A new $11.2m partnership will reach more than 100,000
children and youth to create meaningful, lasting change and
help them thrive
ChildFund New Zealand and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) have today
announced a partnership to increase the social and emotional
wellbeing of vulnerable children, youth and their families
in the Pacific and Southeast Asia region.
Under the
‘Inspiring and Motivating Pacific and Asian Communities
for Tomorrow’ (IMPACT) programme, MFAT and ChildFund New
Zealand will co-invest $11.2 million in development
assistance in Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste,
Cambodia, Vietnam, and Solomon Islands over the next five
years.
The IMPACT programme will enable ChildFund to
reach more than 100,000 people in those vulnerable countries
by 2025.
IMPACT will focus on enhancing youth social
and emotional wellbeing, keeping children safe from harm and
improving community and household resilience to natural
hazards, climatic risks and the impacts of
COVID-19.
“We live in a world where change is
happening at a pace we’ve never before experienced,”
explains Paul Brown, CEO of ChildFund New
Zealand.
“There are increased stresses, and the
poorest and most vulnerable are most impacted by the
unpredictable and unequal global economy, natural
catastrophes and climate change. Women, children, youth, and
people living with disabilities are among the most
affected.
“Through this partnership, we will focus
on social and emotional wellbeing and support young people
to draw on their own strengths and contribute positively to
their community,” says Brown.
The IMPACT programme
resulted from MFAT’s ‘Partnering for Impact’ approach,
a commitment by the Ministry to work collaboratively with
NGOs, like ChildFund New Zealand, to maximise impact on
communities.
MFAT will tap into ChildFund New
Zealand’s expertise, existing relationships, resources and
capability across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, to realise
improved outcomes for those communities that need it
most.
Key focus areas of the IMPACT
programme:
· Education – training and courses to
help bridge the gap for young people who have dropped out of
or finished school and help them take the next step in their
education
· Child protection – improve the safety
of communities, so more children are protected. This will be
achieved by helping parents increase their parenting skills
and confidence along with increasing awareness on the
reporting of child abuse and ending violence against
children.
· Disaster risk management – training at
a household level around unsafe water, sanitation/hygiene,
poor solid waste management and nutrition. Developing
emergency plans specific to each household.
The
partnership enables ChildFund New Zealand to expand its work
further into more remote parts of the Pacific such as
Kiribati and Solomon Islands where, for the past three
years, it has been building critical relationships and
establishing community-led programmes that address the needs
of the children and youth.
Under the IMPACT programme,
the work in these areas will be expanded to reach even more
vulnerable children, youth and their families.
“We
are excited to be scaling up our work in the Pacific and
Southeast Asia, and to be supporting our Pacific neighbours.
Many see the Pacific as an idyllic tourism destination, but
there is much more to the story. These perceptions will
continue to shift as we share the progress being made with
our loyal and generous New Zealand supporters,” adds
Brown.
To learn more about the IMPACT programme, or
how you can support ChildFund New Zealand, visit www.childfund.org.nz/IMPACT-programme.
