Young people, particpatory research and experiences of leaving care
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This paper report a workshop of a child health programme in Honduras. Previous attempts to keep health diaries to record illness, and how illness was treated within families and communities had failed. Workshop participants were rural illiterate women. The aim of the workshop was to take a case history of children under five years and to record both illness and developmental milestones over the previous 12 months. The women were first asked to draw pictures to represent each month of the year. Below each picture they were asked to draw what happened to their child during that month. This was followed by a discussion to explain the drawings. The paper discusses some of the problems the women had in drawing these calendars, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the technique. One of the strengths is that the technique enables the women to explore patterns of illness and analyse them, drawing on the knowledge acquired by their participation in the programme.
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A three-day workshop was held to: 1) explore whether different PRA methods could be used with children and, 2) to examine whether children have an understanding of the various dimensions of family and social life. The workshop was made up of 75 children participants. Some of the PRA exercises carried out and their objectives are described. It was observed that children who participated in the workshop were reluctant to talk initially, but with time the initial hesitation disappeared. The article also mentions that the PRA exercises made a significant impact on the childrenÆs life. Some moved from child labour and went back to school.
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The paper discusses the use and usefulness of participatory approaches in the work of Save the Children Fund (SCF). It asks how PRA can be used effectively by SCF when the nature of its work means it is unlikely to be involved purely as a facilitator in a community development process. Areas where PRA has proved useful are research, training and awareness, and participatory monitoring and evaluation. It is suggested that the awareness and skills of a growing number of staff members will gradually increase SCFs capacity to use PRA. Participatory methods are also seen as having a useful role to play in turning SCF into a more child-focused agency, and in helping to develop partnerships between SCF, local communities and partner organisations.
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The article suggests that three processes - detailed field research, policy research and dissemination - need to run in parallel in order to make research relevant and accessible to policy-makers at different levels of decision-making. These processes are discussed in the context of an ActionAid research project on children's roles in development. Some of the problems with the approach and the lessons learned are discussed.
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Redd Barna Uganda is a non-governmental development organization which focuses on child-centred community development. It is looking to Participatory Rural Appraisal to achieve more participatory planning. This report describes a ten-day PRA training workshop which was organised by Redd Barna and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) for Redd Barna staff and trainees in March 1994. A detailed account is given of the classroom-based preparations. Five village profiles describe PRA activities and discussions with different groups of villagers - the children, the older women, the younger women, the older men and the younger men. The process of analysis is also discussed in some detail.
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This paper seeks to suggest certain principles of good governance for children, drawing on examples of local city governments from around the world that have addressed childrens needs in new ways. It does not focus on what was done in these cases, but rather the principles behind these actions that can be transferred from city to city. The paper examines the responsibility of different authorities and service providers towards children, and the importance of defining these responsibilities and integrating them into public agencies agendas. It looks at definitions of good governance and the evaluation of the quality of the relationship between government institutions and civil society. It proposes that good governance for children means ensuring a web of local institutions that warrant service provision, protection and participation of children. This includes making sure that children feel that their views and needs are taken seriously. The role of local government is examined, and innovative initiatives for involving children in local governance are analysed. The discussion leads up to conclusions on how to create incentives for local action and developing a local plan. Factors facilitating the process are proposed such as national constitutions that support rights-based approaches; bottom-up democratic pressure; decentralisation; national legislation; national government commitment for support; international human rights conventions; and top-down democratic safe-guards for political rights and support for local democracy. The paper also focuses especially on the importance of information systems; training for those who deal with children; learning from othersÆ experiences; integrating support of children in all areas of governance; and cities working for and with parents. Text boxes are included through the paper, presenting and analysing different examples of city governance involving children (e.g. PRODEL in Nicaragua and the Childrens Participatory Budget Council in Barra Mansa, Brazil).
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