. 123 children were returned to school and 164 older children began vocational training in trades such as carpentry, tailoring and metalwork to ease their later integration into the labor market. A three-year follow-up found that 90 percent of the children removed from exploitative work remained in school and one third of the youths in vocational training found work in their fields. In 2010, the organization began a campaign to prevent young girls from leaving school and promoted a new law to limit the age of marriage for minors, in order to prevent parents from selling their daughters for dowry payments. In 2015, the organization's director presented a two-year plan to stop child trafficking in the country. Based on data that many underage girls were being brought from rural areas to cities to work in bars, the organization's leadership met with spiritual leaders in various districts to raise awareness and sensitivity to the trafficking of minors. In 2018, EYC published a national assistance strategy for 2018–2022 aimed at preventing children from living and working on the streets. The problem of street children remains one of the critical social issues in Malawi, so the plan emphasizes targeted protection, care and reintegration of street children into their communities. The plan presents various platforms and alternatives to create deterrence that will prevent children from returning to the streets. In addition, the head of the organization, Maxwell Matewere, was selected by the government to be part of a national committee responsible for developing legislation against human trafficking. Today, EYC maintains an active presence on its Facebook page, where it criticizes the government's record on children's rights in Malawi and publishes articles on children's rights: laws being enacted, political statements, statistical data, statements and protests by activists from the organization and more. The organization's intervention leads to substantial changes in enforcement authorities dealing with children's rights in Malawi. Its publications and articles put the issue on the agenda of the Malawian government and apply pressure to encourage enforcement and national attention.

Eye of the Child (EYC) was founded on 28 February 1995, about two years after Malawi transitioned from a one-party system to a democratic system, at a time when Western awareness of human and children's rights was developing in the country. The organization was established as a response to abuse, exploitation and violence against children dealing with poverty and serious illness. Since 1995, EYC activists have fought against child kidnapping for slavery and the sex industry, sexual abuse, human trafficking and other violent traditions such as forced child marriage. The organization's activists work to ensure that state laws provide treatment, rehabilitation and protection for children who have been abused and exploited, and that Malawi's laws on adoption and child protection are standardized and implemented to protect the nation's orphans and vulnerable children. In 2007, EYC organized meetings in 26 different public locations across the country to teach about the danger of child slavery. It also trained about 30 local organizations and created community watchdog committees to monitor children in local communities. With the help of these committees, by 2010 nearly 300 children identified as minors in slavery were rescued. The committees removed children from dangerous and exploitative work settings and returned them to protective and developmental environments. 123 children were returned to school and 164 older children began vocational training in trades such as carpentry, tailoring and metalwork to ease their later integration into the labor market. A three-year follow-up found that 90 percent of the children removed from exploitative work remained in school and one third of the youths in vocational training found work in their fields. In 2010, the organization began a campaign to prevent young girls from leaving school and promoted a new law to limit the age of marriage for minors, in order to prevent parents from selling their daughters for dowry payments. In 2015, the organization's director presented a two-year plan to stop child trafficking in the country. Based on data that many underage girls were being brought from rural areas to cities to work in bars, the organization's leadership met with spiritual leaders in various districts to raise awareness and sensitivity to the trafficking of minors and thereby try to eradicate the phenomenon. In 2018, EYC published a national assistance strategy for 2018–2022 aimed at preventing children from living and working on the streets. The problem of street children remains one of the critical social issues in Malawi, so the plan emphasizes targeted protection, care and reintegration of street children into their communities. The plan presents various platforms and alternatives to create deterrence that will prevent children from returning to the streets. In addition, the head of the organization, Maxwell Matewere, was selected by the government to be part of a national committee responsible for developing legislation against human trafficking. Today, EYC maintains an active presence on its Facebook page, where it criticizes the government's record on children's rights in Malawi and publishes articles on children's rights: laws being enacted, political statements, statistical data, statements and protests by activists from the organization and more. The organization's intervention leads to substantial changes in enforcement authorities dealing with children's rights in Malawi. Its publications and articles put the issue on the agenda of the Malawian government and apply pressure to encourage enforcement and national attention. EYC closely follows legal and policy developments on children's rights as well as the activities of other non-governmental organizations focused on improving education, reducing violence, training and raising public awareness in Malawi.

• 2018

  EYC published a national assistance strategy for 2018–2022 aimed at preventing children from living and working on the streets.

• 2015

  EYC's director presented a two-year plan to stop child trafficking in Malawi, meeting with spiritual leaders to raise awareness.

• 2010

  By 2010, EYC's community watchdog committees had rescued nearly 300 children from slavery; 123 returned to school and 164 began vocational training.

• 2010

  EYC began a campaign to prevent young girls from leaving school and promoted a new law to limit the age of marriage for minors.

• 2007

  EYC organized meetings in 26 public locations across Malawi to teach about the danger of child slavery and trained about 30 local organizations.

• 1995

  Eye of the Child founded on 28 February 1995 as a response to abuse, exploitation and violence against children in Malawi.

Non-governmental organization advocating for children's rights and legal protection in Malawi and Southern Africa.

1. 1Eye of the Child - Wikipedia (Hebrew)he.wikipedia.org
2. 2Eye of the Child - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3SAKTI123 > Mulai dari Modal Tipis, Hingga Perkalian Boom Bonanza Turun Seketikatrieves-compostage.com