During the COVID-19 pandemic, families and children in urban poverty were disproportionately affected. Their lives and livelihoods were hugely impacted by lockdown conditions, particularly those depending on daily wages for survival. In places like Pakistan, there was a surge of generosity and goodwill, with many people stepping up to deliver relief in terms of rations …
A personal reflection on International Street Children Day in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, by CfC Founder Madeeha Ansari.Karachi,Pakistan, March 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)Today was the International Day for Street Children. It passed, unmarked, barely ruffling the stillness of these days of quarantine. In this, the strangest time in living memory, it …
Published by the policy think tank Jinnah Institute on April 12 2019 - International Day for Street ChildrenApril 12 is a day for the invisible. As the International Day for Street Children, it is a time to extend recognition to young people who are too often uncounted, unseen and unheard – and therefore bereft of …
by Malaika Kirkwood, Communications VolunteerBuilding Cities for ChildrenThis year we celebrate 3 decades of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ratified in 1989, the UNCRC was a milestone in human history and development-- establishing the first internationally recognized, legally binding statement on child rights. Now, thirty years after its inception, the …
by Julia Everett, Development InternAugust 7th 2019 marks national Play Day in the UK. This year’s theme, ‘Play Builds Children’, highlight the benefits of play for children's development. Protecting and promoting the right to play, given its importance in childhood and growth, is something which we at Cities for Children put at the centre of …
In Summer 2018, we organised our “Hansti Basti” or “Happy Hoods,” programme in collaboration with Pehli Kiran School System and the Community Support Programme at Bahria University in Islamabad. The program was designed to ensure that over the course of six weeks, Pehli Kiran students worked with volunteer mentors to build social emotional skills and …
This article first appeared in Dawn, the oldest English newspaper in Pakistan.By Madeeha Ansari, FounderON Tuesday, Nov 12, the Sindh government imposed a ban on child beggary, directing the social welfare department to ‘round up’ child beggars and place them in welfare centres, including in an upcoming facility in Korangi.On one hand, this might be seen …
This article first appeared in print as "Street kids' hope" in Dawn, the oldest English newspaper in Pakistan.By Madeeha Ansari, FounderA COUPLE of years ago, I visited a drop-in centre for street children in Peshawar as part of a mapping exercise. The children there were generally ‘of the street’, i.e. they did not return to their …
As part of our "Right to Play" strand of work, on 21st April 2018 we supported a special Sports Day event for over 400 children and parents from the urban slums of Islamabad. These are communities served by our partner, the Pehli Kiran School System, a network of open-air, non-formal schools in settlements across the …
This article first appeared on the Promising Practices in Refugee Education website.By Madeeha AnsariHow do refugee children live?Often, the image that comes to mind if asked that question is of a settlement like Jalozai camp in Pakistan, with rows of tents sectioned by UNHCR canvas sheets. Or what is now the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex …