OBJECTIVE:
To rehabilitate child labour, empower them to be aware of their rights, and provide education.
PROBLEMS:
Financial problems, lack of Confidence, leadership qualities, and education.
ACTIVITIES:
- Educational supply and free tuition
- Leadership training and motivational classes
- Children Parliament and Summer Camps
CHILDREN’S PARLIAMENT:
The BIRDS Children’s Development Program has observed through time that children themselves mostly get the chance to express their ideas, thoughts, ambitions, likes, dislikes, and opinions on the matters they think are essential to their personal development. The growth of children’s health, education, and capacity for independent decision-making have been affected by a lack of communication between adults and children as well as a lack of acceptance of children in the decision-making process.
The concept of the Children’s Parliaments was developed by the Children’s Development Program to reduce this lack of participation. Children from a certain village, community, and school formed the Children’s Parliament to participate in activities, study, and communicate their interests and opinions to the school’s decision-makers. This ensures that children, who continue to be the focus of all our programs, have an interest in decisions that directly impact them. The following education and training opportunities are provided to a Children’s Parliament, which also participates in:
- Equipping children with the basic concepts of the Children’s Parliament.
- Providing life skills education.
- Equipping children with the knowledge to maintain the sustainability of the Children’s Parliament.
- Teaching children about child rights.
- Undertaking activities that focus on the children’s health and education.
Teaching children the art of negotiation and group decision-making. If some fundamental requirements are met, they could possibly provide significant opportunities for children’s participation. They are primarily an effective civic education tool for educating young people about parliamentary functioning. These consist of:
SELECTION:
Processes must be in place to make sure that child parliamentarians are selected in a way that ensures their representation among their peers, such as through competitive school elections.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
Approaches must be in place to ensure that children serving as legislative bodies are accountable to their voters.
INTERACTION WITH PARLIAMENTS:
There must be a clear strategy for child parliament decisions to influence the parliamentary process.
