07/07/2017
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND OF FOCUS, Inc.
Fore-runners of Children’s Universal for Survival (FOCUS), is a non-profit, non-governmental civil society organization, registered in 1995 under the non-for-profit law of Liberia. FOCUS’ core function centered on fostering care for at risk children, women and youth and through the application of relevant portions of the Liberian Constitution, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and work with women and youth groups to advocate for the protection of their rights to participate in decision making on issues that affect their lives.
In keeping with its mandate, the organization campaigns to minimize abuses and marginalization of children, women and youths, in Liberia through advocacy, awareness raising, and networking with likeminded civil society organizations, NGOs, INGOs, sector Ministries (Education, Health, Gender, Children and Social Protection, Youth & Sports, Justice, Internal Affairs), as well as relevant authorities in the private and public sectors to remind government of its obligation to the Liberian children as a signatory to the UNCRC.
Core Areas of Intervention
FOCUS’ core areas of intervention include: conduct of Civic Education and Peace Building in schools and communities targeting students, out-of-school children, and young people. Our human rights lessons are drawn from the fundamental rights under Chapter III of the 1986 Liberian constitution, application portions of the United Nations convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and other rights instruments, as well as acquaint the children with rights, duties, and responsibilities as citizens. We also mentored them to peacefully claim their rights when violated by adults including state and non-state actors. We issued periodic press statements raising a specific concern affecting the wellbeing of our clients that is children, young people and women, citing applicable portions of rights instruments to substantiate our claim. In most instances, the press statements are intended to right the wrog.
Pending Areas of Intervention
The Need for an Expansion School feeding Programs in Liberia
Overview
As you might be aware, the World Bank has defined School feeding programs as “targeted social safety nets that provide both educational and health benefits to the most vulnerable children, thereby increasing enrollment rates, reducing absenteeism, and improving food security at the household level.” Beyond improvements in access to food, school feeding programs also have a positive impact on nutritional status, gender equity, and educational status, each of which contributes to improving overall levels of country and human development.
Need for School Feeding Programs
According to the United Nations World Food Programme, 66 million primary school age children go hungry every day, with 23 million hungry children in Africa alone. Furthermore, 80% of these 66 million children are concentrated within just 20 countries. Additionally, 75 million school-age children (55% of them girls) do not attend school, with 47% of them living in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, the need to reduce hunger while increasing school enrollment in these children is evident, and school feeding programs have been developed to target this multifaceted problem.
Schools have become a natural and convenient setting for the implementation of health and education interventions. School feeding is just one facet of school health initiatives, as other programs may include de-worming, HIV/AIDS prevention and education, and life and health skills education. Overall, school feeding programs have been shown to directly increase the educational and nutritional status of recipient children, and indirectly impact the economic and social lives of themselves and their family. Additionally, school feeding directly addresses the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing hunger by one-half, achieving universal primary education, and would achieved gender parity in education by 2015.
High Food Prices
“The war is over in Liberia but economic challenges remain. High food prices make it harder for poor families to feed their children, and learning is difficult on an empty stomach,” said Assistant Education Minister Keturah Siebu at the launch of the urban school feeding programme. WFP West Africa Regional Director Thomas Yanga who was part of the launch, assured that the WFP remained in the forefront of efforts to lessen the impact of high food prices by working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education to confront the obstacles in achieving universal primary education and to help children in the face of food insecurity. In time past, Liberia’s National Food Assistant Agency, NFAA-WFP school feeding programmes targeted community primary schools in a 15 counties with daily meals during the 2008/2009 school year. But the NFAA became inactive in 2006. Liberia is yet to graduate from its dependency on foreign assistance to be country-led and self-supported school feeding programme.
While there are school feeding programs in a number of countries, each program varies widely from country to country in design, implementation, and evaluation. Thus, literature reviews and studies often focus on a small number of countries, as school feeding is not a uniform unit of intervention and cannot be compared or assessed on an international scale.
Types of school feeding programs
There are two main ways to distribute food through school feeding programs: on-site meals and take-home rations. On-site meals are foods that are distributed to children while at school during morning and afternoon meal and snack times, which may include a bowl of porridge or nutrient-fortified crackers. Take-home rations are a collection of basic food items, such as a bag of rice and a bottle of cooking oil, which may be sent home and transferred to the families of girls that regularly attend school.
While the food items needed for school feeding programs may be imported into the country from anywhere throughout the world, an increasing number of countries and organizations are looking to expand what is called “home-grown school feeding,” which requires that provided food is produced and purchased within a country to the greatest extent possible. These programs provide an opportunity for children to receive improved nutrition and educational opportunities while also allowing smallholder farmers to benefit from access to a market with stable, structured, and predictable demand.
Need for a Robust School Feeding Programs
According to the United Nations World Food Programme, 66 million primary school age children go hungry every day, with 23 million hungry children in Africa alone. Furthermore, 80% of these 66 million children are concentrated within just 20 countries. Additionally, 75 million school-age children (55% of them girls) do not attend school, with 47% of them living in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, the need to reduce hunger while increasing school enrollment in these children is evident, and school feeding programs have been developed to target this multifaceted problem.
Types of school feeding programs
There are two main ways to distribute food through school feeding programs: on-site meals and take-home rations. On-site meals are foods that are distributed to children while at school during morning and afternoon meal and snack times, which may include a bowl of porridge or nutrient-fortified crackers. Take-home rations are a collection of basic food items, such as a bag of rice and a bottle of cooking oil, which may be sent home and transferred to the families of girls that regularly attend school.
An overview of FOCUS’ Proposed Areas of Inventions
1. FOCUS’ Food for School Campaign
In our quest to encourage school aged children (in-and-out) of school to get attracted to primary education, we would like to undertake a pilot school feeding program in 10 elementary public schools in Montserrado County through the distribution of on-site meals during the 2017/2018 school year. The detail shall be worked out when the proposed school feeding project is accepted. On-site meals are foods that are distributed to children while at school during morning and afternoon meal and snack times, which may include a bowl of porridge or nutrient-fortified crackers. Besides the opportunity for the children to receive improved nutrition, in our candid opinion, such school feeding program will also go a long way in helping to increase student enrollment in the target primary public schools, and decrease the number of children who are currently selling on the streets of Monrovia.
2. FOCUS’ Pencil for Children’s Peddling Campaign
The term “street child” refers to any child that worked on the street. From research, however, different categories of children on the streets have been distinguished, while still recognizing that children’s complex experiences are difficult to define. Mark W. Lusk, a prominent researcher of street children, developed four categories of children on the street from his research as follows:
• children who work on the street but return to their families at night,
• children who work on the street but whose family ties are dwindling,
• children who live and work with their families on the street,
• and children who work and live on their own on the street.
The term “street child” has come to refer only to the last group. UNICEF defines a street child as, “...any girl or boy ... for whom the street (in the widest sense of the word, including unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) has become his or her habitual abode and/or source of livelihood; and who is inadequately protected, supervised, or directed by responsible adults”. It is important to distinguish the group of children that live on their own on the streets because their lives vary greatly from those of children who simply work on the streets; they thus have different needs and require targeted attention.
Here In Liberia, though reliable statistics on Children Street peddling at the Women and Children Unit of the Liberia National Police Headquarters in Monrovia are scanty, but one account revealed that the children’s rights situation in Liberia is particularly bad. Poverty, a lack of governmental intervention, and the inefficiency of the justice system harm children. These children lack access to healthcare and education. They are the victims of damaging traditional practices, abuse and trafficking. Consequently, many work or live in the streets.
FOCUS is scouting for funding to raise public awareness on children peddling through series of radio soap opera programs, jingles and dramas in English, & 3 Liberian languages (Kpelleh, Bassa and Lorma). If goes well, the programs will be aired on the state owned radio station, the Liberia Broadcasting System-ELBC and ELWA; both stations operate FM and short waves.
3. An Evaluation of the Free and Compulsory Primary Education Program in Liberia
USAID Liberia youth Fragility Report revealed that the Education Law of 1973 recognized the right of every Liberian child to education and made education compulsory for children between ages 6 and 16. The law compelled parents to send their children to school or be fined. It also prohibited the collection of school fees in government schools at primary and secondary levels and set aside public land in each county to support public schools. The right to “Free and Compulsory” education was reaffirmed in the 2986 Constitution and again by the Education Law of (2002) which reflects the Ministry of Education’s commitment to the goal of universal basic education – nine years of education or completion of junior secondary school.
The program has its basis in the New Education Law of 2001, which provides in Section 2.3 that: “Primary education shall be made available and become Free and Compulsory starting in the year 2003 for all children within the framework of universal primary education (UPE). At the end of the primary education cycle, each Liberian child shall in addition to the academic competency and survival empowerment possesses marketable skills and is computer literate. Special provision shall be made to reduce wastage at this level and to improve access and staying power and performance of girls in school. The age range for entering and leaving primary education shall be 6 to 11..(p 4).
The Compulsoriness of the law further stated that every parent, guardian or other persons having control of any child between the ages of six and seventeen years was to cause such child to attend a recognized public or private school regularly during the entire time the school is in session, or else violators could be subject to a fine of LD 500.00. (p,10).
Since the program was launched about 6 years ago, we have not seen any report of evaluation to determine as to whether or not it is on course. As a child right organization, FOCUS is seeking sponsorship to evaluate the program with respect to the achievement of its goal of providing free and compulsory primary education and computer literacy for children between ages 6 and 16.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1.Madam Miama Grant ---------------Chairperson
2.Cllr. Joseph F. Harris ------------ Co-Chairperson
3. Mr. Stephen Kolee -------------- Member
4. Mr. Stevenson Seidi ----------=--Member
5. Mr. Anthony L.M. Boakai, Sr.---Secretary
MISSION STATEMENT
Protecting the rights of children and youths using national, regional and international rights instruments through advocacy, rights-based approach, networking and awareness raising to promote their rights to survival, participation, development and protection.
VISION STATEMENT
FOCUS works for a Liberia in which children and youth are free and safe.
Core Value:
Honesty
Commitment
Transparency
Teamwork
Core staff includes:
1. Mr. Anthony L.M. Boakai, Sr., Executive Director
Mr. Boakai holds a B.A. and M.Sc. Degrees in Political Science and Regional Planning respectively from the University of Liberia. He is a journalist and a Human Rights Activist. He blended his journalism profession with human rights advocacy in the 90s. He has attended several local and regional human rights workshops and conferences in Senegal, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. He heads FOCUS’ Secretariat and runs the day to day activities of the organization. He has served the institution in this capacity for 15 years. Mr. Boakai has led the successful implementation of several projects financed local and international donors.
2. Mr.Rufus F. Cornormia, Acting Program Officer
Mr. Cornormia holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, BBA Degree in Accounting from the University of Liberia. He has worked with FOCUS for 4 years as Finance Assistant and later assumed the position of Acting Program Officer. He has participated in a series of local human rights and civic education workshops. He was among dozens of local rights groups working on election issues that attended Liberia’s National Election Commission’s Civic-Voter Education and awareness workshops in Monrovia in preparation for 2011 general and presidential elections. He was part of FOCUS’ Civic Education Team that conducted civic-voter education and awareness in three electoral districts in Sinoe County the same year.
3. Ms. Yassah Yelobah, Finance Officer
Ms. Yelobah earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, BBA Degree in Accounting from the Stella Maris Polytechnic in Monrovia. She has been with FOCUS for 1 year. She previously served as an Auditor at the Concepts Accounting Services, Inc. in Monrovia. Ms. Yelobah has 2 years of experience in Auditing Civil Society Organizations’ (CSOS) Accounts. During her tenure at the Concepts Accounting Services, she was helpful in the preparation of CSOS’ Annual Financial statements and other General Accounting Services at the entity.
4. Mr. Benny Williams, County Supervisor
MR. Williams is a holder of a High School Diplomat. He has worked with FOCUS for 9 years. He has benefited from a number of workshops and trainings organized by the National Elections Commission (NEC) and the National Civil Council of Liberia. He coordinated FOCUS’ Civic Education Program in schools that exposed students to their rights and responsibilities as citizens. He also led FOCUS’ mobile cinema civic-voter awareness program conducted in three electoral districts in Sinoe County for the 2011 general and presidential elections.
5. Mrs. Gertrude R. Bropleh, Civic Educator
Mrs. Bropleh is a high school graduate and has been with the organization for 3 years. She a certificate of participation from Mercy Corps’ Workshop to identify human rights violators and develop advocacy strategy to target them as a means of minimizing human rights violations in Liberia. She also form part of FOCUS’ Civic Education Team that carried out Civic Education and Peace Building in 15 schools in Margibi County.
6. Ms. Williametta Jabbah and Mr.Thomas Satkor, 2 Field Monitors
Ms. Jabbah and Mr. Satkor have completed their high school studies and have worked with FOCUS for 1 year each. They benefited from the 2011 International Foundation for Electoral System IFES workshop for CSOS to encourage women participation in general and presidential election the same year. They were part of IFES’s financed civic-voters education project FOCUS implemented in three (3) electoral districts in Sinoe County; where they advocated for women involvement in political decision making in the county through voting for candidates of their choice and not that of their husbands. They also participated in IFES’s funded Mobile Cinema out-reach campaign in three (3) electoral districts in Sinoe County, to sensitize citizens to vote YES or NO for any of the 4 propositions for the amendment of certain provisions of the1986 constitution.
7. Mr. Jimmy Payne, Office Assistant
Mr. Payne earns a high school Diplomat and a Certificate in Computer Science. He has served the organization for 11 years and benefited from International Research & Exchange Board IREX’s sponsored workshop in Conflict Resolution, Youth Mainstreaming and Advocacy. He served as a Mobilizer during the implementation of Ebola Community Action Platform (E-CAP1) program financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Mercy Corps and Population Services International (PSI) along with local organizations. He was also trained by Mercy Corps as Digital Data Collector and Community Mobilizer. As a Mobilizer, Mr. Payne applied PSI’s Listen, Learn and Act method of communication to disseminate behavior change messages in a local community in Monrovia where he was assigned.
Below are some of the projects previously implemented by FOCUS
Publication of a Newsletter
In 1996, UNICEF-Liberia financed our first project that enable us to commission a 30-minute soap opera radio program, ‘CHILDREN LIFELINE’ that highlighted fundamental rights under Chapter III of the 1986 Liberian constitution, application portions of the United Nations convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and other rights instruments. The program was aired on the state owned Radio Station, ELBC for several months. The uniqueness of the program led to its extension. UNICEF also sponsored the publication of our 4-page newsletter, ‘CARE-LIBERIA, which featured a special Pre-Reintegration Series on War Affected Children and Demobilized Child Soldiers.
At the same time, we organized a workshop on the future of the Liberian children, where the then UNICEF Representative to Liberia, Mr. Allen Everest and former Liberian Interim President, Dr. Amos C. Sawyer spoke on the challenges of the children and the need for concerted efforts to address them.
Disarm the Child Soldiers First
During the disarmament, demobilization and re-integration process of Liberian warring factions between 1997/97, FOCUS appealed to the high command of the West African Peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, through the Force Commander, Major General Victor Malu to disarm child combatants first.
FOCUS believed that the early disarmament of armed bearing children in the Liberian conflict was necessitated by their constant exposure to danger that hampered their growth and development.
In furtherance of its campaign to ensure that child fighters were disarmed and demobilized first, FOCUS raised the issue with Dr. Omar A. Abdi, then UNICEF Representative to Liberia. In an interview with our sister radio program, CHILDREN LIFELINE, he revealed among other things, that nearly 4000 child soldiers had been disarmed and demobilized between 31st January to February 1, 1997. He said UNICEF was encouraged by the level of enthusiasm shown by fighters in the disarmament process at the time. UNICEF is United Nations International Children’s Emergency Funds.
Child Rights Awareness
In 2009, FOCUS conducted child rights awareness programs in 10 Elementary Schools in Greenville, Sinoe County, facilitated Amateur Child Rights Drama performances in schools and communities, and organized Drawing Competition among students between ages of 9 to 12 years. Illustrated calendars with the child awareness messages were printed and distributed in the 10 Elementary Schools, local and NGO offices as well as communities. The calendars carried messages like Early S*x will Hamper Your School, To Dowry 15-17 Year Old Girls is a Child Rights Abuse; Stop I! The Project Assisting Community Together (ACT) of the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP-Liberia financed the project.
Rural Legal Rights Program
FOCUS and the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Human Rights Monitors implemented the U.S. Embassy Democracy and Human Rights Fund’s Rural Legal Rights Program in Rivercess, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh counties in 2000 and 2001.
The project entails visitations of prison facilities, monitoring, investigation, documentation as well as provision of free legal services to indigent inmates. During the period, the two organizations contracted a lawyer to represent the inmates in court in Greenville, Sinoe County and at the end of the court proceedings, twenty (20) detainees who had been held beyond statutory periods (two terms of court) without trial in contravention of their rights to speedy trial, were released from further detention; Phrases I and II which cost US$15,000.00 and US$25,000.00 respectively, ran for 12-month each.
Harmful Traditional Project
In 2004, an American non-governmental organization, Mercy Corps-Liberia financed a harmful traditional based intervention project titled: “Advocacy aimed at Educating Leaders and Effecting various changes in Legislation and Policy and Cultural/customary practices that Negatively Impact key groups especially Women and Children.” During the implementation of the project, we led the 30 participants at a 2-day workshop in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County to an informative and exciting sessions through which we identified the below listed problems that appeared to be trampling on the rights of the people especially women and children.
a) the practice of concoction commonly known in Liberia as sassy wood. Sassy wood is a form of a kangaroo-court administered by traditional people to render guilty or non-guilty verdict of an accused by compelling the person to drink in a large gathering, an unspecified amount if mixtures of liquid squeezed from the chopped bark of a tree by a witch doctor; b) denial of women married under customary law, of their inheritance rights; c) bride price or dowry of teenage girls without consent; d) the inability of parents to educate their children accounted for increase of out-of-school children.
At the end of the workshop, participants adopted count a 10-resolution calling among other things, for the abolition of sassy wood or trial by ordeal, to facilitate the harmonization of other harmful customary practices with statutory laws. However, out of the 30 participants, only Konobo Chiefdom Paramount Chief Joseph slue Doe objected to 5 of resolution which outlawed sassy wood on ground that Sassy Wood was meant to preserve their cultural norm.
Simplification of the Liberian Constitution
Between 2008 and 2009, FOCUS simplified the 1986 Liberian Constitution and used it in 15 schools in Margibi County to acquaint students (ages 12-18 years), with their rights and civic duties as citizens. During our Civic Education and Peace Building project in the County, we placed emphasis on fundamental rights under Chapter III of the constitution which outline a range of rights and responsibilities of citizens.
E.g. Article 14 states that all persons are entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; Article 15 says every person have the right to freedom of expression. The law required that these and other rights should be exercised within the confirm of the law.
Students’ Handbook
During the same period, we printed a Student’s Handbook that set guidelines for settling disputes in 15 schools in the county. The Handbook was intended to minimize students’ riot and/or campus based violence protests that engulfed many schools at the time. It was part of our 2 years civic education and peace building project in the schools. The Handbook was produced in close consultations with Margibi County Education Officer, Mr. William Gizi.
The Inter-Church Development Cooperative Organization (ICCO) en kerk in Actie of the Protestant Church of the Netherlands financed both projects.
2011 National Referendum
During the 2011 National Referendum, FOCUS conducted International Foundation for Electoral System IFES funded Mobile Cinema out-reach campaign in three (3) electoral districts in Sinoe County, to sensitize citizens to vote YES or NO for any of the 4 propositions for the amendment of certain provisions of the1986 constitution.
REFERENCES:
Mr. Alfred E. Fallah
Executive Director
Human Rights Watch Women and Children
+23-1573843
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr. Eddie D. Jarwolo
Executive Director
NAYMOTE-Partners for Democratic Development
+231-510479
E-mail:[email protected]
Madam Denise A. Barrett
Mercy Liberia
Chief of Party – Diompilor
Country Director – Mercy Corps
E-mail:[email protected]
