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Tujukumike Child Protection
Contributor: Faith Wambua
In Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya, a new project is launched to reshape how communities safeguard their children. The Tujukumike Child Protection Project aims to empower children and communities to tackle critical issues of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. This project exemplifies the transformative power of grassroots engagement and the importance of structured project management.
About ChildFund Kenya
ChildFund Kenya, part of the ChildFund International NGO network, operates in 25 countries with a mission to create safe and supportive environments for children. The organization focuses on five core areas: education, health, water and sanitation, livelihood, and child protection. Through these pillars, ChildFund Kenya has been a beacon of hope for thousands of vulnerable children and families.
The Tujukumike Child Protection Project
Beginning of 2024, ChildFund Kenya started the Tujukumike project, a project designed to strengthen both formal and informal child protection structures in the region. The project targets 10,500 children across 105 schools and engages 3,000 community members to raise awareness and build local capacity for addressing child abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Key components include setting up child protection desks at five police stations, training child protection champions, and fostering community engagement through awareness sessions. The project uses a collaborative approach involving local leaders, law enforcement, schools, and community members to create a safer environment for children.
Faith Wambua, a dedicated and passionate project manager who is deeply committed to strengthening child protection systems, is at the heart of the Tujukumike and manages the Child Protection Project.
Overcoming Challenges with Structured Project Management
The Tujukumike Child Protection Project required a structured project management approach to ensure its success, particularly given its broad scope and diverse range of stakeholders. The project used P3.express as the basis for its management approach.
Faith Wambua mentions that one of the key benefits of using P3.express in this project is it’s formal “Go/No-Go” decision at regular intervals. Ms. Wambua mentioned: “The P3.express Go/No-Go decisions really helped us to provide accountability in the project; it made sure we remained on track and aligned with its goals.” With the limited resources of the project, it benefited from having these clear decision moments to evaluate whether objectives were being met, resources were sufficient, and timelines were being followed. By making these informed decisions, the team could mitigate risks, avoid unnecessary delays, and adjust strategies when needed, ensuring the project stayed on course to meet its child protection goals.
Adapting to unexpected changes in the school calendar posed a significant challenge for the project. In Kenya, school schedules often shift due to national events or local circumstances, creating disruptions to planned activities like training sessions and community outreach. Midway through the project, the Ministry of Education issued a directive restricting external curricular activities during the third term to allow students to prepare for the end-of-year and national exams without distractions. To navigate these disruptions, the project team leveraged the flexible planning cycles of P3.express, swiftly adjusting timelines and incorporating necessary changes without losing momentum. By continuously revisiting and refining deliverable maps, the team successfully maintained alignment with the project’s objectives, ensuring progress even amidst unforeseen challenges.
Another challenge was engaging and coordinating with a diverse set of stakeholders, including local law enforcement, schools, community leaders, and parents. Each group had different levels of awareness and involvement in child protection issues, which required tailored communication strategies. Continued and streamlined communication is key. Faith Wambua mentioned, “P3.express streamlined our communication and ensured alignment among our diverse stakeholders. Its simple, cyclical approach to focussed communication really helped our project communication strategy.”
Project progress
On the publishing of this article, the project is in its final months. The Tujukumike Child Protection Project has achieved several key milestones, including informing 10,500 children about child abuse prevention and reporting. Additionally, five child protection desks have been set up and equipped at local police stations, while 90 child protection actors have been trained in prevention and response strategies. The project has also trained 105 school teachers as child protection champions and 210 children in child protection advocacy. Currently, the project is focusing on engaging 3,000 community members through ongoing awareness sessions, further expanding its reach and impact in the community.