Making schools safer in Vanuatu
Children in Vanuatu experience a range of threats to their physical and emotional wellbeing while at school – from natural disasters through to corporal punishment and bullying. We’re helping to build supportive school environments that aim to make all children in Vanuatu better protected from violence, climate risks, disasters and everyday hazards around schools.
Why children in Vanuatu need safer schools
Located on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ and in a ‘cyclone belt’, Vanuatu is uniquely susceptible to a wide range of natural hazards and risks such as earthquakes, volcanic eruption, landslide, tsunami, tropical cyclones, storm surge, drought, and flooding. And with climate change expected to further exacerbate existing risks, children face significant barriers to fulfilling their rights to education and physical safety.
But it’s not just natural disasters that pose a threat. A report from 2018 show many children in Vanuatu experiencing corporal punishment and bullying in schools, while previous studies have shown high rates of sexual violence.
Save the Children’s Seif Skul programme
In partnership with the New Zealand Government’s Aid Programme, we are making schools safer for children in Vanuatu. Seif Skul aims to make all children in Vanuatu better protected from violence, climate risks, disasters and everyday hazards when in and around schools, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Working alongside our partners, Vanuatu’s Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) we’re working at a local school, community and national level on a range of activities to ensure we reach our goal by 2025.
This has included running Safe School workshops with teachers, child friendly activities to celebrate Vanuatu’s national children’s day, Pikinini Day, contributing technology devices and funding a Child Safeguarding Officer position in the MoET for 2022 with the agreement that MoET will fund the position from 2023 forward.
How we know we're making a difference
Our Safe Schools programming across the Pacific aims to ensure children are better protected from violence, climate risks, disasters and everyday hazards when in and around schools so that they can achieve their rights to learn and thrive free from harm.
We’ve been working alongside our partners, Vanuatu’s Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), and local communities to ensure measures to keep children safe are embedded at a national, community and local level. As a result of our work, national policies on child protection are being strengthened and greater investment is being made into child safeguarding at a high government level. We have funded a Child Safeguarding Officer position for 2022 with the agreement the Ministry will fund this from 2023.
We also know that our workshops with teachers has created greater understanding about child rights, and positive ways teachers can interact and talk with their children. We’re seeing a change in schools to build more nurturing environments that protect children.
Who makes our programme possible
Through Aotearoa New Zealand’s International Development Cooperation Programme — Ngā Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti, Kiwis are providing children in Vanuatu and around the world with the chance to achieve a brighter future. Find out more here. This programme is also supported by our generous regular givers, whose monthly contribution to our life-changing work in Aotearoa and around the world make projects like this possible.
Save the Children works in partnership with the Vanuatu Government.
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