The Kigamboni Community Centre KCC
Ensuring social protection for vulnerable people is a goal of MKUKUTA (The national strategy for growth and reduction of poverty) in Tanzania, and children are commonly considered to be among the most vulnerable, KCC has been involved in different activities to ensure vulnerable are achieving their dreams and receive all basic needs and seven services thus are Health, Education, Psychosocial support, Protection, Shelter and develop their skills and talents.
It well known that, during the period of childhood and adolescence, children and young people continue to needs special care and support. While most children in Tanzania are cared for and protected by their families and communities, many are not so fortune.
Many of children come from the families were income of adult is Tsh.250 per day, this takes them to stay under poverty line and failing to provide enough food to satisfy their basic minimum nutritional requirements, with consequences for physical and mental development, economic and social wellbeing and contribution to national development.
Children are therefore clearly affected by this generalized in security, but there are also group of children who are may be considered to be vulnerable.
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. Thousands of children live below the poverty line. They don’t have access to basic needs (enough to eat, drinking water, clothes, shoes etc.). 16.7% of children aged below five are underweight. These children get ill more often and they also die younger . Because health care is too expensive or too far away for poor families, many children die before the age of five from preventable and treatable diseases like malaria or cholera. The infant mortality rate is 65.74 deaths to every 1,000 births (rank 22 in the world). Life expectancy is 53.14 years at birth.
Children are very important for Tanzanian families. On average every woman has 4.02 children (total fertility rate). But if a family has a lot of children it makes it more difficult to pay for each child’s basic needs. Usually the children help their family with the daily housework. They also take care of their parents when these get older.
There is a lack of available data on violence against children and child exploitation, specifically in Dar Es Salaam. However, there are significant indicators clearly indicating a high child vulnerability e.g. high teenage pregnancy, 22.6% of children not living with their parents, high levels of poverty, illiteracy, growing levels of CSEC and a child marriage prevalence of 35%. National figures suggest that more than 70% of children experience one or more forms of physical, sexual or emotional abuse in Tanzania. Nearly 3 out of every 10 females and 1 out of every 7 males reported at least one experience of sexual violence prior to the age of 18. Child labour (21% of children) and its worst forms (5%) are manifested in Tanzania in various sectors of the economy like agriculture, mining, domestic.
Services, fishing and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC). Boys and girls below 18 years of age are used in sexual activities in brothels, bars, hotels, restaurants and houses, and are remunerated in cash or in kind. Four percent of girls between the ages of 13 to 17 reported receiving money or goods in exchange for sex at least once in their lifetime. Child marriage is highly prevalent in Tanzania and still legally accepted for children aged 15 years old through the Marriage Act 1971, although contradicted by the Education Act and Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act.
To develop safe school environment for children
Teachers, parent/caregivers and children in schools
Formulation of women and young girls Income Generating Activities groups
300 women and young girls of 20 groups
Children rights and community responsibility against violence
Children, parent and the community of Kigamboni
Engage the community on fighting against violence and children abuse
Community audience and stake holder (Police, Local government leaders, Religions leaders, Health care & dispensary and teachers.
Men behavior change on family care
200 men