SPEM: Supporting Protection, Education and Movement for vulnerable children in Eastern Africa

The project takes action in East Africa and more specifically in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi in the areas of Child Protection, Education and Migration (Children on the move). Given the extent and diversity of the contexts in which it intervenes, the project adopts a strategy consisting of mainstreaming in a modular and targeted manner children's rights in their most vulnerable areas, thus aiming to promote the protection of the most vulnerable children in the different contexts: family, social, school-educational, institutions or in some cases even the street. 

As WeWorld we operate in Tanzania, where 1 in 5 children do not attend primary school, and 54% do not continue after the age of 17. It is also important to consider the low level of learning: WeWorld has found that students in 5th or 6th grade cannot read or write simple sentences. Moreover, it is important to stress the shortage of textbooks, where the Ministry of Education's target of one textbook for every 4 students is still far from being reached. 87.1% of the students indicate school as the place where they regularly suffer from episodes of violence, psychological or physical, either from teachers or from groups of peers. In addition, 19.3% of female students and 14% of male students reported having been victims of sexual violence.  

Children on the Move: Within the category 'chidlren on the move' we mean not only transnational flows but also internal flows, often consisting of minors in street situations and severe marginalisation. For this complex problem, adequate protection measures are needed that are coordinated between neighbouring countries, within which migration routes take place, and that take into account the "child best interest".