An NGO, Save the Children International (SCI) has trained members of the 8th assembly of Zamfara Children’s Parliament on advocacy and children’
An NGO, Save the Children International (SCI) has trained members of the 8th assembly of Zamfara Children’s Parliament on advocacy and children’s rights.
The 8th Assembly of the Children’s Parliament in the state comprised 35 representatives including girls and boys from the 14 Local Government Areas of the state.
The training was implemented by the SCI under a project ‘Integrated Emergency Education Response in North-West’, with funding from ‘Education Cannot Wait (ECW)’,.
Mr Mustafa Yusuf, Advocacy and Campaign Assistant of the SCI, while speaking at the closing of the two-day training in Gusau on Sunday, said iit was aimed at promoting children’s participation, advocacy and governance.
Yusuf said the the training was also to enhance children’s capacity to advocate for children’s participation in decision making policies and promote child rights governance.
“This training is to ensure the children in Zamfara affected by the crisis due to insecurity should continue to have access to quality education.
“You know part of the Save the Children mission’s breakthrough is children must learn, survive and must be protected.
“Under the learning breakthrough, we are implementing a project, ‘Integrated Emergency Education Response in Northwest’ with funding from Education cannot wait,” he said
According to him, the training was also aimed at enhancing the capacity of the children on how to voice out their challenges and participate in decisions that affect them.
“This is to encourage our children to participate in child rights governance, we want them to voice out and advocate for them to be carried out in decisions that affects them.
“We want impact members of this parliament to also advocate on Domestication of National Policy for safety, security and and violence free schools.
“At the end of this training we expect these children to be able to speak in the voiceless children from their respected constituencies.
“We expect them to know their rights, and to be able to speak for themselves in decisions that affect them.
“We want to prepare them to know more about government’s policies that has to do with their right as well as safe learning,” he explained.
Also speaking, the Director, Child, State Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Farida Abdurrazak Muhammad Tigana described the training as a welcome development.
Abdurrazak commended SCI for its support since the establishment of the parliament in the state as well as the enhancing of its members.
She reiterated the state government’s commitments under Governor Dauda Lawal to continue to collaborate with partners and other stakeholders in providing an enabling environment for children’s development and survival.
The Director, Legislative Matters, State House of Assembly, Malam Yusuf Sabo Tsafe, described the training as a milestone to the development of children in the state.
Sabo said that the training would enhance the children’s capacity on how to make advocacies to government’s MDAs, and other key stakeholders on issues that affect them.
“I believe with this training, the parliament will ensure children have access to quality education, healthcare as well as water and sanitation,” he added.
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