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Childhope
Organisation: Childhope Asia - Philippines
Address: 1210 Penafrancia Street, Paco, Manila
Country: Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 563 4647
Fax: +63 2 536 2242
E-mail: childhopeasia@yahoo.com
Website: www.childhope.org.ph
Contact: Teresita L Silva, President, Executive Director
Organisation of Child-to-Child Activities
Childhope employs the Child-to-Child approach through the Junior Health Workers (JHW), which is a component of Childhope's Education on the Streets Project. The JHW project has been supported since 2003 by Children International and St. Charles Borromeo-Philippine Medical Mission, while the larger programme of the Education on the Streets Project, is now supported, among others, by CORDAID Netherlands, Hope For Children, The British Embassy in Manila, and The Staff Community Fund of ADB. It is also funded in part by UNICEF Manila and Consuleo Foundation. Childhope assigns street educators (SEs) to specific areas in Metro Manila.
Children and Adult Personnel Involved in Child-to-Child Activities
The children live in urban poor communities, in slums, or on the streets. The Junior Health Worker (JHW) Project Coordinator works closely with the 24 adult street educators of Childhope's Education on the Streets Project in identifying, supervising and training JHWs. The JHWs are composed of 62 established and 114 new (urban poor and street-based) contacts. The JHWs are males and females between the ages of 12 and 18 years of age. They assist all children below 18 years of age. The project reaches out to urban poor, street children, working children, and out-of-school children, as well as children in centres. A Childhope junior manager serves as the Project Coordinator with two (2) other coordinators for the street children and urban poor children JHWs, respectively. Other adult workers include street educators, social workers, as well as medical staff of partner organisations.
Main Purpose of the Child-to-Child Activities
Our main goal is to improve the health of street and urban poor children/adolescents in districts 5 and 6 of Manila. Our project objectives are:
- To improve the identification of health-related concerns among street and urban poor children/adolescents in districts 5 and 6 in Manila;
- To strengthen collaborative efforts to increase access to and utilisation of appropriate health services to and by street children and urban poor children/adolescents,and to formalise these by the development of sustainable protocols;
- To increase health promotion and the capacity for primary health care of street and urban poor children/adolescents by strengthening, developing, equipping and supporting JHWs;
- To document and disseminate the findings and explore duplication of the project to areas with fewer resources. Although the main focus of the WHO project is health improvement, the street educators and the JHWs conduct alternative education sessions on the following: convention on the rights of the child; substance abuse prevention education (SAPE); STD-HIV/AIDS, adolescent sexuality, and primary health care, among others.
How Child-to-Child Activities are Introduced and Children's Participation
The activities of the JHWs are introduced through alternative education sessions held on the streets, as well as through training workshops and agency/centre visits. Children aged 12 to 15 are trained on administering first aid, facilitating referrals of other children to health centres, as well as on conducting alternative education sessions on different health topics and on the convention on the rights of the child among their peers. Children are involved in planning sessions and are given authority to take action, especially in emergency cases. The project does not strictly employ the Child-to-Child six-step approach, but applies a similar approach. Nonetheless, children are participative in activities as their comments and suggestions are consulted. Moreover, the level of participation is achieved by giving the children tasks and responsibilities, which include:
- Assisting street educators to reach out to and conduct alternative education sessions among other street children
- Conducting Primary Health Care Sessions and informing their peers about health-care services available and encourage them to utilise them whenever necessary
- Administering first aid and simple home remedies
- Administering Health Screening Tool (HST) to children/adolescents prior to referral to health centers/hospitals
- Visiting health centers to introduce themselves as JHWs and to familiarise themselves with the health care services the health centers provide
- Referring and accompanying street and urban poor children to health centers and hospitals whenever there is need, for which they conduct follow-ups
- Teaching children to take medications as prescribed
- Informing children about health care services available, and encouraging their utilisation
- Advocating against Substance/Drug Abuse and unprotected sexual activity
- Participating in the meetings/assemblies and upgrading sessions.
In involving themselves in these ways, the project aims to develop the following competencies in children: communication skills (needed in reaching out to peers and in the process of referral), decision-making skills, and facilitating/teaching skills.
School-based Child-to-Child Activities
Not applicable.
Community and Parental Involvement in Child-to-Child Activities
The Project Coordinator coordinates with Childhope's partner agency, Families and Children for Empowerment and Development (FCED), regarding the supervision of the community-based JHWs. The supervision of street-based JHWs is done by a Street Educator/Street-Based JHW Coordinator in coordination with the street educators of Childhope. Many of the parents of these community-based JHWs are involved in the Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) organised by FCED. These parents serve as health committee chairpersons and are trained on primary health care. Some of the parents are hired (also by FCED) as family support workers (FSWs) to employ a holistic approach in supporting urban poor communities in areas of counselling, child rearing, health and income generation.
Health and Education Working Together
An inter-agency sub-committee on health (IAN-SCH) composed of the coordinators, medical officers, nurses, doctors, and social workers meets every quarter. The IAN-SCH is a project steering committee composed of different health centers from Districts 5 and 6 where Childhope and FCED operate. The committee meets regularly every quarter to review the activities and monitor the progress of the project. The direction, policies and programme of activities of the project are clarified in the meetings. Since the majority of the members are medical and health practitioners, the committee also becomes the technical adviser for the project staff whenever necessary. The committee has developed a checklist or a health screening tool (HST) as an aid in the initial physical assessment of a child being referred to a health center or hospital. The tool includes information on the patient's health condition, including a checklist of signs and symptoms of common diseases or ailments. The referring party (JHWs) will turn over this checklist to the doctor or social worker for further assessment, intervention, and treatment of the patient. The street educators and JHWs collaborate with the staff of health centers to facilitate access to health services needed by the children referred. Through this collaboration, the patient referred can be monitored closely. Also, health workers are reminded of the special needs and psychodynamics of the children.
Monitoring and Evaluation of Child-to-Child Activities
The Project Coordinator conducts regular meetings, upgrading sessions, and training seminars among the JHWs. The JHWs are also required to submit monthly accomplishment reports which should contain the number of new street children contacts, referrals facilitated, services provided, sessions conducted (including date and venue), as well as problems and challenges encountered. The use of the Child-to-Child approach has instilled among the children enthusiasm and a sense of responsibility and trustworthiness, thus, more children are reached. Moreover, the learning process has become interesting and attractive to more children. The street educators noted that in using the approach, learning becomes a two-way process – both parties serve as teacher-learners. The approach has also strengthened the involvement of the community as seen in the level of participation of the parents of the JHWs.
Training
The project provides training for children and adult street educators. The trained street educators serve as the trainers. The training workshops focus on methods and techniques of conductingsessions on primary health care, common illnesses, STD/HIV-AIDS, and other alternative sessions. It also aims to enhance the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the JHWs to become active health volunteers who can better serve their fellow children and families.
Use, Adaptation, Translation and Production of Child-to-Child Materials
None of the materials from the Child-to-Child Trust has been used yet. The materials currently used were developed by the Child hope Training Officer and the past Project Coordinator, and are used in the training of children as JHWs. Materials on health topics from different sources are also used by the project in equipping the JHWs with necessary knowledge on health and health care topics. These are mostly in the form of comic strips and picture books in the Filipino language.
Date: 2005
Source: Childhope Phillipines
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