Many of the programmes go even a step further, working with people to understand and challenge the complex social, political and economic factors that underpin their situation. In Angola this has meant accompanying pastoral groups in the process of advocating for changes in the allocation of land. In Tanzania and Uganda this has involved supporting disenfranchised women and children with AIDS, to challenge traditional systems that disinherit them in favour of their male relatives. In Mali and Burkina Faso this has meant supporting communities to develop the skills and confidence they need to participate in the political arena. In Uganda it has involved establishing dialogue on relationships of power and the consequences of action and inaction in conflict situations.

A key example of our work on rights in 2000 was the Total Child programme in Namibia in which adults and children worked together to address the infringement of rights. They set out to understand what was really occurring in their society; to understand what power relations allowed the denial of rights to go unchecked, what allowed the perpetuation of the exclusion of some in favour of others and what allowed the victimisation of those whose rights had been denied.

The consequences of living in a society traumatised by apartheid have been deep and far-reaching. It has resulted in an increase in the abuse of rights, neglect and victimisation both by the victims and the oppressors as they tried to reclaim some sense of self-worth by buying into a system that denied the rights of women, children and other ethnic groups in particular.

The adults and children analysed what needed to change based on an understanding that they own their rights; that rights can neither be given nor removed but can be infringed upon by those who have the power to act. They set out to analyse the attitudes of individuals and society, the means of denial, what was being denied and then to understand the systemic nature of - and the relationships between - racism, ethnocentrism, sexism and adult-child power relations. They developed an awareness that led to action by analysing these power relations and the factors that provide the power to act, such as values, education, legislation, language, media, the historical, cultural, social, political and economic context, the mechanisms of denial and the roles and responsibilities of each actor, including those of the excluded and denied. By addressing gender, ethnic and age exploitation, abuse and neglect were openly acknowledged, which allowed the communities to embark on a multitude of practical and strategic actions involving men, women, the old, the young and different ethnic groups. As they moved from analysis to action, they entered into dialogue and in doing so set the stage for attitudinal and behavioural shifts that would create a sense of common purpose in challenging and preventing the infringements of rights in the family, community and schools.

Return to 2000 Annual Report Index