By Gibao Brima

In a bid to help prevent home and community violence against children, Child Protection and Advocacy Network (CPAN) in collaboration with Federation of Community Health Workers Sierra Leone (FCHW-SL) on Tuesday 7th February 2023 held community sensitization activities to help prevent homes and community violence against children. The sensitization activity took place at the Susan’s Bay slum community.

Declaring the purpose for the sensitization drive, the National Coordinator for CPAN Mr. Awalu F. Kamara said huge number of poor children exist as the less privilege and marginalized group of Sierra Leone living in remote, neglected and slums all over, adding that children are at the center of everything you do.

On this backdrop, his organization, Child Protection Advocacy Sierra Leone in collaboration with Federation of Community Health Workers in Sierra Leone under the able leadership of the United Kingdom based Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Agnes Derrick Lebby has deemed it necessary to meet with state actors, parents and children at Susan’s Bay in a bid to help address sexual and Gender Based Violence issues affecting the children especially in slums communities Susan’s Bay is no exemption, he said.

Children’s business is supposed to be everybody’s business. We at CPAN and FCHW have put hand on deck to help compliment government’s efforts to see that children grow up so that they can reach their full potential.

The chairman for the programme Yusif F. Mansaray underscores that violence against children is everywhere in homes, schools, playing grounds among others and this must stop, he said.

Dilating further, Mr. Mansaray said children living in slums should not be seen as outcasts, they have the right to live like any other Sierra Leonean, and therefore their vulnerability should not be a curse. He called on able Sierra Leoneans to help address the problem of children since they are supposed to be our future leaders.

In her contribution, Councillor Mateneh Conteh said that children should pay attention, respect their parents and elders in their communities this will help them grow up to be better citizens.

In Sierra Leone in the early days we were having community children meaning, your mother and father are not the only people to look after you but equally so the community has the right to look after you so children were called community children but this narrative has changed. Living in slums does not mean that child should not live to be doctor, lawyer, a mechanic or Engineer among others but all depends on the upbringing of the child. She called on all to put hands on deck for the betterment of these children since children’s business is everybody’s business.

In his contribution, Foday Conteh from the Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police said that the FSU always work with stakeholders, community members-i.e parents to help see that justice prevail for any child that is being abused. Dilating further Mr. Conteh said government has put in place laws to ensure that sexual based violence perpetrators do not go scot free, reason being government wants to see that SGBV is dropped down drastically. To ensure that FSU works effectively the government and its partners have established eighty FSU across the country. Most time, people blame children for sexual offences but we at FSU do not see it that way since children cannot give consent to sex. He called on parents to protect their children. Equally so, he told the children that the Child Right Act is available but the children should equally know that for every right there must be corresponding responsibility.

The community, he said, should also be mindful of the laws covering Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV), adding that they at FUS do not compromise any sexual gender based violence matters.

The Chief Executive Officer from the Federation of Community Health Workers Sierra Leone Mrs. Agnes Derrick Lebby said her organization is in partnership with Child Protection and Advocacy Network to ensure that children’s issues are well addressed so that children will reach their full potentials in whatever they are doing. “Children should not be abused, let us all work as a nation to help address children’s problems since they are future leaders,” CEO Lebby appealed.

Other invited guests made meaningful contributions towards the development of children. Mrs. Liz Kaima moved the vote of thanks.