IDAY-International presentation

All children have the right to quality basic education.

IDAY exists because too many African children and youth are still deprived of it.

www.iday.org

Raising voices for African education

“The increasing number of illiterate young Africans is a socio economic time bomb which affects us all!�

Professor Paul Collier - Oxford University

Ensuring quality basic education to all African youth has been one of the world’s greatest challenges since 40 years.

It is becoming all the more pressing that in 50 years, Africa is expected to be the largest reservoir of youth in the world.

Despite abounding aid and repeated calls to generosity, the challenge remains. Most efforts have not yet had a sustainable impact and the public shows growing fatigue in the face of seemingly never-ending aid requests.

Faced with such disappointing results, experts admit that this situation is no longer acceptable and that radical changes in the development aid practices are needed.

The solution to the Africans’ problems must come from themselves.

African civil society is best able to perceive local needs and issues and to develop appropriate solutions.

Our intervention in Africa should be nothing but accompany this process, mainly by supporting a constructive dialogue between civil societies and their governments to ensure respect for the populations’ fundamental human rights. The financial support we provide will then only serve to help cover for the costs of such an activity, and to promote projects that demonstrate the validity of local advocacy campaigns. This approach is the only one that can guarantee a sustainable and global development in Africa.

The IDAY network’s development action in Africa since 2006 is rooted in the capacity of African civil society organisations to take up this challenge. IDAY encourages investment in Africa’s success, not in its misery: it is the only way for the Africans to build a better future for their youth.

Adamou Fehou Member of the Board of Directors

Jean-Jacques Schul Founding Chairman of IDAY-International

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IDAY-INTERNATIONAL

The IDAY network advocates for the right of all African youth to quality basic education by encouraging a constructive dialogue between African civil society organisations (CSO) and their governments.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES Networking Advocacy Empowerment through ownership

THE NETWORK 250 members organisations • 18 African coalitions • 8 European coalitions Coordinated by IDAY-International aisbl (headquarters in Belgium) IDAY members cater for some 150 000 vulnerable children and youngsters across Africa (2011 census)

AFRICAN MEMBERS (COALITIONS) GENERAL ASSEMBLY

EUROPEAN MEMBERS (COALITIONS)

HONORARY COMMITTEE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

PARTNERS (NIDOE, FAWE, ANPPCAN,GCE)

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COORDINATION & SECRETARIAT

SPONSORS

IDAY gathers African CSOs involved in the education sector. These organisations form national coalitions.

As members of the network, these IDAY coalitions are encouraged to engage in efficient advocacy actions with a long-term impact. Indeed, enhanced synergy between local civil society and governments is needed for Africa to enjoy economic growth.

The advocacy agenda is decided by local civil society.

These organisations decide what is required to achieve education for all in Africa. This is the principle of ownership.

FOCUS: VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND YOUTH • Orphans • Child soldiers • Domestic workers • Children accused of witchcraft • Minors deprived of liberty • Children with disabilities • Nomadic children • Street children • Girls victims of early marriage

• Porters • Children victims of human trafficking • Children from ethnic minorities • Children living in remote rural areas • Children living in conflict/ post-conflict areas • Heads of family

IDAY-INTERNATIONAL

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDG) MDG 2 Achieve universal primary education by 2015 • Net enrolment in primary education • Completion of primary education • Literacy of 15-24 year-olds, women and men MDG 3 Promote gender equality and empower women Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005 (not yet realised).

THE DAKAR FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION, EDUCATION FOR ALL En 2000, 181 States met in Dakar and agreed on 6 objectives to be reached by 2015: • Expand early childhood care and education • Provide free and compulsory primary education for all • Promote learning and life skills for young people and adults • Increase adult literacy by 50% • Achieve gender equality by 2015 • Improve the quality of education

WHY FOCUS ON EDUCATION? Education is key to: • Raising participation in social and democratic processes • Enhancing professional opportunities to fight poverty and contribute to general economic growth • Improving health conditions

80 million

children and youth in Africa are deprived of quality basic education SUCCESSFUL RESULTS • Community self-help system for family and school reintegration of orphans and destitute children (Togo) • Grassroots mobilisation against child trafficking (Togo) • Domestic workers’ training and professional recognition (Burundi, Rwanda, DRC, etc.)

• Girls’ education through hygiene-related campaign (Uganda) • Fighting malaria in schools with Artemisia annua (Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, DRC) • Launch of a regional campaign for the education of minors in prisons

IDAY’S MISSION Promote policies and practices to achieve the 6 objectives of the Dakar Framework by 2015, in particular pre-school initiation, completion of a full primary education cycle and youth literacy.

ORIGINS OF ILLITERACY IN AFRICA poverty : 45% - rural environment : 33% - gender : 11%

PROSPECTS • Strengthen the advocacy capacity of IDAY coalitions • Launch regional or pan-African programmes in favour of some categories of highly vulnerable children and youth • Improve IDAY’s communication and increase the network’s visibility in the media

Source : Pôle de Dakar (UNESCO)

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ADVOCACY, A LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Advocacy and human rights campaigns with long-term and global perspectives are more efficient, fair and sustainable than stand-alone service delivery projects (such as building schools or providing didactic materials).* “Act locally, think globally”

ADVOCACY: IDAY’S CORE ACTIVITY

IDAY’S ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES

Our mode of action:

The network carries out advocacy and awarenessraising campaigns throughout Africa and Europe:

• improve aid efficiency • contribute to setting up the prerequisites to socio-economic development We encourage national governments to assume their responsibilities. This requires that they dialogue with local civil society organisations (CSO). Then only will development processes be democratically owned.

Advocacy is effective only when it is broad-based, representative of all interests and locally-owned in order to have long-lasting effects.

We have a bottom-up approach: coalitions of local CSOs are the ones that develop and carry out the network’s advocacy strategy.

Through dialogue and advocacy, local CSOs help their governments to: • understand the population’s actual needs with regards to fundamental rights • elaborate fair and sustainable strategies • ensure that public funds reach the targeted population

IDAY’s advocacy partners

5 * Source: Global Campaign for Education, Education Rights: A guide for Practitioners and Activists, 2007, p8.

• Awareness campaigns at local, national, international levels • National and regional advocacy programmes on specific categories of vulnerable children (domestic workers, minors in prison, orphans, etc.)

• Implementation of education-related projects as advocacy tools (Project Bank) • Conferences and seminars • Surveys • Video documentaries • Publication of reports and position papers

The IDAY network

operates both on national and transnational level Among many events, IDAY members: commemorate the International Day of the African Child (June 16) and participate in the Global Campaign for Education.

ADVOCACY, A LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

DEVELOPMENT IS AN ENDOGENOUS PROCESS People develop themselves; one cannot develop someone else. Africans may only be encouraged to find themselves the solutions to their problems. Direct interference from foreign organisations can delay development.

INTEREST

Government

appropriate services

→

Local CSOs know the problems better than anyone else.

The solutions they advance are better adapted to the socio-cultural environment … they are also cheaper.

→

Public Foreign Aid

FUNDING

→

→

DIALOGUE TRUST

→

→

→ Civil Society

→

DEVELOPMENT

taxes

→ INTEREST

SERVICE DELIVERY

→

Private Foreign Aid

PROSPECTS • Gather more African (and European) CSOs to advocate together for basic education for all in Africa • Value the key role of African civil society for a constructive and democratic dialogue with local authorities

• Foster regional collaboration among national coalitions in the framework of programmes targeting specific categories of vulnerable children and youth • Enhance the autonomy of the IDAY national coalitions

More info? info@iday.org

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QUALITY EDUCATION THROUGH BETTER HEALTH

A number of diseases cause high absenteeism rates in African schools, hence impacting on the quality of education. It is therefore paramount to tackle major health issues to achieve quality education.

THE ISSUE OF MALARIA Malaria remains a main cause of death in Africa. This disease generates economic losses estimated at 8 billion $ /year and affects the quality of education in three ways: • Repetitive malaria crises definitively impair children’s cognitive capacities • It raises teachers’ and pupils’ absenteeism • It inflates health budgets at the expense of education Treating malaria…

While bed nets, pharmaceutical medication, early detection methods and vaccines (research ongoing) show some effectiveness, these approaches remain extremely costly. Without international financing, they are inaccessible to the large majority of Africans. ... with Artemisia annua For 2000 years the Chinese have used a local plant, Artemisia annua, to treat malaria.

This treatment method consists in drinking 3 cups of Artemisia annua tea per day for 7 days. The efficiency rate goes beyond 90%.

This tea is a natural multi-therapy as the many chemical components it contains act in synergy against malaria.

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Artemisia annua tea has no side effects and has so far shown no resistance.

Several researches conducted in European, Latin American and African universities confirm an efficiency otherwise observed empirically in a growing number of African countries.

Ongoing research also demonstrates that the plant may be used to purify water, , thereby contributing to lower the incidence of dysentery. A 2003 document from DRC reveals that Artemisia annua is also effective against bilharzias and other parasites. Experiences in Uganda and Kenya tend to confirm the results of this research.

Making the treatment accessible to schools The plant is grown in Europe and Africa, mainly as cash crop to supply the pharmaceutical industry.

The IDAY network associated with Ifbv, a Luxemburg organisation, to accompany the dissemination of Artemisia annua and its use among the African population.

Plantations are developing in DRC, Gambia, Benin, Uganda, Senegal, Burundi, Rwanda, Togo, etc.

QUALITY EDUCATION THROUGH BETTER HEALTH

EVERY MINUTE an African child dies from malaria

A TESTIMONY – THE KENYA PILOT INITIATIVE IDAY-Kenya decided in 2010 to promote the plant in the Kisumu region – an area heavily infected with malaria. Under the guidance of Dr. Tobias Arudo (Kenyatta University), 1200 pupils from two secondary schools volunteered to take part in the programme.

After a 1st failed plantation attempt (draught), the crop took on in 2010.

Curative treatment with the tea has since then proven highly effective. In addition, since December 2010, pupils and teachers take the Artemisia tea preventively.

Improvement of academic performances School absenteeism related to malaria quasi disappeared and health expenditures dropped by 90%.

Academic performance skyrocketed.

At the end of school year 2010, all the pupils applying to university from one of the two pilot schools were admitted.

A volunteer, motivated youth The students who voluntarily took charge of the plantations discovered Artemisia annua reproduction by cuttings, thereby avoiding the challenges of reproduction

by seeds. IDAY Youth Clubs (46 clubs at the end of 2011) now disseminate the cultivation and treatment techniques in other schools throughout Kenya.

Expansion Since 2011, the programme involves 80 schools and specialised institutions – about 40 000 pupils – in 8 districts of Kenya.

5 prisons took on cultivating the plant (about 2 000 persons).

Sharing and building partnerships In the view of the growing success in Kenya, IDAY members in Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, DRC, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda launched Artemisia annua pilot projects in 2011.

Despite some watering challenges (Burkina Faso, Togo, Senegal), crops have reached a sizable dimension in other countries.

In each country, cooperation with the governments is actively sought.

PROSPECTS • Contribute to reduce significantly school absenteeism and the impact of malaria on education • Accompany the dissemination of the Artemisia annua plant and its use in African grassroots communities so as to guarantee general access to treatment against malaria • Foster exchange of good practices among African organisations and with actors from other continents.

• Contribute to the recognition of Artemisia annua medical benefits

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EDUCATION AND CHILD LABOUR, THE CASE OF DOMESTIC WORKERS

Several international and national instruments forbid or regulate child labour, taking into account its negative impact on child development and universal access to education.

THE CASE OF DOMESTIC WORKERS Children and youth working as domestics is a widely spread social phenomenon in Africa.

It generally has to do with poverty and high demographic pressure in rural areas where many parents are faced with the difficulty of raising and feeding numerous children. This rural exodus is also encouraged by the lure of the city. When in town, some of these children end up in the care of host families and employers who are not always benevolent and may exploit them as cheap house help. Few manage to complete basic education.

They often have to take their boss’s children to schools without being able to attend class themselves.

Some mothers even use their own daughters as maids, thus preventing them from going How many are they*? to school.

Burundi 300 000 The International Uganda 700 000 Labour Rwanda 800 000 Organisation Kenya 1 000 000 (ILO) considers RDC No estimate available domestic work to be particularly * Rough estimates as of 2010 hazardous for children, while admitting that some of them need it to survive. ILO consequently lowered the legal minimum working age to 14 in this sector.

In June 2011, ILO Working conditions for members passed a child domestic workers convention protecting • Long and tiring working the right to decent days (6am-11pm, 7/7 work for domestic days, 365 days/year) workers.

• No vacations, no social Although most security countries ratified • No salary, or minimal international • Exclusion from instruments educational forbidding child programmes labour, many children • No recognition of rights younger than 14 still • Sexual abuses and work as domestics. other forms of violence In addition, in most (especially on girls) African countries domestic work is not recognised as a full-fledged profession, which paves the way to a series of abuses.

“The Invisible Workers” IDAY documentary directed by Edouard Valette (production: Mundis) about the condition of domestic workers in East African and DR Congo (for sale,

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15€)

EDUCATION AND CHILD LABOUR, THE CASE OF DOMESTIC WORKERS

THE BURUNDIAN EXPERIENCE Mrs Goreth Kanyange, scandalised by the way domestic workers were treated in her country, started a training centre in Bujumbura in 2002.

The programme includes literacy courses in local and foreign languages as well as vocational training in cooking, childcare, hygiene, etc. The training schedule is adapted to the availability of the domestic workers: 2 hours per day, 3 days a week.

After 4 years of training, the domestics receive an official diploma. The CAD centre also lobbies for its students to obtain written contracts from their employers. With this approach, average salaries are 2 to 10 times higher than standard pre-training pay. A kindergarten has been created within the facility to enable domestic workers to attend

the courses while taking care of the family’s youngest children. There, these children learn the alphabet in two languages.

The students dedicate up to one quarter of their meagre salary to the training. The entire training costs 280 €/ student.

Most importantly, Mrs Kanyange makes the domestic workers proud of their profession and helps them regain self-confidence and dignity.

Legal recognition of domestic workers In 1972, domestic work was explicitly excluded from Burundian labour laws.

In 2011, IDAY-Burundi submitted a proposal to the Burundian government for the recognition of domestic work as a full-fledged profession. With the support of 5 ministers, the law is being considered for approval by 2013.

IDAY supports domestic workers’ training centres in Burundi, Rwanda and DRC.

IDAY’s REGIONAL PROGRAMME IDAY East African members met in Nairobi in July 2010 and decided to launch a domestic workers legal recognition and training programme in the region.

This advocacy programme includes: • A regional conference, held in November 2010 in Bujumbura • The production of a video documentary on the condition of domestic workers (Fr & En): “The Invisible Workers” • National surveys to determine the number of domestic workers, their training expectations and the skill requirements of the employers Countries involved are: DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Zambia.

Funds are needed to continue this programme initiated at the end of 2010.

PROSPECTS • Surveys to determine and monitor the socio-economic situation of domestic workers in 6 East African countries • Foster replication of the domestic workers training model (nationally and in other African countries) and integration in national education policies • Obtain the legalisation of the domestic workers’ status in countries where IDAY is active • Raise awareness of the youngsters on their rights

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EDUCATION AND EXCLUSION, THE CASE OF MINORS IN PRISON

Many children in African are marginalised. Minors in prison, children with disabilities, children accused of witchcraft, orphans … Most of them face social exclusion and are denied their fundamental right to basic education.

THE CASE OF MINORS IN PRISON Minors who are deprived of their liberty are also usually deprived of their other fundamental rights, including education.

They form an extremely vulnerable group that is often neglected by national and international stakeholders. Lack of valid statistics hampers efforts to improve their situation.

Yet, the right to education of all children is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The

Committee on the Rights of the Child specifically adjures the States to take all necessary measures to prevent discrimination against children in conflict with the law regarding their right to education.

Considering that illiteracy and lack of educational opportunities are factors that increase the chance of delinquency, education should be fully part of detention policies. Additionally, providing education to these youngsters is a means to facilitate their social reintegration after detention.

IDAY AND DCI-BELGIUM’S STRATEGY Driven by a shared concern for the situation of minors deprived of liberty in Africa, IDAY-International and Defence for Children International (DCI)-Belgium initiated a strategy to address their right to education. The aims are: • Stress the issue of the violation of these children’s right to education (advocate with national social services, governments, donors, the international community)

• Examine the alternative solutions to ensure quality basic education for minors deprived of liberty – including by promoting restorative justice principles • Regularly bring together African CSOs that are committed to protecting the rights of minors in prison to foster synergies, review best practices and strengthen their dialogue with their governments

• Foster a better coordination among stakeholders (support the African civil society organisations (CSO)’ commitment and dialogue with their governments, enhance partnership between European and African stakeholders) DCI-Belgium

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EDUCATION AND EXCLUSION, THE CASE OF MINORS IN PRISON

A REGIONAL CAMPAIGN TO ENFORCE THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF MINORS IN PRISON

ONGOING ACTIVITIES 1. Workshop on Education of Minors Deprived of Liberty (Brussels, January 18-19, 2011) The workshop aimed at coordinating policies and interventions among European NGOs active in the sector.

Demands • Depriving minors of their liberty is forbidden by international law. This may only be a measure of last resort, applied on an exceptional basis, for the shortest possible duration • The State must abide by its obligations by ensuring to every child his/her rights to health, security, education • African governments must acknowledge the unlawful presence of minors in prison and the violations of their rights, and join hands with civil society to bring such situations to an end • Education programmes that are fit for minors in prison must be integrated in national education policies and programmes • The education provided must meet equivalent quality and curriculum standards as the general educational system. It needs to include at least a basic diploma and to value informal skills and knowledge as much as possible. This education should actively engage the pupils and contribute to the development of citizenship as much as vocational skills.

• Engage families on their obligations towards their children and on their reintegration • Civil society, bilateral and multilateral cooperation agencies must include this issue in their regular programmes

2. Forum on Education of Minors Deprived of Liberty (Kampala, November 9, 2011) The forum gathered African organisations active in the sector to decide on a collective strategy.

It also included training sessions in restorative justice and non-violent communication.

3. Mapping of education programmes for minors deprived of liberty in Africa and stakeholders active on the issue (ongoing)

PROSPECTS • Conduct a mapping of minors in prison and of existing initiatives targeting them in Africa • Publish a Guide to stimulate the dissemination of education programmes targeting minors in prison throughout African countries • Raise awareness among communities to improve the prevalent negative social perception of minors in prison • Encourage African CSOs’ advocacy to the governments on this cause

• A regional action plan must be set up in collaboration with the competent local authorities and with the support of the donor community

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THE PROJECT BANK

The underlying principle is to encourage direct investment in advocacy-linked projects promoted by African civil society organisations (CSO) so as to foster long-lasting and locally owned development.

WHAT IS THE PROJECT BANK? African governments bear primary responsibility for providing quality education to their whole population. But gaps remain in education systems; African CSOs are best qualified to help identify and bridge them.

Generally, governments pay more attention to foreign organisations as they bring in large funds to finance their projects.

Yet, African organisations have 3 main advantages: • They know and understand the key problems better • The solutions they propose are better integrated in the socio cultural environment • They are much cheaper than foreign - inspired and controlled initiatives Hence, the IDAY network is convinced that African initiatives are fairer and more sustainable as they are the only ones that can be applied on a large scale despite limited local financial resources. In addition, they give confidence to the Africans in their ability to solve their problems themselves.

Linking service delivery to advocacy Through concrete education projects managed locally, IDAY member associations give legitimacy and credibility to their demands and recommendations.

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Once they prove to be efficient and sustainable, advocacy shall be made for these projects to be scaled up at national level – or replicated elsewhere in Africa.

This is indispensable to achieve education for all on the continent!

Financial autonomy A 3 to 10% commission is levied on the funds obtained for each project to finance the advocacy campaigns of the IDAY coalitions.

This commission also ‘rewards’ these coalitions for taking collective responsibility for the proper implementation of the project and use of the funds.

IDAY national offices are thus expected to become financially autonomous after 3 to 4 years as their members’ projects grow in size to achieve education for all.

Larger projects will require access to local public funds or foreign aid.

Criteria 1. The project promoter must be engaged in advocacy campaigns and be a member of IDAY 2. The project must be vetted by the national IDAY coalition

THE PROJECT BANK

3. It must be supported or at least approved by the local public authority 4. It must be replicable on a large scale 5. It must be cheap enough for its replication to be financed by the local governments 6. It must have the capacity of becoming selfsustainable 7. The issue(s) covered by the project must be included in the coalition’s advocacy agenda

The Project Bank was established to find sponsors for investment proposals promoted by African civil society organisations (CSO) member of the IDAY network.

IDAY members indeed need financial assistance to promote the approaches they view as relevant in the framework of their advocacy to their government.

Examples (www.iday.org – Project Bank) • Togo - Fonds Enfants Soleil (FES), phase II (project n° 10) Adoption and local schooling of orphans in 11 villages in South Togo. Collective contribution to community school expenses. 600 orphans schooled at an average cost of 70 €/ child/ year.

• Uganda - Girls’ education project (project n° 5) Helping 20 000 girls in remote Northwest Uganda to complete basic education by improving female hygiene. Teachers are trained to dispel the incomprehension regarding menstruation and to produce locally affordable sanitary pads.

• Uganda - Rainwater collection & school gardens, (projects no. 3, 16 &21) Giving access to drinking water, complementary vitamin-rich food and protection against malaria to pupils from private schools in deprived areas. Each participating school allocates 10% of its garden to produce seeds for free distribution to 5 other schools.

PROSPECTS IDAY-International seeks additional staff to: • Manage the Project Bank • Assist IDAY national coalitions in vetting and submitting projects consistent with the criteria

Indicators 21 projects published, out of which 13 have received financial support for a total amount of 235.000€ (2011).

• Enhance the communication on and visibility of the Project Bank to raise the profile of projects published and increase the donor base • Increase the amount of funds raised for the projects

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IDAY’S HONORARY COMMITTEE Dr Codou Diaw (Executive Director FAWE), Hauwa Ibrahim (Sakharov Prize 2005), Baaba Maal (Ambassador UNDP - Senegal), Luisa Morgantini (Vice-President of the European Parliament 2007/2009), Denis Mukwege (King Baudouin Prize 2011, Director of Panzi Hospital), Mampe Ntsedi (Nelson Mandela Children Center), Ousmane Sy (King Baudouin Prize 2005 and founder of CEPIA)

IDAY-Africa

Benin

Burkina-Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

D. R. Congo Gabon Ghana Guinea Ivory Coast Kenya Mauritania Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Tanzania Togo Uganda Zambia

IDAY-Europe

Belgium

France

Germany

Italy

Luxembourg The Netherlands United Kingdom Switzerland

www.iday.org IDAY-International aisbl 19, rue des Jambes - 1420 Braine-l’Alleud - Belgium Contacts : T. +32 (0)2 385 44 13 - F. +32 (0)2 385 44 12 - info@iday.org IBAN - BE 93 5230 8026 6767 - BIC - TRIOBEBB (TRIODOS)