Giving a meaning to life - Palestinian children in refugee camps - A case study from Lebanon
A chance to start again - Rehabilitating child soldiers - A case study from Liberia
The aftermath of conflict - New tasks with few resources - A case study from Mozambique
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The problem: · The effects of conflict on children and schooling The approach: · The case for international intervention Issues: · Problems of international intervention |
The effects of conflict on children and schooling
That children (like all people) are damaged by war is obvious. We are considering here one specific aspect of this: the interrelation between the damage caused by conflict and the role of education in children's lives.
We can see this as operating on several different levels which continually inter-relate:
· At the most personal level is the damage done to children by their direct experience of war or violence - against themselves, against the adults who care for them, perhaps resulting in the traumatic loss of those closest to them.· Secondly, there is the damage done to the society around them, through which their ability to learn and develop is mediated. The social groups and ways of daily life around children provide them with their security and a sense of their place in the world. When that crumbles around them, there is no longer anything that can be relied on, and children's normal development is disrupted -including the ability to concentrate, learn, explore, express themselves, to trust adults, all of which are critical to an educational process. This loss of all familiar things is even more dramatic for children who are violently displaced and have to come to terms with life on a completely new (and usually much degraded) basis elsewhere.
· Finally, there is the disruption to educational opportunities from the fact that conflict destroys schools and school systems as well as people.
Even where schools remain operating through wartime, we should expect that conflict damages children's ability to respond to whatever educational experience is offered them. But children (like all people) also have extraordinary resilience. A critical issue of educational provision in such situations is how to strengthen that resilience.
The range of conflict-related situations
While the nature of the damage caused by conflict is fundamentally similar everywhere, the potential for external support to minimise or repair that damage varies widely according to context. The issues are complex, and more than in any other section of this book it is important to state that the case studies included here cannot be seen as representative. They were selected from many potential cases, each taking a substantially different form. To see them in perspective it may therefore be helpful to locate these studies against a wider analysis.
Save the Children's experience in humanitarian emergencies over many decades suggests three broad groupings of conflict contexts in which it may be appropriate for international agencies to attempt to support education. [Brackets give examples of countries where Save the Children has supported education programmes.]
In situations where conflict and its effects are long-term:
· with refugees trapped for decades by unresolved political issues [Tibetans in India, Palestinians in Lebanon]· with minorities in supposedly 'safe' zones, but with continuing insecurity [northern Iraq]
· in societies not officially at war but with high levels of ongoing violence [South Africa, Colombia, Peru, Northern Ireland]
In current or recurrent conflicts:
· during civil war [Afghanistan, southern Sudan, Sri Lanka]
· in cross border conflicts [Eritrea]
· with children internally displaced [northern Sudan, West Bank/Gaza]
· with children in short term camps outside the country of origin [Rwandans in Tanzania]
· with children at the front edge of conflict [ex child soldiers in Liberia]
In the immediate post-conflict years:
· where there is no government [Somalia]· with an interim UN presence [Kosovo]
· with a new authority, not internationally recognised [Somaliland]
· with government reasserting control over 'rebel' areas, but unlikely to tackle the needs of conflict-affected children [Tajikistan]
· with a recognised but fragile government structure, unlikely to have the capacity to reconstruct education systems unaided [Ethiopia, Mozambique]
The studies published here include one from each group: Lebanon, for children affected by long-drawn out conflict; Liberia, for children caught up in current conflict; Mozambique, as an example of support to rebuild schooling after civil conflict.
THE APPROACH
The case for international intervention The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the primary role of parents and communities to care for children but puts the onus on states to provide what parents cannot. Civil conflict creates the worst possible scenario in that the primary carers of children are themselves under immense stress, and the conflict has caused the breakdown (partial or complete) of state systems of service delivery.
The Convention envisages that international support be used to support states where they cannot ensure children's rights without external assistance. Conflict situations again are an extreme version of this incapacity. The case for international support is clear. The rationale for putting education high on the list for international support is not only that it is a right in itself, which in times of conflict is destroyed, but because of the unique potential of education to foster children's resilience.
The issue, however, is not simply the need, but what can be done about it with outside support. And this raises many problems.
The potential of education to foster resilience
Consider the threefold types of damage discussed above (to the child personally, to the society around the child, and to the school system):
· Damage at a personal level is perhaps the easiest to grasp, but there is considerable dispute as to what role Outside agencies can or should play in helping children through this. One strand of international response has been to tackle the problems individualistically, for instance assessing the numbers of children suffering from medically recognised levels of trauma, and attempting to provide therapeutic supports. This 'trauma' model has evoked considerable criticism. One reason is that scale makes it impractical - no one denies that civil war is traumatising, but potentially the entire population can be designated as in some degree trauma affected. Perhaps more fundamental, the individualism of western therapeutic responses sits poorly in many cultures, in which it is far from normal to encourage children to talk about their anxieties. While individual children may respond well at the moment of receiving such support, they are unlikely to receive ongoing support from adults in their community to carry that through, and the end result may be more damaging than therapeutic.· The programme approaches adopted in these case studies, as in all Save the Children programmes in conflict, look for more collective ways to respond. That is, they tackle the problem at the level of society. The emotional and developmental damage to children is still the central concern but the form of support is via sensitive collective educational processes. In one case (Lebanon) the supports were mediated through many different groups in the society, strengthening the adults as well as the children; this in turn creates a better basis for children to find their own ways to build positively. In another case (Liberia) where the children had no community, the approach was to create safe 'spaces' (social as much as physical) which could to some extent substitute for the loss of a secure wider society. The aim here is that children eventually go out from this protected environment back into the disrupted world in which they will have to survive longer term. 1
· In the third case (Mozambique) the focus is the damage done to the school system - and therefore to the children, since for every year that this damage is left unrepaired, children suffer loss of educational opportunity.
There are powerful arguments for supporting appropriate kinds of schooling in times of conflict - or in the absence of schools, of providing collective educational experiences through some other mechanism:
· In times of social disruption simply the act of going to school daily has a normalising effect.· Where schools, however makeshift or minimally equipped, are responsive to the children's situation, they can provide a space where children can be children and fulfil their needs for play, recreation and personal development.
· The fact that schools exist offers some hope to communities that are insecure about their future, and therefore also about the prospects for their children.
· Sensitive education has a proven role in improving the psychological well-being of children and equipping them to better deal with their immediate situation.
· Provision of effective schooling in times of conflict can prevent whole generations from missing out on schooling and developing skills on which future recovery and development will depend. Missing a critical few years loses ground that cannot be recovered.
What structures are there to work with?
What practical options are open to an international agency working on education in conflict affected contexts? A determining factor is the degree to which local structures (societal and governmental) exist which can be supported to provide schools or other collective educational experiences; and where such structures exist, how well adapted they are to address the special problems created by conflict.
The three cases included here reflect different points on this spectrum:
· At one extreme, in Liberia there was an absence of any structured authority that could provide educational support for a group of youth in urgent need of it. Save the Children therefore took direct action to provide it.· In Lebanon a UN agency runs schools for Palestinians but in a rigid system that does nothing to help children respond to their actual situation. Save the Children therefore supported a range of groups and activities outside the school system.2
· In Mozambique there is a state-run education system but facing problems that combine classic underdevelopment (Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world) with the multiple-damage of conflict. The strategic choice here was to support government to become as effective a school provider as possible in the circumstances.
The Lebanon study
The Lebanon case describes a long term set of support activities with Palestinian children. For the past 50 years, Palestinians have lived as stateless refugees in a generally hostile host country, exposed to on-going violence, and with little hope of a lasting political solution. Work in education grew out of initial projects to support shelter and sanitation, and a concern for children orphaned or otherwise damaged by conflict and displacement.
The long-term nature of the camp situation evoked a long term response. Save the Children started work in the camps as early as 1948, with more fully developed work in education evolving over the last two decades. This has allowed Save the Children to develop close and trusting relationships with communities and build up genuine community capacity to develop and implement relevant education programmes. What started as a pre-school programme to meet a gap in UN school provision evolved into a broader range of activities with children and youth, including school clubs and summer camps. The central concern with the children's 'welfare led to experimentation with active learning, child-focused approaches that were extremely innovative in that context.
The programme was based on a broad partnership approach, promoting links between parents and programmes as well as between refugee communities and other providers (UN and NGOs). These partnerships have been a conduit for enabling communities to take some control over their children's educational development and thus achieve a higher degree of self-realisation within the confines of camp life.
The Liberia study
In contrast, the Liberia case describes a short term project with a group of demobilised child soldiers -a group suffering extreme damage, and whose reintegration into society is a necessary aspect of building towards peace.
The Liberia experience highlights an important feature of programming in difficult, unstable circumstances: the need to be flexible and let activities evolve responsively. The education work grew out of what was essentially a family tracing programme, which took in ex child soldiers under the national programme of demobilisation. This led to the creation of a transit centre to house and feed the boys and increasingly provide some structure to their lives through recreation, constructive play and, over time, basic education inputs. What had started as a temporary expedient evolved into a programme of basic and “catch up” education once it became clear that reunification could take months for some ex-combatants.
The child soldier programme is the only case included here of direct intervention to provide for a particular group of children, rather than working to support partners. Partly this was practicality, partly political necessity: for security reasons it was imperative for Save the Children to be seen as politically neutral and not to support any faction. In other ways the political space creates opportunities. With the collapse and uncertainty of Liberian government structures, international NGOs became a major channel of large, bilateral donor inputs such as food aid, increasing their domain of influence. Save the Children was able to use its position to gain leverage to advocate on politically sensitive issues such as issues of child protection and child rights.
The progressive involvement of community children in the “catch up” education presented new issues. In its later phase Save the Children staff attempted to shift towards a longer term developmental approach, exploring ways of working with communities and co-operating with Ministry of Education officials on accelerated learning issues.
The Mozambique study
The study from Mozambique describes an attempt to support government to rebuild schools and the school system, and increasingly to encourage them to involve communities in this, against a background of continuing tension after a civil war. It provides an example of the evolution of Save the Children's approach. The starting point was a strong commitment to supporting government provision, but the multiple difficulties created by the legacy of conflict have highlighted the limitations this approach brings with it. Senior Save the Children staff coming into the programme during the last couple of years have questioned the assumptions on which earlier activities were based; they have looked for ways to involve communities more closely and to bring a stronger child focus into what was essentially an institution-building approach. While some improvements have been brought about, there is now a sense that more can be achieved through a broader concept of the INGO role.
ISSUES
Problems of international intervention
Despite the overwhelming case for international agency support in this field, the record of provision is still very patchy. Civil war creates the most difficult environment in which to support sustainable civil actions. Buildings may be destroyed, the people who might use them may have to flee, the authorities that might in times of peace be expected to manage them now have urgent agendas in which running schools hardly features; and they may in fact be incapable of governing in the normal sense because their legitimacy as a government is under threat, or there are rival authorities, or none.
There are also specific problems relating to the functioning of international agencies. Where a UN presence administers the area, this international authority is usually reluctant to (or has no mandate or funding to) do anything that is not short term. International NGOs operate in emergencies under the umbrella of the UN authorities, and work under essentially similar constraints. They may not be able to raise funding since donors conventionally exclude education from the list of 'immediate needs' in times of crisis. In other situations funding is not the issue (e.g. in refugee contexts where NGOs may be sub-contracted by UNHCR to manage aspects of temporary service provision) but the framework for carrying out development work is often inadequate. A major problem is poorly co-ordinated responses. Humanitarian emergencies attract a lot of smaller agencies, some newly set up in response to that particular crisis. While their motives are usually admirable they may have no working experience in that part of the world, rely heavily on expatriates with little knowledge of the local situation, and as organisations may have little experience of even the more basic 'good practice' principles for development agencies. There are also some groups who take advantage of the anarchic situation of an emergency to push their own agendas (for example, to gain recruits to their religion.) The more experienced agencies often spend much of their effort in working to get more co-ordinated approaches.
Within each of the more established organisations there are usually clearly worked out principles of emergency response. But there is a need for internationally agreed codes of conduct to govern the interventions of all agencies in such situations, and to ensure compliance with minimum standards. An inter-agency collaboration called the SPHERE project has begun to lay down such minimum standards for areas such as nutrition, health, and water services during humanitarian emergencies. Equivalent agreed standards are urgently needed in relation to education.
What is 'sustainable' in the context of conflict?
On the issue of sustainability the studies present very different approaches. The Mozambique study interprets sustainability in conventional terms, seeking to support the state and holding back from pushing on issues which it considers are the state's role to decide - with consequent limitations in what it could achieve for children. In the Liberia case the classic emergency situation applied, and long-term sustainability was not seen as an issue because of the intended one off nature of the input.
The Lebanon study presents perhaps the most challenging view. It sees sustainability not in institutional terms but in terms of impact on people, what they will carry with them through life. It also highlights both the importance and the dilemmas of long-term commitment to conflict-affected communities. No-one predicted that a political solution would take more than fifty years: a sustained input to the same communities on the same programmes is not normal practice because of the danger of creating both human and financial dependency. Save the Children's decision to provide ongoing support to Palestinian refugees was taken to reflect an important message of commitment and solidarity to these communities and has been a key factor in developing their trust and respect and innovative education programmes. But neither donors nor other international NGOs are willing to commit resources for an extensive period. The UN itself is beset with financial problems with the usual knock-on effects of falling programme quality.
Relevance, active learning, and the power of education
The extreme nature of the problems facing children affected by conflict pushes high on the agenda questions of relevance and the need for active learning. In the Lebanon and Liberia cases it was evident early on to those working on the programme that for children whose needs were so obvious a conventional school response would be inadequate. In the Mozambique case this realisation came later, through frustration at how little benefit children were receiving from the schools which the programme had help to rebuild. Ironically, the greatest strides on relevance and methodology were possible in what are by most standards the worst situations, but where there was least possibility or need to engage with an established school system. The result was that adults managing these programmes responded directly to their evolving understanding of children's needs.
Perhaps the most fundamental lesson to derive from the studies is not so much about the specifics achieved in each case, or the limitations they display, but about the conviction which underpins those who are involved. The belief that education holds the key to children's future is common in deprived communities but is particularly strong among refugees and others affected by conflict. All those involved in these programmes believed strongly in the potential of education to equip children and communities with life skills, and that this could help them deal better with the difficulties and uncertainties of their situation. Education remains one of the few opportunities available to Palestinian children in the camps in spite of the creeping realism about its limitations. Constructive play, interactive learning, safe environment and familiarisation with the Palestinian culture, helped tackle the psychological effects of conflict on children and build up their self esteem and capacity to learn. Among the former child soldiers education was the vehicle for inculcating a belief in a viable alternative to organised violence, creating an environment in which they were able to re-establish trusting relationships, develop self-confidence and the capacity to learn. Encouraging community children and former child soldiers to learn together significantly improved relations between the centres and wider community as well as between individuals, providing a starting point for reconciliation.
Notes
1 See Patrick Bracken and Celia Petty, Rethinking the trauma of war, Save the Children 1998
2 In other cases Save the Children programmes have worked directly with school systems to sensitize teachers to the role they can play in this. See two handbooks by Naomi Richman, Helping children in difficult circumstances, and Communicating with children: helping children in distress, Save the Children, 1991 and 1993
3 A project by Save the Children and other international NGOs in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka has produced a 'Minimum requirements package' for children in conflict, listing the areas that ideally would be incorporated in an educational response. See Shon Campbell, Supporting basic education during conflict, and Emmanuelle Abrioux (ed) Education in Conflict: a 'Minimum Requirements Package'; internal reports, Save the Children
analysis: Julia Gilkes, Alia Shan'a, Qassam Said, Frances Moore
writing/editing: Emma Cain
What are the problems for children?
The Palestinians in Lebanon
During the Arab-Israeli war which culminated in the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, some 725,000 Palestinian Arabs fled to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, The West Bank and Gaza Strip.1 The refugees were effectively prevented from returning to their homes by the Jewish Israeli authorities, despite the affirmation by the United Nations General Assembly of their inviolable right to return. In Lebanon, Palestinian refugees were classified as neither foreigners nor nationals and were registered in refugee camps which are still administered by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East).
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Box 1: Children's voices from the camps 'My only hope in life is to visit my homeland, Palestine, even if only once to breathe in its scent and keep it in my memory so I shall never forget it' Maysa Salloum, aged 13 'My life in exile is hard. I have no nationality. I would like to go back to my country, to feel its warmth and affection' Shahnaz, aged 14 'It is my right to live in safety. They made us get used to being refugees.' Milad Abou Kharroub, aged 17 |
The refugee community in Lebanon clings to a fierce sense of national identity and claims the right to return to their homes in Palestine, while the Lebanese government remains reluctant to extend Lebanese citizenship to Palestinians. The Palestinian-Israeli peace process which has been underway since 1993, has largely ignored the plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and there is a sense that they have been abandoned by the Palestinian political leaders in the newly autonomous West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinians in Lebanon now find themselves in limbo: isolated, stateless and with no sense of how, when or by whom their situation may be resolved.
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Box 2: Key events |
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1948 |
Creation of Israel, displacement of 725,000 Palestian
refugees, 125,600 to Lebanon |
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1950 |
UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) established to
provide emergency assistance to Palestinian refugees |
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1967 |
War. West Bank and Gaza Strip become Occupied Territories and
more Palestinians become refugees in neighbouring Arab countries |
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1975 - 91 |
Lebanese Civil War |
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1982 |
War. Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Massacrres in Palestinian
refugee camps |
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1986 - 7 |
The camp wars between Lebanese and Palestinian militias.
Displacement and massacres - more widows and orphans |
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1991 |
The Gulf War: expulsion of Palestinians from Gulf States back
into the camps in Lebanon. Unemployment and reduction in funding from Arab
States |
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1993 |
Madrid and Oslo Peace Accord |
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1995 |
Establishment of Palestinian National Authority and autonomy
in West bank and Gaza Strip. Unclear status for Palestinians in Lebanon and
reduction of PLO services in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon |
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Marginalisation of Palestinians in Lebanon and other Arab
countries. New re-entry visa restrictions for Palestinians to return to
Lebanon |
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1996 |
Israeli attacks in South Lebanon. Displacement form villages.
Qana massacre: air attack on UN Peace keeping base killing and wounding
sheltering women and children |
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1998 |
Wye River peace accords; situation and future of Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon remains unresolved |
As with most conflict situations, it is children who are most vulnerable to hardship and insecurity. In the case of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, the long term nature of the conflict has meant that successive generations of children have suffered the effects of displacement and war, growing up in siege conditions with little hope of return to a homeland which is no longer on the international map.
Direct impact of violence on children:
· physical damage as a result of the fighting· emotional damage as a result of both external attack, factional fighting and political violence in the camps
· loss of parents or relatives
· sudden displacement or the loss of the family home
· family breakdown
· limited access to and disruption of basic services, including health and education
· constant threat of external attack or renewed conflict
· refugee camps overcrowded, leaving no safe place for children to play
Indirect impact on children - economic situation of families:
· economic stagnation and inflation in Lebanon due to the civil war· withdrawal of PLO economic support to camps in Lebanon
· lack of employment opportunities compounded by travel restrictions and restrictions on the kind of jobs open to Palestinians in Lebanon
· reduction in remittances to camp families
· increase in child labour to supplement the family income and increase in girls domestic duties as women seek paid work opportunities
· reduced income opportunities and practical child care options for female headed-households
Impact on children's individual development:
In addition to these practical problems, children grow up in a climate of relentless uncertainty and fear due not only to conflict itself, but also to tensions within the family as insecurity, frustration and economic pressures take their toll. The very fact of being born into exile, and the experience of growing up stateless as a second-class citizen in Lebanon and within a community which is isolated politically, socially and physically, challenges the child's sense of identity and self-esteem.
'Individual children react in different ways including withdrawal symptoms, aggression, guilt feelings and depression. Bed wetting, poor appetites, broken sleep patterns, nightmares and clinging to carers for security affect the children's normal development and challenge adults' abilities to reassure and deal consistently with the emotional demands of their children. Yet many children show remarkable resilience even to the long term effects.' Julia Gilkes, Save the Children Middle East Early Childhood Development Advisor
UNRWA schools
All formal primary and secondary education for Palestinian refugees in the camps in Lebanon is provided by UNRWA, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East:
UNRWA's role in the region:
· UNRWA has been providing education, health, relief and social services to registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1950· the mandate of the agency is based on a resolution adopted by the UN in 1949 and has been renewed repeatedly pending a solution to the Palestinian question
· the current, seventeenth mandate extends to 30 June 1999
· in May 1996 UNRWA headquarters were relocated from Vienna to Gaza
· UNRWA's largest programme is education, taking 47% of the total budget in 1997
UNRWA's education programme in Lebanon:
· UNRWA schools in Lebanon follow the Lebanese curriculum and use a traditional, formal academic approach, with little or no provision made for sport, physical exercise, creative, cultural or self expressive activities.· While UNRWA's education programme in Lebanon is headed by international staff, all teachers in UNRWA schools are from the Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon.
· 37, 969 pupils are enrolled in 72 UNRWA elementary/preparatory schools and in 1 secondary school, representing approximately 50% of all Palestinian children of school age registered with UNRWA in Lebanon
· classes are large (50 - 60 pupils in each class)
· almost 50% of pupils are girls
UNRWA is mandated to provide education for all Palestinian refugee children from the age of 6, but the reality is that existing school provision does not reach the whole population. Even where children have access to schools, resources are scarce, classes are overcrowded and teachers are underpaid and demoralised. Although primary school was made compulsory in 1991, coverage of schools is still inadequate. In an attempt to respond to this, many UNRWA schools now operate a shift system, providing classes in the morning and afternoon. In addition to lack of resources, a major reason for children's absence from school are the pressing economic needs which oblige many children to work in order to supplement the family income, or take responsibility for domestic tasks including child care while mothers are working:
'My classmate had to leave school to work in a mechanics workshop to help his family earn enough to live' Maysa Salloum, aged 13
Teachers in UNRWA schools operate under a great deal of pressure, with limited resources, low pay and large classes (up to 50 or 60 children in one class) which prevent teachers from building one to one relationships with individual pupils. There is even less contact with parents who are not encouraged to be involved in school activities: children are 'handed over' to the school and expected to come home 'educated.' Because of this lack of communication between teachers, pupils and parents, teachers often have little understanding of the external pressures on individual children which can make it difficult or impossible for them to benefit from the education on offer in schools. In a context where school is seen as an institution separate from the rest of children's lives, still less attention can be paid by teachers and UNRWA education officials to the many factors which prevent children from taking up educational opportunities even where they are available.
The way forward for formal education in the camps, both in terms of provision and of improving quality, is bound up with the uncertainty of the present and future status of Palestinians in Lebanon since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. It is not clear how many Palestinians will eventually receive Lebanese citizenship or what will become of those who do not. The future of the UNRWA schools is unclear: some may be integrated into the existing Lebanese system, though the criteria, process and timeframe for this can only be guessed at this stage. The Lebanese educational system is currently undergoing a process of reform with the introduction of a wider syllabus and more child centred teaching approaches. It is not yet clear to what extent the UNRWA schools will follow this reform process, particularly given the resource implications for training and materials. Decisions on making such an investment in the future of education provision in UNRWA schools is bound up with pending decisions about the wider future of the Palestinian community in Lebanon. In the current climate of uncertainty it seems likely that educational reform for UNRWA schools will remain 'on hold.'
Shifting attitudes of Palestinians to education
Until recently, education was seen by many Palestinians in diaspora as an insurance against political instability - a tool you can always carry with you no matter what happens. Education has also been seen as a passport to well paid jobs in other countries of the Middle East and beyond and many families have survived on the remittances sent home from relatives working abroad. In recent years, this view of the usefulness of a formal education has been challenged. In the wake of the 1991 Gulf War, in reprisal for Palestinian support for Saddam Hussein, many Palestinians working in other Arab countries of the Middle East were dismissed and sent home to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the camps in Lebanon. Employment opportunities for Palestinians in the region and within Lebanon are becoming increasingly restricted. Within the camps, the PLO itself also undermined the traditional view of education as a way out of poverty by offering high wages for military service in stark contrast to the low salaries available to the few qualified professionals able to find work in the camps.
‘I would like to become a children's doctor, but Palestinians do not have the right here in Lebanon to become doctors. We are only refugees here.’ Warda, aged 13
'In the 50's (education) was the 'sure line' for the Palestinians - everyone was pushing their children in the schools. In my generation our parents provided us with everything so that we could go and learn. We didn't have electricity, just a lamp, but we worked really hard. At that time about 90% of Palestinian people were educated. This went on until the 70s. Even before '48, Palestine had high levels of education. In the 70s it changed with the PLO who came to Lebanon then. This was a big turn in the life of the Palestinians. The PLO raised the hope of the Palestinians by saying 'it's time to struggle to go back'. So even children were taken out of schools or encouraged to leave schools indirectly. If a 15 year old registered as a scout and carried a gun for one night he would have a salary of more than his father or his brother who had graduated from university. This made people think firstly that the priority was to go back to the homeland, secondly, with the financial restrictions of life, getting this money was easy - they didn't think of their education. Those who were sent to do medicine or engineering didn't have any opportunity to work in Lebanon. My niece was always the top student in medicine, and now she earns less than anyone in the family, only $100 - we support her. So it was a shock to some families to find that a child working in a garage could get $100 in two weeks. All this turned the perception of the importance of education.’ Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon
The response
50 years' work in Lebanon
Save the Children has been involved with Palestinians in Lebanon since the early 1950s, at first through UNRWA relief programmes in the refugee camps, and then through education and community programmes which evolved with the input of the local community in response to their changing needs. The following paragraphs outline the different phases of the programme.
· Relief programmes
During the 1950s and 1960s, Save the Children gave financial support to basic needs programmes in the refugee camps including shelter, food, clean water, health and medical care, as well as basic primary and education. During this phase, neither UNRWA nor Save the Children sought to address problems related to emotional or psychological damage in children. Educational provision in the camps followed the Lebanese national curriculum and focused on traditional subjects, with no provision for creative arts, humanities, sport or recreation.
· Orphan Help Programme
During the devastating Israeli attack of Lebanon in 1982, massacres in the refugee camps left large numbers of children orphaned. It was at this stage that Save the Children became more actively involved, establishing an 'Alternative Orphan Help Programme' which supported the fostering of orphans in their extended families or with childless couples through direct financial assistance; advice on dealing with problems related to caring for children who had witnessed and experienced violence and loss; and liaison with welfare, health and education services provided by the UNRWA authorities. This initial approach of supporting orphans through traditional family and community structures rather than institutions became the basis on which an educational programme linked to the needs of children in the camps was developed together with the community (explored in more depth late on).
· Pre-school programme
Through the work of the Orphan Help Programme, Save the Children staff soon identified a significant gap in services for pre-school children. UNRWA was mandated to provide pre and post-natal health care for children up to 3, and primary education for children from the age of 6. The effective exclusion of children between the ages of 3 to 6 from public services not only meant that problems could not be identified and addressed, but also ignored the importance of children's individual developmental needs at this crucial age, especially in a situation where families were often under pressure and struggling to meet basic childcare requirements.
'Save the Children began to lead the way forward towards a more holistic approach addressing learning and stimulation, communication, recreation and relaxation, continuity and havens of child centred activities based on play, creative arts, storytelling, drama and folklore' Julia Gilkes, Save the Children Middle East Early Childhood Development Advisor
Building on the links already established with children and families, in 1984 Save the Children began to run pre-school groups in UNRWA premises in the camps, both for orphans as well as for other children in the camps. In addition to providing pre-school care for 4-6 year old children of working mothers, the kindergartens offered play and stimulation in a safe environment that provided children 'with opportunities for self expression through creative activities such as role play, drawing, stories and song. Through a combination of experimentation, observation, external advice, training and links with other organisations, local staff were able to develop these activities in a way which was responsive to the children's own developmental needs. An awareness of the children's home lives built up through close contact with their families was an essential part of this process. This was strengthened by encouraging family involvement in kindergarten activities as an opportunity for learning about the educational and developmental needs of their children. Kindergarten staff were encouraged to develop working links with UNRWA primary school staff and to help children make the difficult transition into formal primary education.
· After school clubs
As work with families, children and teachers developed, the needs of older children of both primary and secondary school age began to emerge. In the Orphan Help Programme, many foster parents experienced difficulties with older children who displayed psychological and behavioural problems related to their experience of conflict and the pressures of life in the camps. Many children were required to work to contribute to family survival, making studying difficult or impossible to keep up, while those still in school often fell behind in classes or dropped out completely. It was clear that these problems were not limited to children in the Orphan Help Programme. Save the Children responded by opening after-school and Friday clubs for older children, usually using the same premises as the kindergartens. The clubs provided older children with creative and self-expressive activities not available within the formal school system, as well as remedial education and homework support.
'The idea of establishing the clubs originally was to provide children with somewhere to do their homework and to have contact with each other and to provide them with safe areas to play and to do something fruitful. In the camps there are only narrow roads and in 87 it was a difficult situation for children to hang around the streets' Alia Shana'a, Siblin Summer Camp August 7-27 1989
· Summer activities
From 1987 the programme with older children was extended to include summer activities often run jointly with other organisations. These activities included residential summer camps, some of which were held in Lebanese villages, providing an opportunity for children from the camps to meet with Moslems, Christians and Druze from the Lebanese community.
· Community involvement and children's participation
As with the kindergartens, liasing with families and teachers was an important part of the work of Save the Children staff in the clubs. From the start, the kindergartens and clubs included meetings and activities with families in support of activities carried out with children. These meetings also served as a channel to provide information and advice on issues affecting the whole family such as health and nutrition. During the 1990s, the participation of families became more active with parents sharing more in the planning and implementation of the programme. The role of children in planning, running and evaluating the activities of the clubs has also been more fully developed in recent years through a range of initiatives including: child to child activities; the production of magazines; children's committees; the training of older children to work as volunteers with younger children in the clubs and summer activities.
By 1996, the kindergartens and after school clubs had developed into all day centres for children and family activities open to all children, with morning and afternoon activities for children attending different shifts at school. The main focus of these centres continues to be educational, providing a space for the staff, children and their families to develop informal educational and recreational activities which are closely linked to family life and the wider community, but aim to complement the formal education available in UNRWA schools.
*
A RESPONSIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMME
This section explores in more depth the mechanics of how the specific needs of children growing up in the unique context of the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon were identified and addressed. It shows how an approach which has consistently stressed partnership at all levels (between Save the Children staff and families, UNRWA authorities, other NGOs, etc) has been successful in developing locally owned, alternative educational models which address children's psychological and developmental needs. It also explores the obstacles and challenges encountered, some of which have been overcome while others remain, highlighting some of the limitations of NGO work in this context.
Understanding the context
Through long term involvement in relief and development work in Lebanon, Save the Children was able build up an in-depth understanding of the situation of Palestinian refugees. It was this familiarity with the situation that enabled Save the Children to quickly identify the gaps in service provision to children directly affected by the crisis in 1982 (Israeli invasion and camp massacres) and respond quickly with the establishment of the Orphan Help and Pre-School Programmes. Long term involvement of international NGOs with a specific community or programme is often seen as a weak point, raising questions of dependence and sustainability. In this case, the length of Save the Children's commitment (from 1948 to the present) was a major factor in building up the confidence and respect of the refugee community and building of a programme which successfully facilitates links between users and providers of services as well as developing practical responses to gaps in provision. Furthermore, the unique nature of this context, where, in the absence of their own government or local authority structures, the Palestinian community in Lebanon has, for the past 50 years, been effectively dependent on UNRWA and other international and non-governmental bodies clearly highlights that long-term involvement can be a valid response.
Understanding children's needs
Because the family was the starting point for the programme, Save the Children staff (all Palestinians living in the camps) were able to build up a sound understanding of the reality of children's lives and needs. Home visits, combined with the staffs role of liasing with teachers, health personnel and social workers, provided insights into children's lives and behaviour from a range of different perspectives. In this way, staff were able to appreciate and analyse, together with other members of the community, the impact of conflict and related pressures on the children's personal development, including obstacles to learning through the existing formal educational system. This was an important element at the beginning of the programme's development. It was also part of an ongoing process of constantly reviewing and considering the pressures faced by children based on practical experience of working closely with them, their families and other members of the community on a day to day basis. The following observations were made of children's behaviour at a summer camp:5
· many children find it difficult to play as children, have fun and enjoy themselves· there is much aggressive and hostile behaviour between the children, and to the adults
· some children have stomach problems which we think are stress related and have been referred to the hospital
· children from Ein Hilwe are particularly naughty and uncontrollable (as they live in a camp which lacks authority at different levels)
· it is not easy working with these children, especially the 10-12 year olds as that is a difficult age anyway (adolescence)
· the children seem to be so full of such furious energy
· the children lack discipline, sometimes we are obliged to be tough
Over the past decade attention is shifting to the role of children in identifying needs and developing programmes. The focus on self-expressive activities in both kindergarten and after school clubs forms part of a process of encouraging children to reflect on and communicate their own life experiences, perspectives and aspirations, in ways that take into account the difficult situations in which children live and the traditional approach to childhood that offers little opportunity for challenging authority or seeking change. This approach, which builds on children's natural curiosity and interest, has been extended to children's active participation in running and developing activities through child to child projects and the children's committees which play a role in the clubs' decision making processes. Ways have also been sought to involve children more actively in the monitoring and evaluation of the programmes: a programme review workshop in February 1998 included not only reflection/discussion groups with children and youth, but also interviews in the community carried out by young people. Pre-school children were also encouraged to express their feelings and views of the programme through drawings and other creative activities.
‘I went to the kindergarten at three years, I used to suffer from fear so much, I was even afraid of the ants. I was worried all the time, afraid indoors and outdoors and I had no idea how to express my fears. But now I love music, to sing and play the tabla. Being in the club has developed my confidence, and I enjoy taking responsibility as a volunteer in the summer activities, and meeting with people with responsibility through the Child to Child programme. I want to become a social worker, to reach this you have to be trusted by others, share in their experiences and take care of your appearance.' Abdullah Abu Leil, 16 years. Orphan. Alternative Care Programme, El Buss Refugee Camp
Developing an appropriate educational response
Formal education provision for Palestinians is limited, with a basic curriculum, traditionally taught in crowded and under-resourced conditions. Through the clubs and kindergartens, it was possible to provide activities which not only strengthened and supported the formal education available to children, but also responded to their wider developmental needs through play, drawing, music, expressions of cultural identity, sport, recreation and vocational training. Over the years, these activities have been developed through a process of experimentation, observation and active consultation with children and their parents.
'In my study (research with children in 4th year of primary school) I found... hidden illiteracy when they are in school but don't learn to read or write. The teacher reads a sentence on the board and asks the children to read it, but the child isn't reading, he's just repeating. In the clubs children are helped with their schoolwork, but in the learning process they are also building their character and self-confidence. They now train to be leaders when they do child to child or other activities, so it is really improving their confidence. They are learning more about their culture, their lives, themselves, their rights, their community and how to live within it. This is all education. It is helping them improve their school achievements and behaviour in schools as well. The recreational activities help them as here they have something to do and aren't just in the streets. Parents feel that their children's personality and attitude is better, their school results are better.' Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon
The children themselves are very conscious of the limitations of the education system and have a clear sense of what the different activities in the clubs can offer and how they have helped them personally. The following views were expressed by children in the review workshop of February 19986:
· I had no interest or aim in my life
· I had no self-confidence or self-esteem
· I was so afraid and timid and needed reassurance
· I was alone and had no friends and did not think about others
· I needed help with my studies, as it was difficult at home
· There was nowhere safe to play
· We are in big classes and the teachers shout at and hit us
· I am afraid to ask questions and afraid of teachers
· I needed to know more about my homeland, the songs, the stories, the folklore
'Help with lessons and sport is important. In UNRWA schools they are hit by teachers, shouted at, and told to stop talking all the time. In the clubs, the staff are interested in them, provide a place for study and help with problems in the homework. They laugh together, talk, have fun and she is confident to speak and ask questions, and is not afraid of the staff at all. At school there is football for boys and some P.E. but often teachers cancel it if it is at the end of the day, so that they can go home early. It is only 1 hour a week anyway. At the club there are other activities, making up games with balls' Nihaya (age 12), Alternative Care Programme, El Buss Refugee Camp
Training staff and volunteers has been an essential element in developing the awareness, skills and methodologies needed to develop educational programmes which can respond to children's wider psychological and developmental needs. Training programmes and workshops addressing both personal and professional development have been provided by the local staff themselves with support and input from SCF's regional advisors (in ECD and disability) as well as external consultants in specialised areas such as toymaking, and other NGOs in the region including UNICEF and ARC (see below). In addition to formal training, staff have been encouraged to support and help one another in developing their own skills through practical work experience:
'At first I was afraid of dealing with little children, aged 3-5 years, but with experience and support of the staff and some training I became more advanced, and learned to work well with the children. I learned about games and play activities, the psychological life of the children, and how children learn. I learned to make things from nothing. I found useless things could be used to make games and toys, cards, files and so on. My own character was also developing with more self-confidence and the ability to enjoy successful relationships with the community. I am known to many people and families and respected. I have a deeper knowledge of my society' Sawsan Shehadi. Kindergarten teacher, Rashadieh Camp.
Ensuring community ownership
The starting point of working within families, exposed staff to the importance of encouraging community ownership and participation in order to provide educational activities which are relevant, useful and appropriate. A number of different strategies have been used to promote broad-based participation, including: the creation of parents committees; children's committees (from 7 - 18 years); recruitment of volunteers from the community to help in the clubs; youth volunteers to help with summer activities. Offering training for all participants in the clubs including staff, parents, children and volunteers in a variety of areas ranging from literacy and hygiene to fundraising has been an important element in fostering more active involvement and a sense of ownership. In this way, members of the community have been able to analyse their own and their children's needs and develop the skills needed to put their ideas into practice.
“As well as children's magazines there are parents magazines in all the clubs and kindergartens. Members of the parents' committees write in the magazines and they are kept in the resource centres. We are beginning now to call the clubs community centres. We have a lot of involvement of the community in the workshops with mothers, volunteers, fundraising and so on. The clubs are supported by the community - whenever we need prizes for competitions, they go around to shops and ask for contributions. Also activities like child to child are carried out with the wider community.' Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon
Of course, this process has not always been easy, and many parents have at first been sceptical about the value of the clubs. The first step to showing parents the potential value of the clubs for their children has been to invite them to visit and take part in the activities so that they can get a better understanding of their purpose. Save the Children staff themselves are members of the community and form an important link with parents and other adults to whom they are often well known. The importance of this dynamic and the need for continuity within the programme in order to build strong community links has led to a policy of emphasis on recruitment and development of staff from within the communities:
'For a pre-school programme to achieve real community involvement, the selection of the staff is all-important. A teacher who comes from the community has a number of in-built advantages both in the detailed knowledge of the families with whom she will be working and her acceptability by the community as a whole.' 7
Many of the current staff were originally children in the kindergartens and clubs who went on to become volunteers and then permanent staff members. A kindergarten teacher now working at Rashidieh camp reflects on her own experiences as a girl participating in Save the Children summer activities in 1989:
'I remembered the days that I spent at Siblin Centre, then I made a comparison between my childhood and being a teacher and I admitted that each age has its own needs. During summer camp, I owned self-confidence, the ability to face problems and the flexibility of solving problems. At summer camp I realised the importance of the existence of the complete communication between the children and teachers. My self-confidence is increased and I learned many deep things about my society. 1 have now successful relationships with the community.' 8
Challenging attitudes towards education
The process of involving members of the community in the activities and running of the clubs also seeks to challenge and change existing attitudes which see education as something separate from children's experience and home environment, provided by professionals in a formal school environment. Encouraging the active participation of different members of the community aims to raise awareness of the links between children's developmental and educational needs.
'The kindergarten schedule was new and strange for parents because learning through playing and actions, besides children's rights weren't recognised by them. Kindergarten according to them was known as school. In the beginning, there were a lot of questions about why there weren't desks and boards in classes. But later they trusted the staff and the parents chose to put their children in our Kindergarten and this was a challenge to us.' Ali Hweidi, Rashydieh kindergarten team leader
'When we started (the kindergartens), parents used to argue with us that they wanted the children to be taught in the centre. They wanted books and homework, so we had to discuss with them and involve them in the process. We invited mothers to come and watch their children playing. They used to come and sit with the children and help with plasticine and so on. The parents begin to understand it when they do it themselves. Now they don't ask in the same way as they did before because they know how much the children are busy and learning through these activities. They appreciate it more. It is important that this process is continuous and we develop it as new parents come in. We share more and more with mothers and the communities. They are now part of the process, even when we face problems with new people and mothers, they tell them about their experience, how their children are doing in school and their personality is developing; 'now my child is open and not worried to meet people' - they start to tell each other about their experience with Save the Children. It is mainly mothers, very few fathers because they are busy and because this is something traditional in our community - mothers are responsible for very young children.’ Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon
Both teachers and parents can begin to appreciate the role of education as a powerful tool in responding to and tackling the effects of ongoing conflict as they see the impact of creative and self-expressive activities on their children's psychological well-being, behaviour, and communication within the family. In addition, staff and parents have experienced the potential of education as a positive force for change through individual conflict resolution. This has been most clearly demonstrated through summer camps held in Lebanese villages, involving children from the local Lebanese communities and Palestinian children from the refugee camps, where creative and recreational activities acted as a 'bridge' between children from communities in conflict with each other.
'At the beginning of the camp, some problems happened among Lebanese and Palestinians. It was a real reflection of the situation. It took us time to let them play as children coming to have fun and enjoy their time. This summer camp was a unique one to include Lebanese children from Amal movement families and Palestinians from the camps which suffered a lot from Amal movement siege. Some of them lost their families during the camp war, yet children could enjoy their time together when they learned songs for Palestine and Lebanon. Lot of discussions took place about loving each other.9'
Because the programme is firmly located within the community it is also possible to tackle sensitive cultural attitudes which impact on children's educational opportunities, in particular those of girls. While enrolment rates for girls in formal education are high, there are pressures from within the community which threaten girls' rights to educational opportunities through extracurricular activities such as the Save the Children clubs. Save the Children staff are conscious of their role, as members of both the local and the NGO communities, in tackling these attitudes.
'The parents have no problem. Our problem was with Islamic groups, though we didn't face any problem with parents. We have always had more girls than boys. Some areas now are affected because the Islamic groups make problems to us and to other NGOs. After the prayer on Friday they were telling the people 'don't send your children to the clubs'. This year in the summer camp we had only one-third girls.' Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon
Being flexible and responsive to sudden change
Because of an emphasis on a partnership approach to working with other organisations and all sectors of the community, the programme was able to respond effectively to children's needs in times of crisis and emergency as well as to the problems faced daily by children in a situation of long-term conflict. During the camp wars of 1986, in addition to participating in the UN coordinated emergency response, Save the Children's specific role was to focus on immediate education and play provision. Given the upheaval which led to death, destruction, displacement and the disruption of normal health and education services, the rapid provision by Save the Children staff of 'normal' kindergarten services in whatever spaces they could find (often their own houses) was an essential element in relieving the effects of the crisis by re-establishing some kind of stability and security for children and for their families as well.
'El Hilweh kindergarten closed because of the situation and fight in Saida area from 24/11/86 till 18/12/86. The cover outside the classrooms got 12 small holes because of splits from a bomb which exploded very close. All the teachers are good. During the period, when the kindergarten was closing, the teachers worked in the survey and distribution done by the joint Relief Committee. Since 18/12/86 the work in El Hilweh kindergarten is normal and going well. About 95 of the children are back. The rest left El Hilweh and they are living in Saida.'10
Again in 1996, in the aftermath of the Qana massacre, Save the Children took part in an immediate and coordinated response from NGOs and the Lebanese authorities, and worked quickly and effectively with other local organisations to set up children's activities in the displacement centres.
Seeking complementarity with UNRWA educational services
From the start, Save the Children's educational programmes in the camps have sought to complement and strengthen the formal educational provision offered by UNRWA. The pre-school groups were established in response to the gap in services for 3-6 year olds. Activities focussed on early child development and preparation for entry to UNRWA primary schools, using child-centred methods.
Close contact with UNRWA teachers has led to practical cooperation on the transition of children from pre-school to primary, including children visiting for 2 days a week before formally enrolling in school, UNRWA teachers receiving files and evaluations of individual children coming from pre-school groups, and Save the Children staff visiting children in their new schools to give support and ensure that all is well.
Research carried out in 1994 with groups of children in the fourth year of UNRWA primary schools to assess the continued impact of the pre-school programme on achievement in formal school (including a control group who had not been in pre-school) confirmed the role of pre-school in helping children to benefit more from formal educational provision. 11
In the case of older children, after school and Friday clubs have offered homework support and remedial education as well as activities to address the social and emotional problems which can frequently disrupt formal education. The role of Save the Children staff in liaison between schools and families is an important element in identifying and addressing problems faced by individual pupils which may be interfering with their ability to study. In addition to this social work role carried out by Save the Children staff, activities and initiatives have been developed by children in the clubs themselves which aim to strengthen the links with UNRWA schools:
'We have a lot of activities with the schools through the children's groups: the education groups exchange bulletin boards (prepared in the clubs) with the schools. Also the schools have follow up with the children who are in the clubs -if there is any problem they contact the club before the parents to discuss the problem together and find the solution. Through the clubs the schools have this contact with the parents.' Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon
A further aim of establishing good working links with teachers in the UNRWA schools is to attempt to influence teaching methodologies in the formal school system based on the educational approaches pioneered through the kindergartens and clubs. This is promoted through visits and joint training workshops (for example on making and using educational toys from recycled materials). Parents involved in the work of the clubs have also played an important part in raising UNRWA teachers' awareness of the value and potential of child centred teaching methods:
'UNRWA teachers of first and second elementary were invited to visit the kindergardens to be introduced to the kindergarten curriculum and work and to compare with their work. It is a trial to fill the gap between the two approaches. The kindergarten work is centred on subjects and books. The child in UNRWA schools finds himself among 40 - 50 children in a class full of desks, no toys or attractive pictures or means to learn. He is unable to move or play. As play is important and the children learn quicker through it, UNRWA teachers were introduced to all the toys produced by SCF kindergartens staff. The parents committee participated in the discussion which took place between kindergarten staff and UNRWA teachers. Parents were defending the kindergarten approach and they wished that UNRWA school take into consideration the child's needs and abilities when they plan any activity or lesson.' 12
Forging working links with UNRWA staff in the formal school sector has often been challenging: UNRWA teachers face formidable restrictions with large classes, few resources, a basic and traditional curriculum to follow, little training and low salaries. While it is sometimes possible to work with and influence individual teachers, it has proved much harder and often impossible to influence the wider organisation to bring more consistent and lasting changes in order to benefit children in the classroom. In this sense, the potential for cross learning between the formal and non-formal activities to date has been limited. Similarly, there is currently limited optimism that changes in the Lebanese system may bring about a review of curriculum and methodology within the UNRWA schools. The extent of any reform of the UNRWA education programme hinges on the very future and status of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, in addition to financial resource problems of an increasing Palestinian population drawing on a static UN budget.
Paradoxically, in seeking to influence UNRWA in the interests of children's wider developmental and educational opportunities, Save the Children have often found it easier to work constructively with other UNRWA bodies (health, welfare, technical engineering) than with the education sector.
One of the fundamental problems in working with UNRWA and seeking to influence their education programmes is that, the provider of formal education services here is not a national government. UNRWA is mandated to provide certain services, but is not representative of the Palestinian community, and is not permanent. Both these factors impact on the ability of UNRWA to develop more responsive educational services as well as on Save the Children's ability to influence any long-term changes.
Influencing and learning - partnership with other organisations
In the same way that staff have worked to build links with UNRWA teachers and officials, working links have been established with other organisations working with the Palestinian community in Lebanon. As well as seeking to avoid duplication and promote complementarity, the aim of this partnership approach is to influence the educational practice of other organisations working with children, while at the same time drawing on their skills and experience in order to strengthen and enrich Save the Children's programmes. The systematic documentation of Save the Children's experience, production and sharing of appropriate materials and joint training with staff of other NGOs have been key elements of Save the Children's partnership work with other organisations.
'This is an unmeasurable process, but through the training and visits we exchange experience, so staff may pick up ideas and use them with the children in their work. I know that some of the staff were very shy when they started to go to outside training other than our own training, for instance going to Beirut for UNICEF training on peace education. The impact on their personality was clear; many had never been out of their camps and they had to go to Beirut or the mountains for a weekend or week and this helped them in developing their personalities as well as developing their skills and capacity which they can use in the work. Whatever we do wouldn't be enough if we weren't in touch with outside experience.' Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon.
Working closely with other local NGOs with different perspectives and special expertise, offers the opportunity to draw on existing work experience in relation to emerging programme priorities. One such area is disability - in the camps there are high levels of disability in children, both conflict related and congenital. Problems faced by NGOs working in this area have included both lack of services and also negative attitudes to disability. Save the Children staff have worked to include disabled children across the programme and have drawn on the approaches of other NGOs, such as the Jihad Al-Wazir Foundation who have advised and supported Save the Children in the integration of disabled children into the clubs. This kind of exchange is often mutually beneficial but in a context which is highly politically charged, coordination with other NGOs is not always straightforward:
'If they feel that Save the Children is doing good, advanced work, some local NGOs are afraid to lose their own standing politically - many are related to political parties and each wants to dominate Palestinians in Lebanon. Now with the changes in the political situation with withdrawal of fighters, social work and NGOs are seen more as a way of keeping strength and dominance and position in the community. Save the Children is seen as non-political which gives us a good position in the community. Ordinary people want to send their children to non-political NGOs -people are becoming less political now. For example, it is easier for UNRWA to cooperate with us because we are neutral and international. This gives us strength on the ground. Sometimes we have problems with fundraising because people think that we are rich because we are international. This creates jealousy.' Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon
Building on experiences through sharing at a regional level
Because of their continuing status as refugees and the limitations placed on travel and work, the Palestinian community in Lebanon are particularly isolated both within Lebanon and within the region. Making links with other educational and child focused initiatives around the Arab world has therefore been an important element in building up skills and resources within the programme through sharing and learning from other experiences in the region. This has been possible both through Save the Children and through the Arab Resource Collective (ARC), a regional organisation based in Beirut and Cyprus which translates and develops resources for work with children in Arabic through their 'childhood programme'.
Given the practical problems associated with ongoing conflict and isolation, access to high quality, appropriate and culturally sensitive resources has been particularly difficult. In addition to these practical problems, many of the resources available in Arabic (particularly in Lebanon where secondary languages are French and English) are translations or adaptations of European or American materials, with few primary sources drawn from the Arabic experience. A key element of ARC'S work are training workshops where NGOs from around the region come together to share ideas, experience and approaches developed through practical work with children. Ideas picked up at these workshops are taken back to the programmes, tested and further developed, often with input from children, parents and local partners, and then fed back to ARC through the regional workshops. In this way, ARC has been able to build up a body of resources for training and practical educational work with children, based on experience on the ground.
Save the Children, and particularly the Lebanon programme, have worked closely with ARC over the past decade to build up their capacity for the mutual benefit of child focused organisations working in the region. As well as providing funding to ARC as part of the regional programme, Save the Children's regional Early Childhood Development advisor has been seconded for 50% of her time as a resource person.
For local staff in the Lebanon, the impact of sharing at a regional level through ARC has not just represented access to improved materials, but also a way of breaking the isolation of living and working in the camps under what often feel like siege conditions, and raising self-esteem and community pride in the quality of work that the Palestinian community have been able to develop in challenging circumstances;
'(sharing with other organisations) helps to open your mind to new ideas and to think about and assess your own work. Not just the regional link, but also the links with London. Though the (ARC) workshops in Cyprus we realise that we have a lot to share which motivates us. The workshops aren't training, but sharing and learning from each other. The links with London have also been important in sharing learning. What we learn we can bring back to the other staff and do training. The children benefit from this.' Alia Shana'a, Save the Children Programme Coordinator, Lebanon
What has been learnt?
The benefits of partnership
This case study highlights the importance of developing a range of partnerships at different levels. Promoting the involvement of parents in the programmes has been mutually beneficial, ensuring that the programmes are relevant and appropriate to local needs, and helping adults address their own need for normality and self-determination by taking some control over their children's educational development. Similarly, by participating in the development and running of activities, children's self-esteem and sense of identity have benefitted. Promoting partnership with UNRWA (the UN agency responsible for education provision to Palestinian refugees) and other NGOs has opened up opportunities for sharing skills and experience, although scope for changing practice is limited given political and economic constraints.
The role of education in tackling the effects of war
The experience of this programme demonstrates above all that educational programmes have a key role to play in helping children and communities cope with living in a situation of constant insecurity and future uncertainty.
The potential of educational programmes in tackling the psychological effects of long-term conflict on children is highlighted in this example. Adopting an approach which looks at the whole needs of the child, the programme offered a safe environment for children to play and socialise, responsive educational activities based on constructive play and interactive learning, and cultural activities to reinforce a sense of identity and belonging.
Involving parents and other family members in the process provided an opportunity to help families identify and tackle problems of communication which are often rooted in the experience of living in a context of ongoing violence and insecurity.
Working to change educational attitudes and practices
The Lebanon case study reinforces the experience of other case studies (e.g. Mongolia), that change is not uniform, but tends to occur in pockets. Changes in attitudes to education and the potential of child centred approaches have come about as the community have see the practical benefits of play based and creative activities. A strategy of working solely through staff drawn from the Palestinian refugee community was a key factor in developing good community interaction and reinforces the experience documented in the case studies from India and Mali, that local people can quickly become effective early years teachers, given appropriate training and support.
It has proved much more difficult to achieve a wider impact through influencing UNRWA's approach to education. Even in the context of moves towards reforming the national Lebanese education system, UNRWA is inflexible in considering more child-focused approaches. This is primarily a result of its limited mandate as a service provider, alongside its financial insecurity and uncertain future.
The study demonstrates the need to develop strategies around such bottlenecks: continuing to promote change to education in the formal sector, where there has been some success in changing the attitudes and practices of individual teachers; concentrating efforts on areas where influence is possible, in this case bridging the gap between the reality of children's life experience and formal education by filling gaps in provision of recreational and creative activities, easing the transition from home to school life, and supporting children as they pass through primary and secondary school to get the most out of the education available.
Problems of sustainability and ownership
The Lebanon study raises the contentious issue of the long-term sustainability of programmes in contexts of on-going conflict. When outside agencies started work in the Palestinian refugee camps, no-one predicted that 50 years on there would still be no political solution. Although outside agencies and their donors do not have the resources or the mandate to take on the government's role in providing education on a long-term basis, the refugees have a clear unmet need that demands action.
In the case of the Palestinians, Save the Children's strategic decision to provide ongoing support to send a message of solidarity and commitment to the community has been central to the success of its programme, but has been difficult to sustain because of barriers to securing and diversifying the funding base.
The length of NGO commitment is often a key factor in inspiring the trust and respect of communities. Here it has also been instrumental in building up genuine community capacity to implement and manage relevant education programmes. Donors could usefully reconsider their linear interpretation of sustainability (as demanding that they should avoid long-term financial support), particularly in contexts where that long-term commitment is itself a precondition of the early success, quality and security of the programme. Making such a strategic decision would surely be better than falling into UNRWA's position of having to maintain an ongoing presence under a temporary and rigid mandate with declining per-capita funding.
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Editors' Conclusions · The long-term nature of the conflict and the insecure situation of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have required a long-term commitment on the part of Save the Children. This has been the basis both for developing the trust needed to innovate in such a depressing environment, and for developing communities' capacity to take more control over their children's education. · The context of uncertainty, as third and fourth generation Palestinians continue to live in limbo in Lebanon, challenges our assumptions about the purpose of basic education. In this case, a useful education is one that helps children cope with life in the present, by addressing the effects of psychological and emotional stress, and reaffirming cultural identity. · To achieve this, Save the Children worked closely with the local community to develop appropriate and effective education services that are complementary to the official education provision. · Given that the value of education is widely questioned, with so few hopes of future advancement from school-based learning, Save the Children had to prioritise changing attitudes. The focus of kindergartens and after-school clubs was on developing an understanding of education as being an extension of children's experiences and their home environment. · The programme also demonstrated effective roles for education in conflict resolution, such as the summer camps involving children from both Lebanese and Palestinian communities. · Despite attention focused on
sharing learning with the other key organisations, influence over the UN relief
agency's teaching methods has been confined to the level of individual teachers,
not changing organisation-wide ways of working. The UN agency's inability to
reform is largely a consequence of its own impermanent and underfunded mandate
as a service provider. |
1 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 1997. UNRWA Factsheet. Lebanon
2 UNRWA 1997
3 UNRWA 1997
4 UNRWA, 1994. Report of the Commissioner General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinain Refugees in the Near East. Lebanon
5 Shana'a, A, 1989. 'Siblin Summer Camp August 7 - 27 1989'. Internal report, Save the Children
6 'Palestinian Programme Review Workshop, Febuary 1998.' Internal report, Save the Children
7 Annual Report, Lebanon Programme, 1991. Internal report, Save the Children
8 Shana'a 1989
9 Shana'a 1989
10 Annual Report, South Lebanon Programme, 1987. Internal report, Save the Children
11 Shana'a, A. 'The impact of the kindergarten curriculum on the child's school acheivement in elementary level: a field study in the Palestinian South Lebanon camps.' Independent report, Lebanon
12 'Annual Field Report on the Kindergarten's programme, 1992'. Internal report, Save the Children
analysis: Rosa Alien. Cornelius Uma, Peter Colenso, Una McCauley, Bart Witteveen,
writing: Jo White, Bridget Crumpton
editor: Emma Cain
contributors: Jane Gibreel. Gaby Schembri, Amanda Harding
What are the problems for children?
The civil war
Seven years of civil war devastated the political, social and economic life of Liberia in the period 1989 to 1997. The conflict was characterised by indiscriminate killing and mass displacement of the civilian population as a direct result of fighting between different factions, largely divided along ethnic lines. Of Liberia's pre-war population of 2.4 million, more than 150,000 died, 700,000 people (half of whom were children), became refugees in neighbouring Guinea, Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire, and a further one million were displaced from their homes, some as many as four or five times. National structures and services and local community coping mechanisms deteriorated rapidly amidst widespread destruction and population displacement1.
Since 1997, Liberia has entered a notional period of peace and attention has centred on rehabilitation and reconstruction backed up by international assistance. However, the peace is fragile and there is a strong potential for further conflict in the years to come.
Impact of the conflict on children and child soldiers
Living through conflict and its aftermath has a huge impact on children's lives2. Children in Liberia were often in constant fear of their lives, witnessing at first hand the violence of war, and have been severely affected by trauma and instability. In February 1994 research revealed that 61% of high school students in the capital Monrovia had seen someone killed, tortured or raped, and that 71% had lost a close friend or relative. Many other children were affected directly by the war: being uprooted from their homes, often separated from their families through displacement, missing out on their education and experiencing the impact of economic collapse on their families3.
In addition, a number of children actively participated in the conflict, an experience which had a devastating impact on their lives (see Box on Child Soldiers). Figures for this group vary significantly, reflecting the difficulty of obtaining data in times of conflict and particularly from rival factions. UNICEF estimates 15,000 child soldiers, whereas Save the Children's calculation gives a lower figure of 8,000, representing about 20% of the factions' armed forces4.
Despite their different experience of war, in the post conflict period civilian and ex-combatant children now face similar problems with regard to educational needs: Both groups have missed out on vital years of education due to the collapse of the school system and displacement, lost members of their family, experienced extreme trauma, and been deprived of key phases in their development, limiting their preparation for life skills.
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Box 1: Child Soldiers in Liberia All of the principal warring factions in Liberia used children in warfare, through both forced and voluntary recruitment. The position of child soldiers was primarily a servile one in which they were treated as slaves to faction leaders. During their service in the war, children served as porters, checkpoint guards, spies, executioners and front-line fighters. Children who received combat training were subject to the same conditions as adults as part of an effort to toughen them. While most child fighters were boys, girls were also involved both in conflict and through forced recruitment as soldiers' 'wives'. Throughout the conflict, children were ideal targets for recruitment as they proved to be easier to control and manipulate than adults. Between 1993 and 1995 the number of armed factions fighting the war increased and these groups found themselves competing for recruits. As the war continued and most adult males had either already been recruited or fled the fighting, children, particularly the most vulnerable groups and those without families, were actively targeted and rounded up. In total, Save the Children estimates that as many as 10,000 child soldiers were active during the conflict. A significant number joined alongside their father or an older male relative, but as the war evolved, abduction of children by different factions became more widespread. The reasons for children 'volunteering' to become soldiers are complex. Survival and protection reflect the primary reasons. Becoming a soldier offered children access to food, a commodity in increasingly short supply as the war continued. It also offered protection to the children and their families: some parents actively encouraged their children to join a faction to discourage harassment from other fighters in the area. Interviews conducted with Liberian children who were drawn into the conflict reveal the range of reasons: 'My parents were killed in 1990 so I joined.... in self-defence' 17 year old ex-combatant 'When the recruitment bus came, a friend told me its purpose and advantages and I just jumped in' 13 year old ex-combatant ‘I was very scared and confused. Rebels took away
all our food, clothes and money, looted our town and killed our town chief
16 year old ex-combatant5 |
There were also a number of private schools run by religious institutions, companies or individuals located throughout the country but these were not widely accessible to the majority of Liberians as many could not afford to buy the uniforms or pay the fees.
Funding became a major problem following the coup and subsequent death of President Samuel Doe in 1990. Teachers in state schools were not paid regularly, books and other materials were in short supply, and as a result the standard of teaching deteriorated. In areas where schools actually existed, many were in disrepair, with cramped classrooms. Cost was a major deterrent to families, especially the poorest, sending their children to school: enrolment fees and minimum requirements such as school uniforms represented a heavy financial burden beyond the reach of many families, both rural and urban8.
The long period of war and instability has had a cumulative effect on the basic infrastructure of the country, devastating local services. The education sector was no exception. Many school facilities were looted or vandalised during the years of instability. As fighting continued, many people, including teachers, were displaced and increasing numbers of children had no access to regular education due to displacement, school closure or recruitment to a warring faction, who exploited their lack of education and experience. As Liberia emerged from the war, the Ministry of Education found itself desperately short of facilities and expertise (a problem which has continued throughout the post-conflict period) and under pressure to provide education to the large number of children who had not only missed out on vital years of education but had been severely affected by the trauma and instability of war.
In addition to these challenges, attempts to resume basic services such as education took place in a heavily constrained environment. The war had shattered the national economy and government funds were scarce. Job opportunities, particularly for those without relevant skills and experience such as demobilised fighters, were few and far between. As a result, many families and communities found themselves with few resources with which to support themselves and the education of their children.
The Response
How the Save the Children programme evolved
Save the Children started work in Liberia in 1991. during the war years, and has become a “big” player in the sectors of food security, health and social welfare activities. This broad-based approach reflected a strategic choice to build up the credibility and authority of the organisation to subsequently engage in debate on more contentious issues such as child protection and rights. In the post-conflict period, Save the Children's work is shifting towards broader rehabilitation and developmental initiatives. Work with former child soldiers has formed a key component of its programme. What is interesting about its work in this area, is that what started as a spontaneous response to the immediate needs of a group of children evolved into a broad programme of support to the national process of demobilisation, taking the agency into unplanned activities such as support to “catch up” education for children who had missed out on education as a result of war.
The initial objective of Save the Children's work with child soldiers was to support family tracing and reunification at the point of their formal demobilisation. Transit centres were created as a temporary input to provide demobilised children with a secure base from which to trace their families, and to assist them in their reintegration both into their families and the wider community. The programme was based on Save the Children's work with a small group of former child combatants (described in detail in the following section) which provided the organisation with practical experience and insight into the situation and needs of the group as a basis for support to the formal programme of national demobilisation, started in late 1996
The transit centre approach was largely modelled on the work of other child-focused partner organisations in Liberia, who already had substantial experience of working with children with particular needs, such as street children and demobilised children. This approach was 'child-centred' in that it took the needs of children and their situation as its starting point.
In common with other governments emerging from periods of extensive conflict, the Liberian government was weak, under-resourced and under pressure. Similarly, civil society and community structures had broken down during the war, leaving a vacuum for external agencies in terms of who to work with as institutional partners. These represent fundamental issues for international agencies. If they engage in direct service delivery, do they run the risk of creating parallel structures that are not sustainable? Or do they become an alternative channel for donor aid which risks undermining the development and authority of a state structure? Save the Children maintains the flexibility to engage in short-term service delivery only as required by the context. At the outset of the former child soldier programme, it was paramount for Save the Children to retain an independent and neutral position, because of the sensitivities in working with military factions, and links with government were kept to a minimum. Only as the programme became increasingly concerned with education, did it become important for Save the Children to develop stronger links with relevant government departments, to ensure complementarity with state education systems, and local communities. This also raised the question of sustainability - if the programme was to engage in “catch up” education and extend to community children, then strategies for making links with government programmes and sustaining children's involvement would now need to be explored.
How did the programme start?
Save the Children first began working directly with child soldiers in June 1996 through an unplanned initiative with a small group of 22 boys who had been demobilised in a one off demobilisation and stranded without assistance. The boys had settled in Virginia, a settlement just outside the capital Monrovia. Growing tensions between the local community and the boys, fuelled by their aggressive behaviour, resulted in a radio appeal to which Save the Children responded. Because of the pressing needs of the children, Save the Children began to work closely with them, and in July 1996 established a transit centre in Virginia, to provide the ex-combatants with shelter and protection while their details were taken and family tracing activities initiated.
Once Save the Children became involved, staff explored ways to fill the boys' days, starting with an emphasis on recreation and sport and the introduction of small tasks. The combination of a more structured, caring environment and an opportunity to channel energies on team sport rather than violence helped the boys to modify their behaviour, becoming more collaborative, and building up their self esteem.
Over time, activities became more systematised and the boys were offered several options: farming, learning to read and write, or training in handicrafts such as stool making. Classes were held daily and the boys were encouraged to try different activities and find their own skills and preference. The voluntary literacy classes, which developed without any formalised curriculum, soon sowed the seeds of achievement. The teachers were largely drawn from neighbouring communities, selected more for their personal qualities in dealing with a potentially confrontation situation than for their formal teaching skills9.
The majority of boys had had their education dramatically cut short by the onset of war and were desperate to resume their schooling as a priority. The boys often collected together any scrap paper they could find and Save the Children encouraged their initiative by providing exercise books, paper, pencils, colouring crayons and easy-to-read books. For many, the literacy classes provided a new-found confidence in their ability and a positive attitude towards education:
I will never be a soldier again. I want to go to school (but my mother is too poor. I want to be a productive farmer)... I want to attain college level in agriculture' Papa, ex-child fighter aged 16 years.‘I want to go to school through all my life' Junior, ex-child fighter aged 15 year 10
Subsequently “catch up” classes became the central pillar of daily activities in Virginia transit camp. These were developed to provide longer, more intensive learning once it became evident that family tracing could potentially take months and that boys would benefit from more sustained educational input. What originally began as a recreational, rehabilitative and largely non-formal exercise, evolved into a more formalized education programme. This programme informed Save the Children's later involvement with children in the demobilisation process, providing a model for further activities in the new transit centres which were established.
Extending the programme
Save the Children became one of the key international agencies in Liberia responsible for the tracing and reunification of all child soldiers during demobilisation and was instrumental in ensuring that children going through the demobilisation process were dealt with as children and not just another fighter. Building on the success of the Virginia Transit Centre, a total of four more transit centres were opened in central and northern Liberia to support this tracing work (Gbargna and Voinjama established in November 1996 at the start of demobilisation, Zwedru in July 1997, and Greenville in January 1998). The mandate of these centres was to offer a safe and secure environment for ex-child soldiers and provide shelter, food, medicine and clothing as they waited for their families to be traced.
Of the 4300 children demobilised, 700 opted to pass through the transit centre process between 1996 and the end of 1998. The number of boys at the original Virginia Transit Centre increased dramatically between November 1996 and February 1997 as a result of the country-wide demobilisation of fighters. Child fighters demobilised in the capital Monrovia, or whose families were believed to still be in Monrovia were sent to Virginia from the other sites.
The process of family tracing proved more complex than originally anticipated. Over half the children knew the whereabouts of their family and were successfully reunited within a month. For the others, tracing their family was complicated by the length of separation and displacement and could take over 6 months. However, by the end of 1995 over 90% of the child soldiers from the centres were successfully reunited with their family11.
Creating links between former child soldiers and community children
The participation of community children in education activities happened spontaneously in the Virginia centre. Extending educational activities to community children has now been prioritized in all subsequent transit centres to encourage:
· equity in access to services
· links between child soldiers and their civilian counterparts
· links between the centres and the wider community in which they are located.
This emphasis on inclusion has proved critical for effective reconciliation and rehabilitation of former soldiers to civilian life. While child soldiers do have very specific needs, not least the right to catch up developmentally and educationally, it is important to recognize that community and displaced children are in a similar situation and not to be seen to “reward” those who were active combatants.
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Box 2: “The Virginia Boys” In June 1996, 22 ex- fighters aged between 10 and 17 were found at the site of an old school for the blind in Virginia, close to Monrovia. These boys had been looked after by the Children's Assistance Programme (CAP), a local agency responsible for assisting former child combatants, until CAP's resources had dried up. When Save the Children staff first discovered the boys, they were living in unsanitary conditions and organising themselves according to the hierarchical military structure to which they had adapted during the war. Most were armed with knives and homemade weapons and demonstrated aggressive and violent behaviour. Their relationship with the local community was strained, particularly as the boys had resorted to stealing crops and animals to survive, prompting the community to arm themselves against the former soldiers. Occasionally the tension between the children and the local community would erupt into violence. Joseph Kpukuyu, a local Save the Children social worker, attempted to build up a rapport with the boys and gradually reconcile them with the local community. Provision of food paved the way to developing trust and relations. To counteract the feelings of depression, confusion and lack of purpose felt by the boys, Joseph began allocating them small tasks, as he put it, “to put some structure into these boys' lives”. Play and sport became a principal part of the boys' day, to both allow them to let off steam and motivate them to achieve as a team on an equal footing. Joseph and his colleagues continued to build up closer relationships with the boys and encouraged productive activities to help them overcome their feelings of aggression and apathy. As a result, the boys' self-confidence gradually improved and they became less violent towards each other. Together with Save the Children staff, the boys soon began establishing basic ground rules about their behaviour and their responsibilities towards their living conditions. Punishment for breaking established rules was swift, and boys who misbehaved were given strict chores to carry out. This overall approach, aimed at instilling a sense of self-worth coupled with individual responsibility, became known as the “tough love” approach. Joseph began to work at providing the boys with an opportunity to explore their own potential. As one member of staff described: At the very beginning it was about people who had concentration spans of 3 minutes. The first three weeks were just singing and hand-clapping, gardening, woodwork and very little structure. Basically, full time entertainment of those kids and engaging them in a process of learning that was fun, but also catering to the fact that they couldn't stay still. The first education in Virginia was in the open, kids would walk up and stay for half an hour, then wander off. We had to make it interesting through lots of competition and so on. Then at one point in woodwork the children made chairs that they could sit on in classes - this had a real psychological effect: having a little stool to sit on that they had made themselves' Family tracing can be a lengthy process. Staff at the centre
constantly talked with the children about what they might expect on their return
home and aimed to reflect the community environment as much as possible to
prepare the children for a smoother transition to civil society. As part of this
approach, each member of staff acted as a surrogate parent to a small group of
6-8 children. The children and staff came together in these small family-style
units for a few hours weekly to talk, discuss any problems in the groups and
support one another. |
Over time, an increasing number of both boys and girls from the neighbouring displaced camps and local communities began to attend the education classes held at the centre. There are several likely reasons for this. Firstly, like the ex-combatants, they had missed out on education during the years of conflict and the catch up approach seemed to respond to their educational needs. Also, even where returning to school was not practically impossible for older children, the prospect sitting in classes with much younger children was a real disincentive. The curriculum developed at the centres was sensitive to this fact, and allowed children of broadly similar ages and education levels to work together. In addition, many of the children who attended the classes had no other possibility of going to school. The displaced camps lacked basic services, including schools, while few families could afford to send their children to school in the local community.
The activities pioneered in Virginia were subsequently replicated in all centres and the approach adapted to involve community children from the outset. Staff were responsible for deciding when and how to bring local children into the programme. All were conscious of the need to a) avoid setting up a parallel system and attracting community children away from local schools b) prepare both community and ex-child, whenever possible, to be reintegrated into the formal programme. Because demand for education significantly out-stripped supply, the transit centres tended to attract those children who were currently out of schools. In cases where community children had recently dropped out of local schools, staff would generally assess the reasons for this before accepting them into the classes.
The involvement of community children also brought the ex-soldiers, all boys in the case of the Save the Children centres, into contact with girls in a natural setting - of the community children, nearly half were girls, reflecting the particular needs of girls in the community for educational support.
Analyses of educational performance in two centres revealed that the educational levels of both ex-child soldiers and community children were well-matched, and that mixed classes were an effective mechanism for re-establishing links between ex-combatant youths and the wider community by breaking down the barriers of fear and suspicion, and promoting mutual understanding 12.
i For the sake of brevity, the term 'community children' will be used to describe children outside transit centres, either from displaced camps or from the local communities.
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Box 3: How catch up education can benefit former child soldiers Levi Morgan is 18 years old. He fought for the Liberia Peace Council (LPC). Levi was 10 years old in 1990, a 1st grade student. In 1997, he was bought to the Zwendru Centre to await tracing and reunification. He enrolled in the literacy classes at the centre. In late 1997 he completed the advanced classes. The teachers recommended that Levi enrol in a community school to continue his education. Levi now attends the J. C. Borlee Elementary in Zwendru Grand County. He is in the 6th grade and performs well in all his lessons. In about one year Levi was able to catch up and
perform on par with the other children in his class who did not participate in
the conflict as combatants. |
The successful reunification of ex-combatants with their families led to a gradual shift in the ratio of ex-child soldiers to community children. At the beginning the latter outnumbered the former while by August 1998, community children enrolment exceeded ex child soldiers enrolment at a ratio of 4 to 1.
The growing involvement of community children in the transit centre catch up education programme gave rise to new concerns. Although the programme was primarily designed for 14 to 18 year olds, children as young as ten were attending the classes, and children as young as five had to be turned away. Further concerns were that the children attending Save the Children classes may not be among the poorest or most vulnerable in the community, and the risk of growing dependency by the community on what was intended as a short-term measure.
The high demand for catch up education confirms the need for relevant and free education and the limitations of state provision in the post-war period. It also raises the wider issues of sustainability and the dearth of resources at all levels (family, community, government), which is impeding effective development of the education sector.
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Box 4: Children Attending the Catch-up Education Programme In summary, the ex-child soldiers and community children attending the catch up programme fell into one of three categories: · Over-age children with some prior education. Some of these may transfer to formal education, however, those who are older are unlikely to continue formal education as they experience the pressures (principally economic) of adulthood. |
The programme has been modified on an ongoing basis to suit children's particular needs. After the first seven months, it became clear that the education curriculum should be redesigned. This was due in part to the increased involvement of community children, as well as to the growing number of longer staying ex child soldiers. Liberia's national curriculum, intended for use in a formal education system covering many years, was too broad, traditional and irrelevant for the ex child soldiers. Although eager to learn, the curriculum was neither adapted to the low attention spans of ex-combatants, nor to their interests and experience. Further constraints to its application included the range of abilities and interests of ex fighters. Those under 15 years of age generally wanted to catch up from where they left off when the war broke out, while the older boys were interested in learning vocational skills.
To address these problems, Save the Children recognised the need to move into catch up education provision. It was at this point that collaboration with the Ministry of Education started, to look at ways of complementing their process of developing an 'Enrichment Curriculum'. This “enrichment curriculum” was designed to meet the accelerated learning needs of both ex child soldiers and other children who had missed out on education to facilitate their integration to the formal system, thus dovetailing closely with the approach developed at the transit centres.
The curriculum at the transit centres evolved progressively to meet the changing needs of the children. Initially a revised curriculum of six weeks was developed, fitting the average stay of children at the transit centres. This was followed by two successive phases of curriculum development, offering an education relevant to the children's particular needs and, where possible, preparing them to slot into the formal education system. The Beginners level offered basic literacy training (up to primary grade 3) for older children. The Advanced level provided more intensive instruction for those children who had already reached a higher level of education (3rd grade of primary), offering lessons in maths, science, social studies, literature and arts. Subsequently, it became clear that a fuller and longer curriculum would be required. Workshops were conducted at all the centres, resulting in a new six month curriculum on a modular design. This revised curriculum again fitted the circumstances of the children in the centres, mainly community children or former soldiers whose families were hardest to trace. It compressed the six year primary curriculum into two six month cycles, and so provided a coherent package of “catch up” education, with literacy at its core.
The six month curriculum was developed to complement the national accelerated learning curriculum and has been officially approved by the Division of Curriculum. The “pilot” nature of the experience has been especially useful in the Liberian context of reconstruction, offering practical lessons to inform thinking about curriculum design.
Introducing More Appropriate Teaching Methods
Appropriate teaching methods were crucial to the success of the programme. A total of 11 three day training and refresher workshops were conducted over a one year period. Topics discussed at the workshops included classroom management, lesson planning, instructional methods, and active learning approaches. The teachers were encouraged to blend a comfortable atmosphere conducive to learning with activity-based lessons. Activities such as drama, role playing, singing and field trips were added to encourage collective and individual participation. Teachers were regularly consulted about their work and the appropriateness of the curricula. In general, teachers found the six month curriculum easy to teach, although its effectiveness was limited by a lack of supporting materials, a challenge facing all levels of education in Liberia.
Links with the Formal Education System
The rationale behind the development of a catch up education programme was to offer children the chance of a basic education as well as allow children to move back into formal education at the right class for their age group. In order to achieve these goals it was essential that the catch up curriculum was complementary to the government curriculum, and recognised by the Ministry of Education. In this way, the catch up course provides children with an education which is nationally recognized, even where they are unable to continue schooling in the formal sector.
Parallel Vocational Activities
Skills training in areas such as carpentry and agriculture ran in parallel to the catch up education programme. Many of the older children, aged 15 or over, were only taught basic reading, writing and arithmetic, as they were more interested in learning practical vocational skills which they could use to support themselves in the future. In some cases apprenticeships were offered on a case by case basis to some of the older children of 17 and 18 years of age who were keen to learn a trade. Formal links to the employment sector were beyond the scope of the transit centre programme, however, and apprenticeships with local carpenters, mechanics, tailors, and blacksmith normally took place when children were back with their families and communities.
The need for consistent monitoring and appropriate development of vocational skills training was recognised by staff working in transit centres.
What has been learnt?
The Liberia case study demonstrates the value of educational programmes in post-conflict situations, both in improving the life opportunities of children affected by war and in supporting the process of reconciliation at the community level. The experience in Liberia also underlines that, paradoxically, the most challenging situations can sometimes present opportunities for innovation. Although we have explored here an approach designed to meet the needs of a very specific group - former child soldiers - it also offers lessons about ways of working that are of wider relevance.
Being responsive
Innovation, flexibility and responsiveness have been the key factors contributing to the success of this programme. A culture of responsiveness was established from the outset, building up communication with ex child soldiers in Virginia in order to identify their needs and seek ways of meeting those needs. Had the programme relied on a carefully structured plan in the early stages, it might not have been possible to introduce the small-scale, innovative approaches which were tested and adapted over time, including the catch-up education programme and the inclusion of boys and girls from the local community in educational and recreational activities.
An integrated approach, combining provision of shelter and food with a daily structure and constructive activities, has created an environment in which ex-combatant children have been able to re-establish trusting relationships and develop self-confidence and positive relationships in society. The lessons and activities were adapted in response to the changing situation of the children, evolving from recreational/constructive play activities, through literacy and basic education provision, to a catch up education programme which would serve the needs of ex child soldiers in the transit centres and the growing numbers of children coming in to the centres from the surrounding communities.
The role of education in post-conflict rehabilitation and reconciliation
As in other case examples from Lebanon and Mozambique, Save the Children's experience in Liberia illustrates the role of education in recovery after conflict for individual children and their communities.
School activities were intended to develop the former child soldiers' abilities to express themselves, to co-operate with one another and to socialise. They also sought to rebuild children's self-esteem through developing new skills and recognising their achievements. Learning practical skills, literacy and numeracy opened up the possibility for the children to take on new roles in civilian life. Activities in school also brought together the former soldiers with other children from the local community, enabling them to learn about each other's needs and to begin to work together to solve their problems.
Taking opportunities
Because of the responsive nature of the programme, it was possible to take advantage of opportunities that arose. As the programme in the transit centres developed, children from the outside community began to come into the centre to take advantage of the educational activities taking place there. This gave an opportunity for ex child combatants to mix with the local community, breaking down the barriers of fear and suspicion, and building up relationships of trust.
The extreme situation required urgent, flexible and creative responses. Children needed an effective education that responded to their immediate needs (e.g. dealing with their aggression and the trauma they had experienced) and to their long term needs (developing basic skills needed to secure opportunities in the future). International and local staff had to start from where the children were: this required child-centred approaches that were locally adapted.
Inclusive programming
This case study demonstrates the problems and contradictions of targetting programmes at an identified, vulnerable group. The original aim of the programme was to target ex-child soldiers, in the context of demobilisation; the subsequent inclusion of community children had not been planned, but was encouraged by the project initiators in the interests of reconciliation and reintegration.
In this situation, Save the Children faced a dilemma: how could they respond to the needs of ex child soldiers, in the interests both of their individual rights and of wider social stability, without being seen to reward those responsible for the atrocities of war? The enthusiasm of community children to join the programme reflected that they, as well as the ex child soldiers, were in desparate need of basic and catch up educational opportunities which were either unavailable or unaccessible through the formal school sector. In fact, it can be argued that had these children not been included, the existence of educational facilities for ex child soldiers in the centres might have further damaged relations between these young people and the wider community by building up resentment and envy.
With this dilemma in mind, it is also important to note that in this case, as in many others, donor funding was available specifically for the rehabilitation of child soldiers, and the inclusion of children from the wider community presented a potential problem in terms of accountability to the donors.
Sustainability
From the outset, the focus of the programme was on short-term interventions with demobilised youth, and sustainability was seen in terms of the long-term benefits of reintegration of ex child soldiers into the community and reunification with their families.13 Financial sustainability only became an issue as catch up education and the involvement of community children gained in importance within the overall programme.
The child-focused methods that were developed were both innovative and effective: they provided an opportunity to influence the curriculum and practice in the state sector. Save the Children looked at ways of working with the Ministry of Education to achieve this, but this was not seen as priority. This was largely because of the need to maintain neutrality and the chaotic state of the official education system: there were few structures within which to work. However, the catch-up curriculum was shared with and taken forward by other agencies working in Liberia. Additionally, the child-focused approaches developed in the programme will be used by practitioners in their future work.
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Editors' Conclusions · A flexible and responsive intervention in one area (reunifying ex-fighters with their families) led to innovations in others. The result here was a new way of responding to the educational needs of demobilised child soldiers and ultimately of reintegrating them into society. · The extreme situation of ex-child soldiers demonstrated particularly stark examples of the universal need for education to be responsive to children's background and needs. For example, a traditional approach to education would have no way to cope with children whose attention span is 3 minutes. · Significant similarities in educational problems faced both ex-soldiers and civilian children - such as displacement, trauma, collapse of the school system. This made possible an integrated approach to educating ex-fighters alongside children from the community, which in turn helped the re-integration process. · The catch-up approach to education responded well to the needs of displaced non-combattant children, particularly where their only other option would be sitting in class with much younger children. However, little attention was paid to the problems that this created: local children came to depend on a school that had only been intended to run short-term. · There was always a tension between maintaining neutrality (and hence limiting partnership with the government) and seeking to ensure complementarity between catch-up education and the formal education system. · The experience of providing catch-up education enabled Save the Children later to work in partnership with the Ministry of Education, to develop an “Enrichment Curriculum” to bridge the gap experienced by all children who had missed out on classes through war. · Successes remain vulnerable to
further conflict. |
1 Save the Children 1999. 'Liberia Emergency Update Five'. Internal report, Save the Children
2 See also for example Selleck, P, 1998. Impact of Conflict on Children in Afghanistan. Save the Children Alliance & UNICEF, Afghanistan
3 Colenso, P, 1998. 'Liberia: the role of basic education in rehabilitation, reintegration and reconciliation in a post-conflict situation'. Internal report, Save the Children, Liberia
4 Save the Children 1999
5 Schembri, G, 1997. 'Liberia's ex child Fighters - a narrative account of the work of Save the Children in Liberia'. Internal report, Save the Children
6 UNICEF 1999. State of the World's Children. London
7 Allen, R., Colenso, P, 1998. 'Review of the educational component of Save the Children programme with ex-child combatants in Liberia'. Internal report, Save the Children
8 Schembri 1997
9 Allen and Colenso 1998
10 Schembri 1997
11 Allen and Colenso 1998; also for examples in boxes 3 and 4
12 Allen, R, undated. 'A news organ developed with the centre children'. Internal report. Save the Children, Liberia
13 Even in this respect it is difficult to be sure how long term are the effects. In early 1999 when the war had broken out again, one of the ex-patriate researchers for this case study was caught up in fighting and taken hostage by a group of militia. Among them was one of the young men who had been at Virginia camp at the time of the programme review on which this case study is based. When asked why he had returned to a life of violence, he responded simply that 'I am accepted here.
analysis: Roy Trivedi, Joao Jussar, Victoria Roque, Stephen Rodber
writing: Roy Trivedi
editor: Bridget Crumpton
contributors: Kimberly Ogadhoh, Anna Fonseca, Andrew Timpson, Jane Gibreel
What are the problems for children?
Changes in Government and Education Policy
After some 16 years of war, changing world events allowed Mozambique to find peace in 1992. A classic pawn country in the cold war struggle and critical “frontline” state with South Africa, the end of the fighting left a devastated infrastructure, a huge unsettled population and critical skills s hortages in almost every walk of life. In terms of GDP per capita, Mozambique is the poorest country in Southern Africa (GDP/capita US$ 100 per year) with 60% of the population currently living below the absolute poverty line.
The Government elected in 1993 was led by Frelimo, who held the Presidency and a parliamentary majority. Frelimo quickly had to learn to replace its Marxist doctrines with those appropriate to the country's perilous state within the world's new socio-political arena. Big donor influence ushered in structural adjustment and decentralisation, while the free market economy gradually gained ground under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In terms of capacity and priorities, almost 20 years on since independence Mozambique found itself in a very similar position: limited capacity on the part of government and an urgent need for rebuilding both infrastructure and essential services.
A legacy of the civil war is that advances made in education provision during the 80s have largely been eroded. The expanded state primary education system has contracted due in part to heavy depopulation of rural areas but also to the targeting for attack of schools and teachers as sole representatives of the government in rural areas. Not surprisingly primary enrolment plummeted from around 75% to 40% between 1981 and 1992 and the education system continues to be dominated by serious problems of access and quality, and lack of human and material resources:
· less than 2% of children of school-going age complete 8 grades of schooling· spending on teaching and learning materials amounts to less than US$1 per student per year and there is a critical shortage of basic text books
· teacher morale is low due to heavy workloads, poor working conditions and low and erratic salary payments
· the language of instruction remains Portuguese, the language of the elite and inaccessible to most of children.
Throughout the war years, opportunities for international agencies to support the government were limited. With peace came the priority to rehabilitate the country both to rebuild after the destruction and to provide communities with tangible evidence of improved political stability. Additional resources were urgently required to boost the government's limited capacity and international agencies were encouraged to work in partnership with the government to fill the gap and speed up the process. In education there was a major drive to rebuild and equip schools as communities began to return home and rebuild their lives. The government launched a national programme of school construction and furnishing as the focus for international assistance to the education sector. Initially there was minimal co-ordination of donor inputs but as government capacity has expanded there has been a shift in approach reflected in new initiatives for co-ordination.
Trends in Donor Policy
After the 1993 elections, donors and international NGOs had an almost free rein in the move to rebuild the physical infrastructure of essential services and the economy. The country became inundated with new organisations, all developing their own strategies for presentation to Mozambican partners. This gave rise to a number of problems common to other countries where donors make a substantial contribution to the national budget. On the one hand government setting of national priorities, such as the school construction programme, influenced the approaches and nature of support open to international agencies. However, on the other, these agencies, in particular the larger multi and bi-laterals, were able to increase their influence in the country in relation to their level of input and policy priorities. A further issue was fluidity of government policies. As a new government in the process of establishing itself, changes in government policy and priorities have been common, requiring constant review and flexibility in planning on the part of donors and International NGOs. In addition, where multi and bi-lateral donors and International NGOs have the government as a common partner, there is a tendency for confusion over the differences between how the players operate and what they can offer as development support.
Since late 1997, there have been moves to improve this situation as both the government of Mozambique and donors have given priority to making a reality of “better co-ordination”. The result has been the promotion of “sector wide approaches to programming” (SWAPS). Through 1999, these are to be tried in three sectors: education, health, agriculture and fisheries. The aim of the SWAPS is to channel the bulk of donor funding to the government at central level who will have responsibility for allocating funding to priorities in line with a national plan.
While the new approach is expected to bring many benefits, not least ensuring that International NGOs work within national priorities, there are also some risks. Perhaps the most notable is the need to ensure that the priorities of Mozambican civil society and the bulk of ordinary citizens are not overlooked as a result of a process that over-emphasises the role of the state in development. The new approach also has major implications for the funding of International NGOs who currently access funding from donors. Under the SWAP initiative, there is likely to be less direct International NGO funding in future from donors and International NGOs will be placed in the challenging position of having to work with government to create new mechanisms for International NGO funding that draw directly from government funding channels3.
The response
The early Save the Children programme and approach
Save the Children has been working in Zambezia Province, the country's most populous region, since the 1980s. The province is one of the most fertile and agriculturally productive in the country but suffers from poor infrastructure and limited access to basic services. It has a predominantly young population and yet only approximately 30% of children of school going age attend school and of these only 30% complete the seven grades of primary education4.
Concentrating primarily on the health sector, Save the Children followed the traditional working style of the organisation throughout most of Africa: the provision of technical assistance to strengthen government capacity. Working with the Ministry of Health provided inroads to other ministries and in 1988, Save the Children started to support education activities at the request of the Provincial Directorate of Education. Initial involvement included distribution of teaching materials to schools which continued to function during the war, support to a programme of pre-school construction and equipment, and after peace was established, a new focus on special education and programmes for traumatised children.
As Save the Children diversified its activities, it began to review its working approach. During the period 1988-94, it was difficult for Save the Children to develop a clear strategy, partly because of the limited areas of work open to NGOs, but also because of the changing policies and priorities of government. The immediate post war dynamism in national reconstruction brought new opportunities for working with government which
Save the Children was well placed to explore on the basis of the relations and commitment to Zambezia Province established during the war period. Despite the rapidly changing environment in the post war years (1994 - 1998), Save the Children was able to initiate a process of internal prioritisation, giving a more strategic shape to its work in Mozambique.
The evolving Save the Children programme and approach
Alongside other agencies, Save the Children joined the national school construction programme, concentrating its efforts in Zambezia Province where over 75% of schools had been either completely or partially destroyed. Strategically it viewed this as an opportunity to strengthen relations with provincial education officials, to develop relations with local communities and to promote dialogue between the two.
At the end of 1994, Save the Children established two sub-offices in Morrumbala and Mopeia districts, both of which suffered total infrastructural destruction and years of war waged largely on civilians. The aim was to increase Save the Children involvement at community level and enable the organisation to improve its understanding of the major issues affecting children's lives. It was a difficult time to start “community development” programmes, on one hand because communities themselves were in flux and there was considerable community distrust of external agencies, on the other because all contacts with communities were to be established through government channels and there were high expectations that government would provide for basic services and reconstruction. During this period, the government was keen to collaborate with international agencies as a means of building up its own capacity and being seen to deliver services to communities. By 1998, it was possible to talk of a shift in the way both governments and communities perceived their roles, brought on by a more realistic understanding of the practical constraints on government and recognition of the potential of communities to complement the efforts of government and assume greater responsibility and initiative for improving their lives.
Recognising this shift in attitudes, Save the Children involved both district education officials and community leaders in participatory assessment processes to determine what communities perceived as priorities and to promote new mechanisms for interaction and learning between the two groups. Education featured high on the list of the community as a whole and as the top priority for children. Most communities wanted children and young people to gain access to either a formal education or other learning opportunities and considered provision to be the responsibility of the government5.
Through further discussion with communities and government partners a way forward was agreed:
· to concentrate on school construction and the creation of school committees to build links with and between children, communities and education officials and strengthen local structures· to support teacher training and introduce more child-centred learning methods
· to use these initiatives as an entry point for further education and development activities such as addressing the issue of education for girls
Taken together, this would help achieve the overall goal of improving both the quality of and access to education for disadvantaged groups and enable children to achieve their basic rights to education and personal development.
The schools construction programme and creation of school committees
This programme, through its sheer visual impact, has provided an important message of permanence and investment in the future. Between 1994-98, Save the Children rehabilitated or constructed a total of 32 schools with 71 classrooms in Mopeia and Morrumbala districts. Running a double shift system, these schools have significantly increased access to schooling in the area.
Although school construction is in itself a standard international NGO activity, in Mozambique Save the Children has been able to use it as a focus for getting government officials and communities to work in collaboration. Prior to Save the Children's involvement in the project, only private companies on government contract were allowed to build schools. Once Save the Children had built up the trust of the official civil construction department and education officials, it sought to involve communities in the construction of schools in their area through the creation of school construction committees. Through this mechanism, communities started to have a greater say in how, where and who would build the schools and to take an active role in construction which led the authorities to recognise that communities can build conventionally constructed schools to a satisfactory standard. A practical spin off of community involvement in the construction of local schools is that communities tend to have a greater sense of ownership and participation in the subsequent running of the school. A drawback of this approach by which Save the Children provided payment for construction materials and work was that it created the impression that Save the Children had substantial funds available for infrastructure improvements.
On completion of the buildings, the construction committees have given way to school committees comprised of teachers, parents and local leaders. In most instances, these have started to meet regularly and to participate actively in the life of the school. Members act as the interface between parents, mediating in teacher's disputes and encouraging children to go to school. They are also beginning to solve problems that arise in relation to schooling and to recognise that they too have a responsibility for education provision. An example was observed by an Save the Children consultant who visited one of the education committees:
'The school opened this year. They face a lot of practical problems, but during meetings they find solutions to them. There is a group of children who live at the other side of the river. Normally they can cross the river, but during the floods in the rainy season, they do not come to school from January to April. The parents suggested two possible solutions: either to build a dormitory and let the children stay there during the rainy season, or to build an annex to the school on the other side of the river. Because it will be difficult to secure the dormitory, they think the best solution is that a teacher moves to the other side and that the parents there build a classroom annex6.'
Over time these committees have also provided a forum where school and increasingly other community issues can be discussed. The initiatives that have derived from this are covered under the next section.
Improving teacher training
The construction programme was complemented by a continuous programme of teacher training seminars at district level. This was developed to tackle the critical issue of what goes on in the new classrooms and how to improve teaching methods which are based on learning by rote and give little regard to what pupils actually learn and understand. The training component has concentrated on: up-grading teachers organisational and classroom skills; lesson planning and development; introducing a child-centred approach to teaching, enhancing teacher awareness of the needs of individuals and special needs groups.
A limitation of this approach is that the training programme was carried out by provincial education directorate trainers and followed the official syllabus. However, there was flexibility within it for Save the Children to incorporate topics relating to child rights focus. These have included sessions on child rights, gender, disability and HIV/AIDS and have provided valuable opportunities for breaking down adult assumptions and improving responsiveness to children's realities. The emphasis on gender stems from the fact that girls are less likely to enter and persist in school at all levels of the education system but that this disadvantage is reinforced in the early years (44% of children enrolling in primary grade one are girls of which only 39% complete to grade five nationally, falling to 37% in Zambezia7. The training sessions form part of a strategy to increase numbers of girl pupils and women teachers, and have been planned based on the reasons given by parents for the high drop out of girls, i.e. threat of sexual advances by boys and teachers, importance of their contribution to household and agriculture duties.
The approach to the HIV/AIDS issue provides a good illustration of the role an external agency can play in stimulating discussion and awareness of “tough” issues. Save the Children's initial attempts to raise the issue of HIV/Aids, especially in relation to children, were met with some resistance by provincial and district directorates. Sex education in government schools is a sensitive issue; it is not part of the primary school syllabus and adults generally believe that children are not sufficiently mature to understand or engage in sexual activity. However Save the Children staff felt this approach was not realistic given that most pupils in grades four and five are between thirteen and sixteen years of age and some may be starting to be sexually active. Through negotiation, it was agreed that Save the Children would initially introduce HIV/AIDS issues through a teacher training seminar, and then link this to sessions in selected schools and communities. Once children were involved in the discussion it became clear that they were aware of the issues and would benefit from greater understanding. In conversation with children during HIV/AIDS training sessions, children openly said they had witnessed family/friends die in the refugee camps from AIDS-related illnesses and knew that transmission was sexual. Subsequent research into HIV/AIDS corroborated the observation that sexual activity starts at an early age, particularly for girls, and also found that while rates of increase are high, levels of knowledge about HIV/AIDS are generally low8. A positive outcome was that Save the Children was encouraged to organise additional seminars for local government in the district capitals and HIV/AIDS and other wider issues such as gender and disability became formalised within the teacher training seminars of both districts. The exposure of children, teachers and communities to these issues led to a gradual extension of interest in the issues and requests for additional training have increased through the school committees.
Since Save the Children's initial involvement in teacher training, the Institute for Primary Teacher Training in Quelimane (IMAP) has been strengthened and now represents the best hope of improving the quality of teaching in Northern Mozambique. As a key partner within the department of primary education for teacher training projects, Save the Children is developing close collaborative links with IMAP on shared work priorities such as girl's education. This form of partnership is considered the most appropriate to ensure that NGO initiatives to work with primary age children are co-ordinated with developments in the state system and achieve maximum impact. There is however a long way to go before improvements in teaching style are reflected in the classroom and make a tangible impact to the quality of education on offer. Recent research into classroom teaching practices concludes that:
'...teaching in Mozambican primary schools is characterised by little...pupil participation in verbal exchanges or other classroom activities (the average probability is that an individual pupil will speak once every second day, most probably consisting of ready made sentences repeating the teacher or textbook, and will read aloud in the classroom on average for less than 1 minute, once in three weeks). If listening to the teacher is the dominant pupil activities, then the next one in importance is waiting.... the third is copying. The results confirm that teaching normally is routinized and demands a predominantly passive or reproductive participation by the pupils9.'
Improving co-ordination
From 1995 onwards, Save the Children became increasingly aware of the need for better co-ordination amongst the growing number of organisations working in the education sector. Discussions on the advantages of creating a provincial education forum under the aegis of the Provincial Director of Education have started to bring fruit.
Decentralisation is bringing some strong players to the Provincial Directorate of Education in Zambezia (DPEZ) although budgets remain wedge-shaped with the fat end at the central level. The further one moves along the chain, the more critical the situation becomes, until you reach the extreme situation of a teacher in rural primary school fresh from secondary school with no training and no materials, nowhere to live and no payment for three months. These constraints are now widely recognised at senior levels and the Provincial five year strategy does not make light of the grave situation which gives rise to optimism for the future.
In December 1998, the Provincial Director convened a first meeting of the key players in education in Zambezia to present the draft strategy. Participants were drawn from officials from the DPEZ, including heads and teachers from schools in Quelimane, the Provincial Director of Plans and Finance, heads of three private schools in Quelimane, representatives of UNICEF, Ibis, ActionAid, Oxfam and Save the Children. The document was presented as a draft for discussion and working groups discussed key issues that were fed back in plenary. Under these new conditions, working with a government that is taking important steps to improve collaboration and co-ordination offers new scope for future partnership. How much is down to policy and how much down to the flair of the individual Director remains to be seen. Moreover to what extent this “new” approach will result in practical and tangible benefits for Zambezia's children will be a key test10.
Challenges for the future
Mozambique is at a critical point in its development. Within the constraints of poverty, post conflict devastation, corruption and limited skills base, the government is proactively looking at how best to engage with the international community and use external assistance to the best advantage of the development of the country. After a period of relative free-for-all which allowed donors considerable space to set the development agenda, the government is working towards exerting their sovereignty by establishing a national development plan and co-ordinating international organisations to work within this. This presents a challenge for both government and external organisations. Will government have the human resources and systems to implement the process of co-ordination? Will international organisations have the flexibility to work within a national plan and put aside their own internal processes of prioritisation and implementation?
It raises particular challenges for international NGOs like Save the Children. If they are to remain government partners alongside major donors, how will government perceive their distinctive contribution, in the case of Save the Children their child rights focus, in relation to a comparatively low financial input? How will NGOs be able to relate to and reflect the views of civil society if government comes to dominate development actions? A further challenge is how NGOs are to secure funding if they come to be perceived as competitors with government for funds under the new SWAP initiatives.
In facing these challenges, Save the Children drawing on lessons from its experience in the education sector and over the last couple of years has undertaken an extensive review of the effectiveness of its approach and strategies in Mozambique11. This confirmed that Save the Children was slow to move from a more traditional style of support to government and seek out complementary opportunities for working with communities and playing a linking role between different levels of government and the communities they serve. For Save the Children to make a more significant contribution in education, it identified the need to develop a longer-term strategy and greater prioritisation of its inputs to improve the quality of education which remains the dominant problem as access is extending12. Within the framework of the national policy context, Save the Children has consolidated its education programme and, as multi and bilateral donors have started to focus on school construction, is taking a more active role in promoting dialogue between communities and education officials.
SCF is now actively exploring ways of contributing to improvements in the quality of education by helping service providers, institutions and official structures involved in education provision to acquire a better understanding of the conditions of children's lives and adapt education programmes accordingly. This is being achieved in various ways:
· strengthening planning mechanisms within the Provincial Directorate of Education and at district levels· improving co-ordination between the Provincial Education Department and agencies involved in supporting work on education in the province
· strengthening the school committees and links between schools, local communities and education officials
· strengthening teacher training through IMAP and other key partners with an emphasis on increasing understanding about children's rights
· undertaking micro research to provide education providers with more detailed information about issues of specific interest e.g. the work schedules, priorities and aspirations of girls and boys, why proportionately less girls attend school than boys etc.
As an international NGO that is working increasingly with government and communities, Save the Children has identified three ways in which it believes it can make a distinctive contribution:
· Play an active role in strengthening emerging co-ordination processes and provide a conduit for information exchange between officials working at the central, provincial and district levels and between officials, local communities and school users.· Build appropriate advocacy strategies on the basis of its practical programming experience. For example the work on promoting girls' education has been supported by a range of interventions with communities, teachers and district and provincial education departments and offers scope for more systematic and concerted advocacy initiatives.
· Promote exposure to external education experiences and current thinking on education and methods. This is especially important for a country that, through conflict, has been relatively isolated from the outside world and new developments. This exposure needs to extend to all level of stakeholders, from Save the Children's own staff to government officials and communities. Save the Children can build on its experience and connections in other countries to arrange exchange visits, secondments, trainings and other forms of learning that offer opportunities for gainingrelevant practical knowledge from other contexts. In addition, Save the Children have recently appointed a regional education advisor (based initially in Mozambique) who will travel between programmes in the region with a remit to maximise learning and training around existing education activities in the Southern African region. Other initiatives will include documenting learning which can be shared more widely in country and externally, and developing closer links with other organisations involved in supporting the education sector.
What has been learnt?
The Mozambique case study highlights a number of important points about how an International NGO can work with government and how its working style can evolve in relation to internal and external changes to achieve improvements in the responsiveness of education to children's realities.
Working with government: the importance of commitment and trust
Relations of trust can only be developed over time and are essential in developing meaningful partnership. Evidence of long-term commitment therefore becomes a key factor in building up trust especially in conditions of conflict. Save the Children's initial programme of technical support to provincial government in the health sector continued and diversified during the war years. This involvement provided a sound basis for Save the Children to extend its activities into the education sector, take an active role in reconstruction programmes and initiate dialogue with different levels of education officials on the benefits of involving community and children in the design and delivery of education
Support to government programmes as a catalyst for promoting community participation
Through support to the national programme of school construction, Save the Children was able to utilise the opportunity to explore ways of promoting wider community involvement in the programme and encouraging government officials to recognise the value of community and child involvement in making education provision more responsive to their needs.
On-going review of the national policy environment and adapting working strategies
In common with other post-conflict situations, the initial period of rehabilitation and reconstruction in Mozambique was characterised by regular changes in national policy as the government established itself and its development priorities. To be an effective partner in the education sector, Save the Children needed to monitor and review policies, identifying the constraints and opportunities which they offered and to assume a flexible and responsive approach in relation to its strategies for supporting the role of government and communities in education provision. A key lesson for Save the Children in analysing its experience in Mozambique is that the context in which programmes are implemented has a huge influence in the nature and type of programming choices available. Equally, the kinds of “internal choices” that organisations make about the programmes they wish to support are at least as important in determining the impact and effectiveness of a programme. In reviewing its contribution to the education sector over a ten year period, Save the Children has identified the importance of looking not only at what it has chosen to support, but, in making that choice, reflecting on what it has chosen not to do.
Making links between users and providers
In the future Save the Children plans to concentrate its efforts more actively in this area. Initial experience in promoting information exchange, dialogue and understanding between different levels of government and between government and communities and children has demonstrated scope for strengthening these connections to help make education services more responsive to children's realities.
The working style of an international NGO
Save the Children's experience in Mozambique highlights the importance of flexibility in programming in order to be aware of the changing context, and to identify and support the actors that are best placed to improve education provision.
Building on its existing programme, Save the Children worked closely with national and local government in order to strengthen its capacity to provide basic education through financial support and the development of human resources. It facilitated links between government and community in order to identify educational needs and review roles and responsibilities in provision. As opportunities have arisen, Save the Children has experimented with ways of encouraging greater participation of community and children in this process.
Through its involvement in training programmes Save the Children has had a catalytic role in introducing child centred methodologies in order to improve the quality of basic education. At the same time, it has been possible to ensure the inclusion and tackling of other priority issues identified by Save the Children, including HIV/AIDS education, access of girls to education, disability awareness and responsiveness to special needs.
Save the Children's role as an international NGO has been important in the process of supporting improved education provision in post-war Mozambique, allowing it to draw on broad educational experience in different contexts, introducing methods such as participatory working approaches, and promoting connections and information sharing nationally and internationally, between government, community, donors and similar programmes in other countries.
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Editors' Conclusions · The case study empasises the dangers of an outside agency prioritising partnership with government in the absence of a clear independent strategy. · A costly school-building programme was undertaken, but with little impact on quality; this contrasts with the low-cost, high-impact innovations demonstrated in other contexts (such as in the Ethiopia case). · Despite limited impact (covering 32 schools in two districts over five years), this approach raised expectations among local communities that the agency could not meet on an ongoing basis. · However, the ownership of the schools-building programme by the school construction committees was a strong basis for later community participation in running schools, through school committees of teachers, parents and community leaders. · Although teacher training has been identified as a priority to improve teaching quality, impact has so far been elusive with persistent traditional patterns of children being expected to listen, wait and copy. · Learning from this, Save the Children has now developed clearer priorities to facilitate the authorities' understanding of the conditions of children's lives, and to adapt education programmes in response. This role will include strengthening planning and co-ordination, supporting school committees and information exchanges, as well as further investment in teacher training and research linked to advocacy. · The government's new national
education plans emphasise the role of the state. It will be important to balance
this with advocacy to strengthen the role of communities in running their own
schools. |
The primary source for the case study is: Trivedi, R, 1998. 'Building Linkages between Peoples and Systems - Lessons from Save the Children's support for education work in Mozambique'. Internal paper, Save the Children
1 Economist, October 3 1998
2 Graham-Brown, S, 1996. Education in the developing world - conflict and crisis, Longman, London and New York
3 Rodber, S, Trivedy, R, 1999. 'Background Note on Working with Government in the Education Sector in Mozambique'. Internal Paper, Save the Children
4 Johannessen, E, 1998. 'Mais Escolas e Melhores Para Todos,' (More and Better Schools for All). Internal report, Save the Children
5 Owen, D., B, Pijenburg, 1998. 'Report on Participatory Rural Appraisals in Mocha, Cocorico, Cumbabo and Calico, Morrumbala and Mopeia Districts, Zambezia'. Internal Report, Save the Children
6 Johannessen, 1998
7 Government of Mozambique, 1997. Source Piano Estrategico No Sector Da Educacao 1997-2001. Combater A Exclusao Renovar A Escola, (Strategic Plan for the Education Sector. Fighting Exclusion, Renovating Schools). Government of Mozambique
8 Griffith, S, 1998. 'HIV and AIDS in Mozambique'. Internal report, Save the Children
9 Palme, M, 1995. Being Respected but Teaching Hieroglyphs: Addressing the Question of the Primary School Teacher, School Culture and Local Community in Rural Mozambique. Stockholm Institute of Education, Sweden.
10 Rodber and Trivedy, 1999
11 Johannessen, 1998
12 Johannessen, 1998
