OVERVIEW OF WATOTO WETU PROJECT

“Watoto Wetu Project” is a three (3) year project on enhancing child protection against harmful cultural practices and promoting access to quality education for children. It targets three pastoralist counties: Garissa, Marsabit and Kajiado and focuses on three thematic areas namely; Female Genital Mutilation (Health), Child Marriages (Child Protection) and Access to and Quality Education (Education).

Objective:

“To contribute to the reduction of harmful cultural practices and enhancing access to and quality of education in pastoralist counties through advocacy and community partnership.”

Expected results/outputs:

1. Increased awareness and government engagement on child rights issues in Garissa, Marsabit and Kajiado counties by 2018.
2. Enhanced capacity of the implementing partners to track, report and follow up on child rights violations/offences in Garissa, Marsabit and Kajiado and increased media engagement by 2018.
3. Improved access to and quality of education in pastoralist counties by 2018.

Project strategy:

includes research, coalition building and lobbying, media advocacy, litigation and use of publications and IEC materials. EACHRights endeavours to have child focused participation in all the stages of this project through the following ways;

• Participating in surveys to determine the level of child rights violations within the target counties.
• Offering suggestions on the most practical ways to ensure child protection.
• Beneficiaries: fully participate in training sessions and in the advocacy initiatives.

Project progress: some of the milestones achieved so far include;

• Baseline surveys conducted in Garissa, Kajiado and Marsabit counties.
• Stakeholders meetings and collaboration with Government institutions at both National and County level. These include the ANTI-FGM Board and the Department of Children’s Services (National level and also Kajiado and Marsabit).
• Development of county specific advocacy strategies in Garissa, Kajiado and Marsabit.
• Creation of Implementing committees to act as linkages at grassroots level.
• Development of a media advocacy strategy.
• Treaty reporting (CEDAW, CAT, ICCPR, CRC, CESCR, ACRWC).

MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE ON FGM

Media advocacy is among the key activities carried out in Watoto Wetu Project. After a May 2017 journalists training by EACHRights and The Girl Generation on using the media to eradicate harmful cultural practices, and promoting the right to education in pastoralist areas, our team has been able to actively engage with Kenya’s mainstream media journalists working in that beat. Among the stories that we and our partners have been extensively covered by correspondents include:

1. If men declare they do not want FGM in the community, women will obey
2. Emerging trends in FGM: Cross-border cutting and medicalization
3. Not just a woman’s thing: Men at the fore in anti-cut fight

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