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introduction
Specific initiatives
More specific approaches increase learning
and influence on particular issues such as
children affected by conflict, exploitation or
disability. This work has influence in areas of
broader community development, such as
government legislation/practice on child
protection, and education access. Specific
projects tend to be time-bound, responsive
and have a regional or international
dimension. Their objectives will give more
weighting to actions that demonstrably
improve institutions or frameworks impacting
on children.
Examples were seen in Cambodia, Vietnam
and the Philippines where local issues were
linked to regional or international concerns
giving opportunity for advocacy and effective
partnership with government. Both the
integrated and the specific approaches
include practical expression of key areas of
recommendation from the CAN study: 27
• Integrated actions that support families
give greater weighting to defining and
applying frameworks for child/youth
participation as part of their approach to
building community; promoting public
awareness, through coalitions; and
furthering local policy and programs that
impact community.
• Specific initiatives also build public
awareness on an issue for a measurable
purpose, such as the creation of legal
protection mechanisms for children. They
may build human capacity to initiate
outcome-focused research and evaluation.
Their objectives will give more weighting
to actions that demonstrably improve
institutions or frameworks impacting on
children. The political aspect of promoting
change takes into account community
issues vis-à-vis a national or regional
environment. Improving domestic legal
frameworks of importance to children is
but one example where implications are
local, national, regional and international.
Limitations arise if each area is pursued
exclusively. Integrated action can address a
range of issues but be unable to bring
sufficient resources to key areas that may
emerge from its general activity. The CAN
study, for example, identified domestic
violence as a high concern in areas where
broader community development operates.
These activities can sometimes incorporate a
response if it is in keeping with operational
constraints, donor requirements and staff
capacity. It requires a change in direction for
a project that may have general livelihood
improvement as a main focus. On the other
hand, specific initiatives may become so
narrow that their sustainable impact is
threatened as it has few links with other
areas of priority. Also, specific projects are
often more affected by shifts in political will.
For example, in seeking improved legal
protection of children (highlighted as a need in
the CAN study), changes to laws cannot be
integrated with most community development
activities. Yet the impact of poor enforcement
is felt at the community level. Program
planners need to identify approaches
appropriate to their operational environment
and to the nature of the risks to children.
Child protection as a specific
program focus
Promotion of a safer world for children
requires approaches that seek to strengthen
government protection mechanisms, as the
CAN study 28 highlighted. Initiatives need to
work on local, national, regional and
international levels, as all these dimensions
are involved in understanding and responding
to this type of risk. Children and community
members see and experience injustice, as the
following extract from an Indonesian poem
shows; they form views as to who is
responsible for discomfort or poverty of
choice; resentment builds and sometimes
spills over into violence.
27 Dorning, K, Crying Out, World Vision International, 2002
28 Dorning, K, Crying Out, World Vision International, 2002
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