Childline to strengthen protection for children, 24/7
By Indra Kumari Nadchatram KUALA LUMPUR, 27 July 2009 – Emergency child-friendly assistance to strengthen the protective environment for children in Malaysia will soon become a reality with Childline Malaysia’s toll-free 24/7 helpline to provide vulnerable children a place to turn to for help and advice when they feel they have no one to help them. Coming in the wake of an alarming increase in violence against children in places where they live and play in, the private initiative by the Malaysian Children’s TV Foundation is supported by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Childline Malaysia is part of Child Helpline International. “The Government is offering to serve as the backbone of this initiative,” said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Senator Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil during the first stakeholders meeting in May. The Minister said the helpline was among the recommendations in the Malaysian Child Protection Policy Children’s right to be heard Some 140 key stakeholders from non-governmental organisations, government agencies, the telecommunication sector and private partners gathered for the stakeholders meeting to discuss how best to materialise the child helpline nationwide in line with the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). UNICEF Representative to Malaysia Mr. Youssouf Oomar welcomed the helpline as it will give children in Malaysia an opportunity to be heard so they can be defended and safeguarded. “This program is particularly important to UNICEF and our work for children. Child helplines allow children to reach out and tell their stories and problems to a person they can trust, and where necessary child helplines can refer or intervene directly,” said Mr. Youssouf who is also UNICEF’s Special Representative to Brunei. “The right of children to be heard is an essential recognition to the full set of rights as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” 2009 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Culture of child-friendly consciousness Since the stakeholders meeting in May, Childline Malaysia has organised a series of activities to enhance awareness and education about the CRC and to develop a culture of child-friendly consciousness for engaging with children. Working with partners that include the Institute of Early Years Development, the initiative has reached out and mobilised children’s NGOs, drop-in centres, orphanages and shelters through workshops, forums and talks which are anchored on the principles of the CRC. MCTF Chair Mr. Sabri Abdul Rahman said Childline Malaysia in its first phase was expected to provide free phone service in the Klang Valley by October this year before it is expanded nationwide by end 2010. "Childline Malaysia aims to reach out to every child in need of care and protection by responding to calls and emergencies received," he said after handing over a cheque of RM 1 million as a contribution to the planned set up of the helpline.
Childline Malaysia
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