MOTTO: LIFE HAS NO DUPLICATE
Our mission is to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable people to exploit their full potentials for a better life by carrying out activities that will enable them to enjoy their rights and give them hope.
Without these activities their potentials will be lost due to their socio-economic background, abandonment, neglect, health and the environment they find themselves in.
The smooth running and existence of this organization categorically depends on the cohesive relationship among its members and their utmost support in ensuring that the rules and regulations of the organization are put into practices and adhere to by all it members.
PURPOSE (AIMS AND OBJECTIVES)
1) To promote the interest of vulnerable people including women and children in the society.
2) To promote important sources of information for vulnerable people in society by liaising with other organizations/agencies on how they would empower themselves for a brighter future.
3) To assist in solving the socio-economic problems in society by linking up with different donor agencies that will render helping hands in terms of education, relief and training activities.
4) To promote regional, inter-regional and international relationship in social development.
5) To serve as a body for channeling resources to vulnerable people in society.
6) Understanding the contribution of vulnerable people in society and how it influence the society they live in and give them the assurances that everyone is equal in society irrespective of race, colour, tribe, religion, sex or ability.
7) To organize workshops for grassroots people and make them realize they belong in society and have key roles to play in it.
8) To provide opportunities for vulnerable people and the exchange of ideas in social development with bodies/organizations that embarks on programmes relating to vulnerable people in social development.
9) To ensure that vulnerable people in society are provided with social services fit for purpose, safe and of acceptable quality and standard that would protect and develop their social well- being in society.
10) To collaborate and complement government and other organizations in the implementation of national as well as international commitments and agreements relating to the rights of vulnerable people in society.
11) To create opportunities for the most vulnerable in society mostly the youths, the disable, women and children to have access to showcase their talents and participate in nation building.
12) To establish and maintain effective working relationships with other organisations interested in the development of vulnerable people at all levels.
220-792 0592 666-8465
703-5111 966 8465
680-6909 376 8465
Mark Twain has advised us to concentrate on the future, because that is where we are going to spend the rest of our lives. A cursory look at the newspapers in recent times show captions such as ‘5 rape cases land before Mbake,, ‘Defilement Case Heard,’ ‘8year old raped,’ ‘Paedophile, Accomplice Charged,’ ‘Attempted Rapist Charged,’ ‘Oustass Dragged to Court for Attempted Rape,’ and ‘Man in Court for Rape.’
Reading these chilling stories or looking into the crystal ball, it does not take a researcher or investigative journalist to predict that sexual abuse and exploitation of children is a growing problem in our country. The abusers of the children are people they are related with, know and trust, or are adults in positions of authority, power and trust over the children.
They are rarely strangers to the children or their families. Mark Twain is right. We must focus on the future if we are to improve it. Unfortunately, to put it paradoxica1ly, the future is not what it used to be. The fence is eating up the very crops it has been erected to protect.
No child is safe anywhere. Sexual abuse is a crime which is usually committed in secret and may continue for many months or years and the abuse occurs in places normally considered safe for children: homes, schools, places for leisure activities and within every neighbourhood, class, tribe and religious background.
Perpetrators use threats, cheating, bribery, manipulation, coercion or force to commit these crimes as well as make the children ‘silent’. We need to take immediate steps to halt this most cruel and tragic occurence and a serious infringement of the child’s rights to protection, health and education.
The dynamics around child sexual abuse make it go unnoticed and grossly under-reported. It is surrounded by a culture of silence and stigma, especially when it occurs within the sanctuary of the home. The child, whether a victim or not, is perceived as an insignificant minor with fewer rights that the adult perpetrator. If the perpetrator is a family member, then there is a strong element of denial and guilt. In such a scenario, the whole family acts like the proverbial ostrich and deny the incidence.
Preserving or protecting the ‘good’ name and honour of the family becomes the number one priority of adults. It is evident that when the family or clan places higher premium on its collective interest vis-à-vis the child victim, it is the powerful that is protected by the group rather than the weak.
When the perpetrator is a powerful member of the community, there are major challenges for effective prevention, reporting, care and management. The child victim is often sacrificed to protect the honour of the group (family, clan, community, religious group, school, etc) and the character of the abuser. Where the child victim asks us to share the burden of pain and to take action on his or her behalf, the perpetrator appeals to the universal desire to see, hear and speak no evil. The perpetrator wins and we all take a ‘neutral stand’. By protecting the abuser, no change is required.
Often times when a child is sexually, society and the people closer to the child tend to blame the child victim for’ bringing the abuse onto herself or himself. ‘Why didn’t you shout? Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you take the gift from him? Why did you follow him?’ are some of the blaming questions we put to the child victim. Whether the child shouts or not, tells an adult or not, takes the gift or not, the blame should squarely lie on the head of the abuser, not the child. It is important to know that child sex abusers and
Paedophiles “prime their victims over time through a process known as grooming which has a dual purpose of securing the cooperation of the victim and reducing the risk of discovery or disclosure.” The abuser not only capitalises on the vulnerability of the child but also builds a relationship with the child which creates dependency on and trust in the adult who appears to be giving and kind.
This ensures both the child’s silence and the family’s inaction or disbelief should the child divulge information pertaining to the abuse. Fearing blame and hostility, the child is afraid to speak openly with their parents and persons in positions of authority about inappropriate conduct or sexual abuse. .
Our social and traditional considerations notwithstanding, we should know that sexual abuse is a traumatic experience that violates the integrity of a child’s psychological and physical person. What accompanies the trauma is a feeling of helplessness, and of intense fear and horror.
Children who are sexually abused are not only vulnerable to re-abuse but also feel trapped and can neither flee (where would they go?) nor fight back against the much older person. J.L Herman in his book ‘TRAUMA AND RECOVERY’ puts the effects of sexual abuse on a child in these chilling words: “Repeated trauma in childhood forms and deforms the personality. The child trapped in an abusive environment is faced with the formidable task of adaptation. She must find a way to preserve a sense of trust in people who are untrustworthy, safety in a situation that is unsafe, control in a situation that is terrifyingly unpredictable, power in a situation of helplessness.
Unable to care for or protect herself, she must compensate for the failures of adult care and protection with the only means at her disposal, an immature system of psychological defenses.” When a child or adolescent is sexually abused, her sense of self and world shifts. He or she sees her/himself as ‘bad’, ‘dirty’, ‘unwanted’ and broken. He or she views or see people important to her as untrustworthy, unreliable, dishonest and incapable of protecting vulnerable ones. The abuse-related internalizations now form part of that child’s internal working model, the base from which behaviour develops and the filter through which future events are experienced.
Parents need to intensify the dialogue and interaction between them and their children Protection of the individual child is boosted by an immediate social environment, which is caring, supportive and offers good role model. A child’s “connectedness” to a caring adult is a significant protective factor. Children whose parents or carers do not show love or cannot protect them have lost their first line of defense. We must empower children and adolescents with information, knowledge and life skills to be able to protect themselves from sexual abuse, exploitation and violence.
The laws against sexual abuse of children must be rigorously enforced. We need to report cases of sexual abuse against children as soon as we know them and trust that the reporting procedures, mechanisms and referral systems will facilitate such a process. Only when we report will we successfully break the culture and conspiracy of silence around child sexual abuse.
Linkages between and among agencies and professionals working to assist sexually abused children as well as support services need to be strengthened. Respect for the rights of the child to adequate protection within and outside the family must be the basis for our common action against child sexual abuse. But above all, we must remember the words of General Wellington to his soldiers at the battle of Waterloo: ‘Forward all over the line’. Families, the media, communities, NGOs, CBOs, UN Agencies, Government agencies and the private sector must all come together, cooperate, support and co-ordinate their efforts ‘all over the line’ to prevent the sexual abuse of children and build a protective environment for them.
When child sexual abuse is understood less as the behaviour of deviant offenders and in stead as an extreme extension of the dynamics of gender and sexuality, child-adult relationships, family systems and community tolerance for violence, then prevention may be possible.
When we accept that child sexual abuse is “around” and perpetrated in particular by Gambians; when we begin to “speak out and speak up” against child sexual abuse; when we begin to see child sexual abuse less as an aberration and more as an abuse of power and a betrayal of trust; when we begin to have the courage of our conviction to condemn and denounce perpetrators and identify more with the victim; when we begin to report cases of sexual abuse against children and support the police in ensuring successful prosecution of offenders, then we will be creating for our children a protective, safe and warm environment. The children only need the support of few committed men and women to change the course of things.
His Excellency, the President of the Republic of The Gambia has given a stern warning to rapists and paedophiles. The message is clear: adults must ‘shape up’ (no sexual abuse of children) or they will be ‘shipped out’ to prison.
Our children are our present and our future. If we do not protect our children now, when will we protect them? If we do not protect our children here, where will we protect them? If it is not the families, communities and adults who should protect children, then who else would? If we cannot join the fight against child sexual abuse and exploitation, why shouldn’t we?
OVP The Gambia
Children's Welfare
Mental Health
Woman's Advocates
Youth Empowerment
Physically Challenged
The Gambia
West Africa
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities took effect on 3 May 2008, a month after Ecuador became the 20th ratifying nation. The Convention, which has so far been ratified by 25 countries, expressly recognises the equality of persons with disabilities for the first time in international law.
The CRPD, which was adopted in 2006 after four years of negotiations, is the first human rights Convention of the 21st century, and addresses civil, political, social economic and cultural rights.
Can you believe this? Facts and figures on children with disabilities
Up to 150 million children globally have a disability and the numbers are rising
Children with disabilities are disproportionately likely to live in poverty
50% of children who are deaf and 60% of those with an intellectual impairment are sexually abused
Parents and medical professionals who murder children with disabilities often have reduced sentences and use mercy killing defences – the lives of children with disabilities are not treated as of equal value with others
In some countries 90% of children with disabilities will not survive beyond the age of 20
98% of children with disabilities across the developing world have no access to education
Discrimination in relation to life saving treatments, to health care, to child care services and education is endemic
Access to justice is routinely denied because they are not considered credible witnesses
[Source: Draft version of 'Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities: A guide to using the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the Convention on the Rights of the Child,' produced on behalf of the Save the Children Alliance by Sweden and the UK]
OVP The Gambia
Children's Welfare
Mental Health
Woman's Advocates
Youth Empowerment
Physically Challenged
The Gambia
West Africa
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVES
Women depending on men for their sustenance is one of the main factors that drive many society to Gender- Based violence. In traditional setting, men are generally the bread winners of the family and determine the allocation of resources. It is in this case that many women make the sacrifice to stay in an abusive relationship due to the lack of viable alternatives. For such women even if you advocate for their gender rights, it make little difference without empowering them economically. The only thing they have in mind is their survival if it is means been battered everyday. It is in this reality that we want to approach the problem holistically to fight against Gander- Based Violence.
However, social emancipation will play a little impact in their lives without the support of economic emancipation. If all women are not economically empowered, it would be very difficult to sustain social empowerment success in our society. Though this is not our primary focus, empowering our women economically constitute an important component in the intervention of Gender- Based Violence programme.
PROGRAMME GOAL: To increase the opportunity for women to be independence economically through the support for income generating activities and skill building.
The Convention
Since its adoption in 1989 after more than 60 years of advocacy, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified more quickly and by more governments (all except Somalia and the US) than any other human rights instrument.
This Convention is also the only international human rights treaty that expressly gives non-governmental organisations (NGOs) a role in monitoring its implementation (under Article 45a).
The basic premise of the Convention is that children (all human beings below the age of 18) are born with fundamental freedoms and the inherent rights of all human beings. Many governments have enacted legislation, created mechanisms and put into place a range of creative measures to ensure the protection and realisation of the rights of those under the age of 18. Each government must also report back on children's rights in their country.
Optional Protocols
Two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child exist:
The Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, dated 18 January 2002 (A/RES/54/263, dated 25 May 2000)
The Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict Adopted (A/RES/54/263, dated 25 May 2000)
Guiding principles of the Convention
Definition of the child (Article 1)
The Convention defines a 'child' as a person below the age of 18, unless the laws of a particular country set the legal age for adulthood younger. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, the monitoring body for the Convention, has encouraged States to review the age of majority if it is set below 18 and to increase the level of protection for all children under 18.
Non-discrimination (Article 2)
The Convention applies to all children, whatever their race, religion or
abilities; whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from. It doesn’t matter where children live, what language they speak, what their parents do, whether they are boys or girls, what their culture is, whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis.
Best interests of the child (Article 3)
The best interests of children must be the primary concern in making decisions that may affect them. All adults should do what is best for children. When adults make decisions, they should think about how their decisions will affect children. This particularly applies to budget, policy and law makers.
Right to life, survival and development (Article 6)
Children have the right to live. Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily.
Respect for the views of the child (Article 12)
When adults are making decisions that affect children, children have the right to say what they think should happen and have their opinions taken into account. This does not mean that children can now tell their parents what to do. This Convention encourages adults to listen to the opinions of children and involve them in decision-making -- not give children authority over adults. Article 12 does not interfere with parents' right and responsibility to express their views on matters affecting their children. Moreover, the Convention recognises that the level of a child’s participation in decisions must be appropriate to the child's level of maturity. Children's ability to form and express their opinions develops with age and most adults will naturally give the views of teenagers greater weight than those of a preschooler, whether in family, legal or administrative decisions.
OVP The Gambia
Children's Welfare
Mental Health
Woman's Advocates
Youth Empowerment
Physically Challenged
The Gambia
West Africa
ovpgambia@gmail.com
220-792-0592
220-666-8465
OVP IS AN NGO formed by social and health workers to help vulnerable people in Gambian society. OVP was established to respond to the needs of vulnerable people in the society including women and children.
The primary focus of The Organization For vulnerable people (OVP) is it broad areas of intervention on education, training, relief, health, income generating skills, etc.
