OUR APPROACH

OUR AREAS OF INTERVENTION

Background:

  • Globally, more than 175 million preschool-aged children* (3 to 5 years old) do not receive any form of education;
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this problem: more than 126 million children**, from preschool through to secondary school, are no longer enrolled in education.

To respond to these concerns, Asmae’s objectives are multiple:

  • To offer children a stable environment in order to create the necessary conditions for their development, learning, and socialisation;
  • To support actions of prevention of violence against children and actions related to hygiene, primary health care, and nutrition;
  • To support parenting through experience sharing and assisting parents in order to promote their child’s development;
  • To assist its partners with facilitating access to key education for children aged 3 to 6 years old.
*UNICEF, 2019 //  **UNESCO, 2021

Background:

  • 15% of the global population suffers from a disability, including 93 to 150 million children*;
  • 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries are not enrolled in school**;
  • There are many difficulties associated with disabilities which are linked to a lack of societal involvement: poorly accessible infrastructure, insufficiently trained staff, negative perceptions of disabilities, difficult schooling, etc.

Asmae proposes to:

  • Offer support to the child, but also to his/her family. This includes strengthening the abilities of local players who are involved in this area and supporting access to suitable, good-quality education;
  • Fight for change in the way disability is viewed by raising awareness and carrying out advocacy actions in local communities.
*OMS, 2019 // **UNESCO, 2015

Background:

  • 53% of children from low-income countries cannot read properly by the age of 10*;
  • In 2018, more than 258 million children, adolescents and young people did not have access to education globally**;
  • The most affected children are those living in rural areas, girls, children with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and children from poor families.

Asmae’s aim is to improve the quality of school education through:

  • Training teaching staff; 
  • Developing innovative teaching methods; 
  • Parental involvement; 
  • Infrastructure rehabilitation;
  • Funding school fees or school equipment.
*WorldBank, 2019 // **UNICEF, 2019

Background:

  • In 2019, adolescents represented around 16% of the global population, or more than 1.2 billion people worldwide*;
  • 200 million adolescents and young people of secondary school age (12-14 years for lower, 15-17 years for upper secondary education) are not enrolled in school worldwide*;
  • Adolescence often exposes young people to many risks: dropping out of school, difficulty in finding employment, child marriages, premature pregnancy and parenthood, etc.

Asmae’s objectives in this area are:

  • To promote the personal and professional development of adolescents;
  • To prevent the risks associated with this age;
  • To support adolescents in the development of life skills such as problem solving, communication, and creativity;
  • To educate their peers on the risks of violence and harmful practices;
  • To work with parents, communities, and charities.
*UNICEF (2019)

Background:

  • Globally, 1 in 2 children* is a victim of physical, sexual, or psychological violence that can lead to trauma, disability, or death;
  • A child in danger lives in conditions which are harmful to their health, safety and education or their physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development.

Asmae’s objectives are:

  • To help with the implementation and upholding of a safe environment, the reduction of dangerous factors, and the recovery of affected children’s identities; 
  • To support the establishment of professional networks, the strengthening of local teams’ skills, and the implementation of child protection policies;
  • To concurrently carry out positive parenting sessions to encourage empathy and the respect of children’s needs in communication within families.
*2020 Progress Report on the Prevention of Violence Against Children – UN, WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO

KEY FIGURES

41

years of action

31 850

beneficiaries in 2020

6

countries of intervention

34

partner charities

OUR APPROACHES

GENDER

Gender is an essential approach in development projects, both from a conceptual point of view (respect of human rights) and from an operational point of view to ensure the efficiency of interventions. This concern reflects the values espoused by Sister Emmanuelle and Asmae; it follows their ideal of justice, non-discrimination, and respect.

A study on gender consideration was conducted on three projects in Burkina Faso, Lebanon, and the Philippines from 2019-2020 (with the support of F3E and the French Development Agency). The study’s conclusions show the need for Asmae to reinforce gender consideration on three levels:

  • Institutional, using tools to create a framework for gender to be integrated into interventions;
  • For partnerships, with a process of ability and skill strengthening on the subject;
  • Operational, within projects implemented by partners, with the support of Asmae’s teams.

The promotion of gender equality is also integrated into new projects and partnerships in a more systematic way. In France, for example at Chrysalide, we welcome women who have a history of vagrancy or have experienced sexual violence or abandonment in their childhood. Because by protecting mothers, we protect children. On an international level, the Cap Jeunesse project, launched in January 2021, also helps combat gender-based violence against young people. Child protection players are trained by Asmae to integrate gender into their care work. This project also aims to develop young people’s capacity to take action in order to put an end to violence in schools, at home, and in their communities.

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

The Child Rights-Based Approach (CRBA) is based on the need to implement human rights and more specifically those of children according to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (ICRC). It addresses the root causes of rights violations and brings about changes in policies and practices in order to sustainably improve lives.

Asmae implements this approach through various activities:

  • Establishing an inventory of practices among its field teams in order to optimise their efficiency in the realisation of children’s rights;
  • Developing an action plan over the next 3 years based on diagnoses, allowing the application of CRBA following its own model. In fact, Asmae not only conforms to human rights principles, but also to the four guiding principles of the ICRC: non-discrimination; the child’s right to life, survival, and development; the best interests of the child and the right to participation;
  • Active participation in collective reflection groups, raising awareness and carrying out advocacy work in order to promote the CRBA through the Groupe Enfance network, of which Asmae is an active member.

The child’s rights-based approach is also integrated into new projects and partnerships. In the Philippines, Asmae’s teams are training young activity leaders on children’s rights and how to educate their peers. In France, the team involved with the project “Yalla! For children’s rights” gives children the necessary tools to allow them to know and understand their rights.

YOUTH & PARTICIPATION

The majority of Asmae’s projects have so far been aimed at children aged 3 to 12 years. However, our partners working with young people have identified strong needs for this age group. Asmae has thus decided to place its intervention in an educational continuum and to promote the participation and emancipation of young people.

For Asmae and its partners, investing in youth requires:

  • Exploring young people’s place in our societies and the major role they must play in the evolution of the societies in which they live;
  • Considering which position is to be adopted to ensure young people become true protagonists in society; 
  • Proposing strong actions in favour of participation and citizenship.

To achieve this, Asmae has committed to enriching the subject of “adolescence support” and to anchoring its position by:

  • Integrating a new section on the professional integration of young people;
  • Participating in networks invested in young people;
  • Conducting a study on youth.

It has also committed to systematically integrate youth participation within its projects by:

  • Defining a “youth participation plan” that can be used within each project;
  • Integrating within projects a specific objective around the strengthening of young people’s abilities.

OUR NETWORKS

Asmae is part of various networks of organisations, in order to collectively carry out joint actions of development support or direct assistance to disadvantaged populations. This also allows us to conduct advocacy actions with political decision-makers at an international, national, or local level. Asmae’s involvement in these collectives results in both the sharing of resources and experiences, and in mobilisations intended to assert human rights in the world, specifically those of children.

To learn more, visit this page.