In a tremendous initiative, the Flemingo Foundation hosted 2,200 Sri Lankan children in its ‘Educate to Protect’ CSR Programme on October 1, 2014.

 

This was timed to coincide with the global celebrations on Universal Children’s Day as the Flemingo Foundation – WE CARE! teamed up with its partners Inner Wheel District 322 of Sri Lanka to hold a  special session of its joint CSR children’s rights humanitarian and educational programme – ‘Educate to Protect’.

 

This campaigns vigorously against ‘silent abuse’ of children in Sri Lanka.

 

Sri Lankan school children were invited to attend The Minuwangoda Province Community Town Hall, along with 40 Educators and School Counsels of the province. They were joined by top ranking Sri Lankan officials and representatives of the Chief Minister Western Province Governorates, the Sri Lankan Police Force, Members of Parliament and the National Child Protection Authority.

 

These bodies highlighted the success and achievement of the programme over the last 12 months and its success in reaching out to more than 17,000 children and 4,000 educators and parents in helping them both recognize and fight against all types of child abuse in Sri Lanka.

 

According to a Representative of Chief Minister of Western Province Governorates, “the impact and value of the Educate to Protect programme on the Sri Lankan community has made it a worthy national cause and an essential mission for every Sri Lankan to ensure a happier future is secured for the children of Sri Lanka.”

 

ANOTHER 10,000 KIDS WILL BENEFIT

Addressing the assembly of school children and high-ranking Sri Lankan officials, Flemingo Foundation Chairman Paul Topping said the ‘Educate to Protect’ programme plans to reach out tor an additional 10,000 children if not more in the upcoming academic year, bringing the total number touched by the initiative to at least 30,000 school children if not more.

 

He also added that he intends to travel with the Educate to Protect’ programme’s mission to more remote and under privileged areas in Sri Lanka.

 

 

TEACHING KIDS HOW TO RECOGNISE ABUSE

The programme has been successfully coordinated with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Provincial Education, The National Child Protection Authority, and The Police Department, who offer their best professional trainers to bring greater awareness to every child they can on how they can recognize, react and report against any form of abuse.

 

They are also made very aware of the widely-publicized ‘1929’ Emergency Call Number, enabling every child to have the voice and the right to seek professional help and assistance from The Woman & Child Protection Bureau.

 

The Flemingo Foundation also held a book launch ceremony at the October 1, featuring two police guideline books on child protection. These two books; one for children and the other for adults have been written specially by the Officer In-Charge of Public Relations and Training Attaché to ‘The Women and Child Protection Bureau of Sri Lanka’.

 

This Bureau was funded by the Educate to Protect programme, to ensure post awareness sessions’ sustainability by making the teachings and guidelines readily available at every school visited within easy reach of all school children, as well as their parents and educators.

 

 

TEACHING KIDS HOW TO REPORT ABUSE

Topping said the Foundation is also determined to focus on its main goal of providing a strong voice to ‘voiceless abused children’, to help the Sri Lankan nation stamp out silent abuse and crucially enable innocent children to meet the challenges of the future, with hearts full of  ‘faith’ and hope in the knowledge that their future happiness really does matter.

 

Meanwhile, Flemingo says it is also currently directly the funding of two further CSR projects with SOS Children Villages in two different countries; one is ‘Project Aspire’ in Chennai, India benefiting 25 children aged between four and six and another is ‘Project Upgrade Learning’ in Nairobi, Kenya, which is benefiting 200 young people aged between fifteen and seventeen with their academic and vocational training.

 

Flemingo says that its CSR initiatives may also extend further to other tailor-made educational CSR projects in future having already started in the port city of Tangiers, Morocco.

 

[The Flemingo Foundation – WE CARE! is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the Flemingo Group. Paul Topping is Flemingo International’s Director and Board Member].