Starting Up Child Centered Spaces in Emergencies: A Field Manual

IntroductionEmergencies, such as armed conflict and natural disasters, pose enormous child careand protection challenges to families and communities. To help mobilize communitieson behalf of children during and after emergencies, Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) hasdeveloped a Child Protection Approach that utilizes diverse tools, including ChildCentered Spaces (CCSs) as a means to reach and support children. This approachengages communities to create safe spaces for children and youth to play, socialize,learn, and express themselves in a caring, supportive and normalizing environment.Although CCSs are not appropriate in all emergency contexts, experience has shownthat they often are needed to support children. Since 1999, CCF has worked with partnersand community networks to implement CCSs in a wide variety of emergencycontexts, such as armed conflict and natural disaster. These have includedAfghanistan, Chad, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kosovo, Liberia, the Philippines,Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Uganda. Based on the knowledge, experienceand lessons learned from child protection specialists implementing CCSsworldwide, this manual offers practical guidance on setting up Child CenteredSpaces in emergency settings. Its intended audience consists of emergency childprotection workers, both international and local, who will be setting up and overseeingCCSs. An integral component of CCF’s emergency response also includes ChildWell-Being Committees, covered in a separate manual that is under development.This manual is divided into three sections. The first section describes CCF’s childprotection framework, which provides the conceptual foundation for establishingCCSs. It includes CCF’s vision as it relates to child protection, child well-beingand child rights; describes CCF’s Deprivation, Exclusion and Vulnerability Model;and explains the strategic rationale for establishing Child Centered Spaces. Thissection also provides information on the Child Centered Spaces approach,describing in detail the principles, functions and activities that comprise CCSs.The second section is the core of this manual and provides 13 practical steps forimplementing CCSs. The first steps include coordinating with other organizations,selecting the location and visiting the community. The next steps focus on communitymobilization, selecting the CCS site and recruiting animators. The finalsteps include training, startup activities, monitoring and evaluation, and transitioningout of the CCS. Throughout this section, field examples are provided to showhow various steps of the CCS process were implemented in different emergencycontexts. A quick checklist is also supplied for each step, indicating the key elementsand activities for the step. The steps are intended to serve as guidelines,not as a recipe. Because each emergency situation is unique, it is essential to createspace for innovation and tailor one’s approach to the local context.The third section contains the annexes and a reference list and provides supplementalresources for working with CCSs, including assessment tools, communitymobilization guidelines, additional training modules, and record keeping andreporting forms.5