New Safe Space for Children in Aswan
UNICEF opens the fifth family club in Aswan thanks to USAID, Norway and PROSPECTS’ support
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In the summer of 2022, UNICEF Egypt Representative Jeremy Hopkins visited the family club of Abu El-Rish Primary Health Unit in Aswan, one of 5 newly opened family clubs in the governorate in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population and the Directorate of Health in Aswan.
The family club is a unique model of UNICEF's child protection programs launched 2017 in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Population and partner NGPs to provide child protection and psychosocial support services within health units in different governorates.
Family clubs are distinguished by their addition to mental health and psychosocial support for children along with the health services provided through the health units. As a low-cost model, it was rapidly scaled up to include refugee and migrant children of all nationalities alongside Egyptian children to help integrate them into the host community.
The family club also helps in identifying cases of children at risk and referring them to the child protection committees spread throughout the country.
Thanks to the support of USAID, the Embassy of Norway and PROSPECTS (a partnership between the Embassy of the Netherlands, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF), there are 90 family clubs in the different governorates (including 21 in North Sinai) that provide services to more than 86,000 children.
In this photo essay, we shed light on some of the activities offered by this family club for children.
In the “Protect Yourself” program, children learn how to protect themselves by themselves through introducing them to their rights, the concept of personal space, forms of violence and how to seek help.
In the "Child for Child" program, children and young people aged 13-18 learn how to properly help those of their age.
One of the attending girls shared with Jeremy that the few times she has visited the family club since it opened has increased her self-confidence and awareness in general. Most importantly, she finally felt her voice is heard in a safe space.
There are also various awareness activities on how to self-protect against COVID-19. As shown in the photo, Jeremy joined the children in learning the correct way to wash hands.
