• Per Wickenberg
• 2022-03-21 16:42

PROJECT: PREVENTION OF COVID-19 IN SCHOOLS IN MAPUTO CITY

Associação a Criança que Brilha na Escola (ACBE)

Project for financing

PROJECT: PREVENTION OF COVID-19 IN SCHOOLS IN MAPUTO CITY

 INTRODUCTION

The coronavirus pandemic known as  COVID-19 is a disease that affects the entire world including Mozambique. It started in 2019 ravaging China and quickly spread to Europe, America, Asia and finally Africa. In Mozambique, it was diagnosed in March with the appearance of 2 imported cases which then evolved in the following months, currently reaching the figure of 239 and 2 deaths (INS, 2020).

The Government of Mozambique has endeavored to prevent the pandemic from spreading at a pace that is difficult to control, and has put in place various preventive measures through Presidential Decree ^No 11/2020 of 30 March, which decrees the State of Emergency that was in force from 1 to 30 April.  However, the number of infected people has been growing dramatically despite all the government's efforts to prevent this from happening. Therefore, the State of Emergency was successively extended by decrees ^no 12/2020, of 29 April (Valid from 1 to 30 May) and 13/2020, of 29 May (Valid from 31 May to 29 June). Among other measures, these decrees include the suspension of classes in all public and private schools as one of the ways to prevent the spread of the pandemic. 

In response to the class suspension measure, the Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH), through circular ^no. 03/GM/MINEDH/2020, directed the use of digital platforms, support texts, exercise sheets and other local means available, with the aim of ensuring the continuity of the teaching learning process at all levels.  

The City of Maputo has a total of 349 thousand students of general and  professional education distributed in 257 schools, which means that on average 1357 parents and guardians visit the schools to collect and return the exercise cards, as a way to make possible the measures issued by the above mentioned state document. 

The schools are implementing the pandemic prevention measures emanating from the above-mentioned decrees by placing buckets and soap or sanitizing alcohol for hand sanitizing and attaching posters on COVID-19 prevention measures. However, the number of parents and guardians going to schools seems high given the conditions created by them for the prevention of the pandemic.

It was on this basis that the Associação a Criança que Brilha na Escola (ACBE) decided to give its contribution by joining the Government's efforts in the prevention of COVID-19, creating a project that aims to strengthen the prevention measures of OVID-19 in the schools of the city of Maputo, through the promotion of health education activities.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

General Objective:

• Reinforce COVID-19 prevention measures in schools in Maputo city.

Specific objectives:

• To intensify more and more the prevention mechanisms of COVID-19;
• Promote Health Education activities in schools;
• Disseminate relevant and up-to-date information to the public on risk factors, prevention and control of disease transmission in the community.

EXPECTED RESULTS:

With this project, it is hoped that the hygiene measures in schools will be strengthened so that those who visit them in order to collect and return the Task cards, do not transport the virus to their homes and spread the pandemic in the communities. Prevention measures are also expected to be strengthened through health education through the distribution of leaflets on Covid-19 prevention measures to parents as they visit schools.

PROJECT STRATEGY FOR CHANGE TO OCCUR:

Strategy is a set of approaches, techniques and processes used by science to formulate and solve problems of objective knowledge acquisition, in a systematic way (Rodrigues, 2007, p. 45). For the success of this project, we will implement the following strategies:

1. Identification of the target group and its geographical location:

In a first phase, the project will be implemented in four schools in KaMubukwana Municipal District (Malhazine Secondary School, Quisse Mavota, Wiriamo Complete Primary School and Mbuzine). On average, about 20,000 users of these schools will benefit from this project.

1. Health conditions of pre-selected schools for the implementation of the project:

All the schools listed above have water, either from the national network or local boreholes. However, the construction of public hand wash basins for the prevention of COVID-19 will be a reality. In addition, these schools have a concrete fences that will allow the creation of a talking mural about COVID-19.

1. Identification and budget of the prototype for the project:

1. FOFA Analysis

1. Identification of cooperation partners

• EDUCATION OUTLOUD;
• Oxfam IBIS;
• Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Development (MINEDH)
• Ministry of Health (MISAU)

PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT:

RELEVANCE OF THE PROJECT:

Based on what we have seen in the process of distributing and receiving support sheets and application exercises at school level, involving parents and guardians, creating a greater flow of users in schools and agglomeration of people in the corridors and other common spaces, we thought about the implications this would all have in terms of preventing the new coronavirus. However, in this project, we defend that the reinforcement of COVID-19 prevention measures through the construction of public sinks right at the entrance to the school enclosure is the most propitious procedure to guarantee hand sanitization and thus reduce the risks of contamination. In addition, the approach of this project will allow the recovery of good hygiene practices among the different age groups and social grades. Thus, it serves as one of the bases for strategies to control the spread of the virus and other diseases.

This project also aims to arouse the interest of educational actors in the National Education and Health System and civil society to pay more attention to the need to innovate the prevention measures of COVID-19, in a context where cases of contamination have been increasing.

The theme is based on the fact that we are in a field where there are still very few projects that seek to exploit the increase of sinks in public and private schools. As we mentioned before, in this project we bring activities that can mitigate the occurrence of serious cases and deaths caused by poor compliance with the prevention care of the new coronavirus

HOW WILL THE PLANNED STRATEGIES ENSURE SOCIAL AND GEOGRAPHIC REACH TO PEOPLE?

• Through periodic strategic planning of activities (weekly, biweekly and monthly); Field visits to ascertain the degree of compliance with the activities planned in the project;
• Community surveys to verify the sustainability of the project;
• Consultation meetings with the beneficiaries of the project at Community level;
• Identification of communication and training channels for the project staff;
• Mobilization and Community action;
• Coordination of activities, development and dissemination of information;
• Monitoring and evaluation.

This project is entitled: Prevention of COVID-19 in schools in Maputo City. It is the result of an action taken by the members of the Association a Criança que Brilha na Escola. This association has the following mission: To promote the rights of children through their protection, education and training to overcome adversity.

Vision: To reach more disadvantaged children and ensure that their education is inclusive, effective and of quality.

However, we work in the field of education and have been career teachers for over 10 years. Our activities aim to provide social welfare for students as well as for society in general. We teach about children's rights and public health. Our action plans align with the goals of EDUCATIONOUTLOUD and the GPE in playing a formative role in defining educational policies that better serve a wide range of communities, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized populations.

We help build public support for the government's long-term education plans and monitor how the government is meeting its commitments.

In addition, we promote more inclusive policies and practices at all levels.

Our objectives are linked to the theory of change and we are eligible for this funding programme.

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITIES TO IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT

The association "A Criança Que Brilha Na Escola" is constituted, abbreviated to ACBE, as a non-profit private legal entity with legal personality, administrative and patrimonial autonomy, governed by these statutes and other internal legislation. It was registered in 2018 in Mozambique. We are a group of 10 professionals in the area of education from teachers, school managers, bakers and pedagogical technicians.

MISSION:

Promote the rights of the child through their protection, education and training to overcome adversity.

VISION:

Reaching more disadvantaged children and ensuring that their education is inclusive, effective and of quality.

GOAL:

OBJECTIVES:

1. a) Develop advocacy activities on the Rights of the Child, with special focus on Primary and Secondary Schools;

(b) defending the interests of children at school;

(c) improve the level of safety of children in schools;

(d) to promote the participation of the child in decision-making at school;

(e) to promote the dissemination of children's rights to school communities;

(f) to promote the dissemination of legislation on child                 protection policies and instruments;

(g) contribute to the improvement of the quality of education.    

NATURE, COMPOSITION AND COMPETENCES

1. The General Assembly is the supreme deliberative body of the association, being constituted by all the members who are in full enjoyment of their rights.
2. It is incumbent upon the General Meeting:
3. To deliberate on the general lines of action of the Association;
4. Elect and dismiss the Bureau, the Management and the Audit Board for each term of office;
5. To appraise the management report and the opinion of the Audit Committee for the past year;
6. To amend the Statutes of the Association by approval of three-fourths (¾) of the votes of the associates present;
7. Approve, on a proposal from the Board, rules of procedure;
8. Discuss problems related to the activity of the associates drawing conclusions and recommendations with a view to their solution;
9. Deliberate on any matters for which it has been formally convened.

OUR HISTORY:

Our activities began in Mozambique when the Swedish-based Child Rights Institute held a seminar on the convention on the rights of the child in 2015. This institute funded the International Child Rights, Classroom and School Management Training Programme between 2003 and 2016, and initiated over 250 processes of change in the education sector around the world, with the aim of achieving child rights in policy and practice.

Our experience as an association allows us to face any challenges in the area of education and health. We have trained many students in the area of Girl Weighing and promoting gender equality. About 500 children from various schools in Maputo and Gaza have benefited from our reading and writing education and all our achievements are recorded in our reports, minutes and galleries on the platform.

PROGRAMMES AND AREAS OF ACTIVITY

The Associação a Criança que Brilha na Escola takes advantage of the most powerful and fundamental forces in the lives of all children, the power to learn. Our programs protect, educate and empower children to heal from the harsh realities of war and abuse, change their behavior and protect themselves from disease, attend school, graduate and create a better future. We work in the area of education and public health. In education we promote reading and writing days in the initial classes and we train teachers in differentiated teaching subjects and numerous class management. We also focus on increasing school enrollment and improving the quality of learning and teaching safe behaviors for children, especially around HIV / AIDS and disease prevention as we have previously mentioned. We work with boys and girls to create awareness about equal opportunities and equal participation for girls. We also work to improve primary education by training primary school teachers in child-centred programming.

Our programs equip thousands of children to overcome cultural obstacles - particularly those that limit access to school. Through confidence-building activities and communication exercises, children have learned to expand their voices.

Using community dialogues on issues such as child labor, sexual and reproductive rights, menstruation, sexually transmitted diseases and early pregnancy, we empower boys and girls to open up new opportunities and promote change

 In health we talk about premature marriages, early pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and others. With the emergence of the new coronavirus, our focus is on preventing and mitigating the impacts of this pandemic.

Cooperation partners such as: Ministry of Education and Human Development; Ministry of Health and the communities where the project will be implemented, will be useful to us in the following aspects: project advice, monitoring and evaluation and technical support.

ADDRESS:

Escola Secundária Quisse Mavota  

Nelson Mandela Avenue,

Zimpeto, Maputo-Mozambique.

Email: acbe@gmail.com

Chair person: Virginia Gomane

Learning approach

As an association, we would like to have the EOL trained in the following learning programs:

• Empowerment of young people and women;
• Combat the marginalization of children and youth;
• Youth leadership;
• Public diplomacy
• Community development and public health

PROJECT BUDGETING

• Per Wickenberg
• 2022-03-21 13:20

All the 10 PPT from the 2. GLOBAL MEETING on CRC in Schools on Zoom - March 20, 2022 - are now uploaded under ARCHIVE as Reports.

Here:

http://www.globalcrconline.org/archive 

• Per Wickenberg
• 2022-02-19 15:36

GLOBAL Meeting on ZOOM March 20, 2022 - INVITING ALL CRC CHANGE AGENTS to PARTICIPATE AND PRESENT THEIR EXPERIENCES ON CRC.

GIVE and GAIN !

• Per Wickenberg
• 2021-12-05 18:55

Meeting on zoom December 18 for ALL the CRC Change  Agents

See more in the attachment here above and on the the member facebook-group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/508040865915974 

More information will come later!

Heartily welcome!

Yanneth Sanchez in Batch 17 - globalcrcolombia@gmail.com 

Per Wickenberg, Child Rights Institute, CRI, Lund University, Sweden

per.wickenberg@soclaw.lu.se 

• Virginia Sara Gomane
• 2019-03-23 14:33

Change agents discussing activities to be done during the year.This year we want to train teachers from different schools so we have started designing a plan to go the field.There are a lot to be done.We are working on it.

• Virginia Sara Gomane
• 2018-05-19 12:26

• Virginia Sara Gomane
• 2018-05-19 12:24

Change agents meeting for a balance

We had a very successful launch with so many participants. Apart from those who have been mentioned, we were with the national director of secondary school from the Minister of Education, non governmental organization who deals with a child, districts directors, directors from Teacher Training Colleges from Maputo and Xai-Xai, Teachers from University, and Beatrice Byakutaga Kasande, Change Agent from Uganda (in front to the left), and students from different schools.

The interaction was good and from here we still have more to do.

• Virginia Sara Gomane
• 2018-05-19 12:07

Planning director of the Ministry of Education praising the initiative of the platform and inviting our Association, A Crianca que Brilha na Escola. ACBE, which means the Child of Shines at School to approach to legalize.

• Virginia Sara Gomane
• 2018-05-19 11:45

• Virginia Sara Gomane
• 2018-05-19 11:40

Our guests,from left we have a man who is deputy director of Educational City,next planing director from the Ministry of Education,a national director of primary education from the Ministry of Education.