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Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (AFRUCA)

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Areas of expertise & Fields of activity:	Economic and Social: Children Family Human Rights Women/gender Equality Gender Issues and Advancement of Women: Advocacy and outreach Education and training of women Men and boys The girl child Trafficking in women and girls Violence against women Population: International migration Statistics: International migration Poverty statistics Sustainable Development: Capacity-building Education Poverty
Geographic scope:	International
Country of activity:	Sierra Leone Ghana Nigeria United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Millennium Development Goals:	Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Promote gender equality and empower women Develop global partnership for development
Mission statement:	AFRUCA's strategy in pursuing its work involves the three Ps - Prevention, Protection and Child Participation. Using the 1989 United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children 1990 as the basis of our work, AFRUCA's mission is to promote the rights and welfare of African children. We want to be the voice of the African Child in the UK and the first point of contact for people interested in the welfare of African children. Our vision is to see a world in which African Children can live free of cruelty and abuse at the hands of others. In achieving the above, our approach has been to focus on 4 work areas: In Raising Awareness and Sensitising African communities to the plight of children and help improve their knowledge and understanding of the rights of children and hwat they can do to prevent abuse occuring and protect children from harm. In particular, the double jeopardy faced by the African girl child that makes her very prone to abuse, exploitation and harm are issues of concern to us at AFRUCA. Various traditional practices including early marriages, female genital mutilation as well as lack of access to education for girl child are priorities for us in terms of addressing the root causes. We are emphasising the need for all Africans in the Uk and in Africa to have a basic knowledge of child protection so they can know what to do to protect children from abuse and not expose them to unnecessary harm. We are also working with young people themselves, through our Youth Forum to develop a stronger knowledge of how they can protect themselves from abuse as well as educate other young people through peer learning activities. Our premise is that much of the abuse that African children experience can be dealt with if only people have a better knowledge of the rights of children and their own roles in child protection and prevention. We are working with policy-makers and practitioners to help raise their skills levels and influence the policy making process where children are concerned. In addition to our advocacy work, we have projects on the ground to help meet the needs of African children. We are the only organisation in the UK working exclusively to address the trafficking of children from Africa. We provide support and assistance to children who are victims of trafficking from Africa. In the UK, what is clearly missing is a culturally appropriate form of support that takes accounts of the needs of victims of trafficking for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Our Survivors Forum aims to encourage young people to take a more active role in deciding how our work on trafficking can directly benefit them and help to meet their needs . In addition to work in the UK, AFRUCA works with another NGO in Ghana - Youth Alive to support children who live and work on the streets in the North of the Ghana through the provision of intensive support and provision of learning opportunities so they can return into the education system. Our work in Nigeria on the promotion of children's rights and their welfare and protection is newly developing. However it is clear that AFRUCA's role in the country will centre primarily on child abuse prevention work. This is an area that is clearly neglected across the country, with a high number of cases coming to the fore on a daily basis. We are particularly concerned at the issue of Witchcraft Abuse in which children are stigmatised as witches, as well as early marriages, in which girl as young as 10 are being married off early. We are concerned about the very high number of children in Nigeria engaged in child labour - especially domestic servitude. We want to work with others on the ground to help identify and design project and programmes to support families so they can provide a good quality life for their children.
Year established:	2001
Year of registration:	2001
Organizational structure:	AFRUCA is headed by a Board of Trustees. A Chief Executive is responsible for managing the organisation's work and developing its activities in the UK and abroad. AFRUCA's Head Office is based in central London. The bulk of our programmes and activities are carried our from our Head office. This includes our Project on "Child Protection Training and Awareness Programme for African Parents in London managed by a Project Officer. This is a five year project which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and which aims to reduce the number of African children ending up in the care system due to allegations of abuse by educating parents on the basic tenets of child protection and how to balance their culture with the laws of the UK. Established in 2008, AFRUCA has trained over 1,000 African parents across London in Child protection. In addition, we run a Child Trafficking Project to help meet the needs of victims of trafficking across the capital. Established in 2009, this is a new project which is already quite popular amongst community organisations as well as practitioners due to the ability of the project to provide support and advice on anti-trafficking work from Africa. One of the unique qualities of this project is the emphasis on Child Participation with the establishment of a Survivors Forum. This brings together young beneficiaries of the project and enables them to devise activities to help meet their own needs as survivors. Since 2009, the project has worked with over 30 victims. it is difficult for young people who have escaped trafficking to come forward for fear of being deported by the Authorities. however, AFRUCA has been successful in encouraging young people to come forward for help and assistance. We hope that as the project develops we can work with more victims of trafficking while taking part in other activities to help raise awareness of the issues. This project is run by an Anti Trafficking Officer and is supported by a team of interns and volunteers. The issue of Witchcraft Abuse and Spirit Possession is one that needs to be addressed to safeguard vulnerable children across the UK. One of the ways in which we do this is through a menu of community programmes and activities. This includes direct work with faith organisations across London, especially faith leaders. We work to provide training on child protection for faith workers so they are aware of the need to protect children and ensure their practices do not impact negatively on children. In addition, this programme works with practitioners who come into regular contact with children as part of their roles, to educate them about the issue of faith and religion and how these impact on the lives of children from an African background. One of the key elements of this project is how to support families where there has been an accusation of witchcraft. This issue is being researched with a possible establishment of a new area of work in this regard. The Head Office also houses the organisation's Finance and Operations Department headed by the Finance and Operations Manager. This department is responsible for budgeting, accounting, and financial management, facilities management as well as auditing project's budgets in the UK and Abroad Our Regional office in Manchester is a newly developing area of work for AFRUCA. This Office is managed by a Regional Co-ordinator with Support from an administrative Assistant. The Regional Office's work is enhanced by the StakeHolders' Forum - a network of local groups, users and partners who meet regularly to help evaluate the progress of work and the impact of AFRUCA on the community in Manchester. They also provide ideas on how to develop activities to meet the needs of young people in the community. Our new branch in Nigeria is newly developing. We hope to become operational by the end of 2010 to meet the needs of vulnerable children as highlighted above.
Number and type of members:	AFRUCA's Board of Trustees comprises 7 members drawn from a diverse range of African backgrounds. The Chair of the Charity is Mary Kanu, a Nigerian who works with a local charity in London. She has a wide range of experience in the development sector and has worked with a range of organisations in the UK and in Nigeria. Our Secretary is Kenyan Eunice Kyalo, a Community Health Manager with a london based agency. She has a special interest in Female Genital Mutilation and has produced an Award Winning DVD - "The Day I will Never Forget" to highlight the terrible practice of Female Genital Mutilation. Prospera Tedam is the Head of Social Work Bachelors Programme at University of Northampton. She has a strong experience as a teacher of social work and has produced numerous articles, and published papers and books on different related subjects. Prospera is a Ghanaian. Dapo Oyewole has a vast experience in development work and was Director of African Policy and Peace Strategies, an African think tank with the aim of identifying various solutions to the problems of development in Africa. Dapo is Nigerian. Last but not least is Kahiye Alim, a Barrister of Somalian origin who runs a successful immigration law agency in London. Mbololwa Lewanika is a lecturer at Kings College in London. Our Board of Trustee members bring on board a wide range of knowledge, expertise and experience which helps to contribute to the growth of the organisation. Chiefly amongst this is the strong expertise in development work, management of charitable organisations, international advocacy, campaigning, social work and child protection, the law and immigration, health management as well as organisational management, budgeting and project design, management and evaluation. Our Chief Executive is an Ex officio member of the Board. The CE is responsible for managing the organisation, overseeing the allocation of resources, developing and managing programmes and projects to help meet our objectives. She is responsible for staff management, as well as overall resource management and control. She reports to the Board of Trustees about her role in the organisation's growth and development
Affiliation with NGO networks:	General Action Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW)
Funding structure:	Fees for education and training services Fees for providing consulting or research services Donations and grants from domestic sources Foreign and international grants
Funding structure other:	Grants, Donations and Earned Income

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