We are proud, and we have a reason for that! It sounds a bit materialistic, but this is also a feeling of achievement, joyfulness, and, why not, pride, when, coming to the end of the year, we sum up our results and say enthusiastically: 180! It’s not just a number, it’s a result that speaks about our work, about the partnerships we managed to develop, maintain, and extend for years. A new result for us is the creation of small groups of partners, that is, local Advisory Boards of Children (ABCs) in eight out of ten regions where Partnerships for Every Child works. With their involvement and enthusiasm, these young people help us to do our work more efficiently, to help children in difficulty.
Thus, on 19th and 20th December a new ABC meeting was held in Orhei, gathering 26 energetic and well-intended young people who came to contribute with their experiences and skills in order to “produce a change in our society, by promoting the rights of children”. This was the very first topic of the youth training module, during which the young people discussed about the ways child’s rights are respected in the Republic of Moldova, in families, in preschool and school institutions, and in the wider society. The Convention on the Rights of Children was also an essential support used during this training, and in the end the young people engaged to better monitor the way these rights are respected in all environments that concern children.
Other ABCs will meet to discuss new topical modules on 29th and 30th December in SIngerei, and on 5th-6th January in Soroca.
Advisory Boards of Children are created within the USAID-funded project “Children in Moldova live in safe and secure families”, implemented by Partnerships for Every Child.
All-in-all, eight such Advisory Boards were created since 2011, and their mission is to make children’s voice heard by adults, and, ultimately, to help children learn about their rights.