Supporting vulnerable children by strengthening the Child Protection Network
Strengthening of the child protection system and social service workforce as part of the KOICA-funded "Integrated Programme for Climate Resilience and Empowerment in Attapeu Province"
Ms. Vika is the Deputy Village Chief in Saphaothong village, Samakkhixay district of Attapeu province. In this capacity, Ms. Vika has the important responsibilty of supporting the administration of her village and making decisions that concern all of its inhabitants.
Her dedication to her village also extends to children as she is also head of the village’s child protection network, whose members provide psychosocial support, counseling and referrals to vulnerable children and families
"I am very proud to serve as the leader of child protection network and to provide support to children in my village," said Ms. Vika.
In her capacity as head of the child protection network in her village, Ms. Vika has handled multiple cases involving vulnerable children in the past. One of these was a case involving a pair of siblings whose parent was incarcerated due to illegal drug use. Both siblings live with their grandmother but she was unable to provide adequate financial support for the children to attend school and did not understand why they should be in school. This forced the two siblings to drop out from the education system entirely.
This case was identified by Ms. Vika, who quickly convened a meeting with members of the CPN to formulate a plan to help the children. Regular home visits were conducted to encourage and educate the sibling’s family about the benefits of school and the risks entailed by dropping out of school for the children’s future. Since then, both children are now attending a primary school in their village and Ms. Vika’s team also helped provide books, bags and uniforms to the siblings as well as rice and vegetable seeds to the family as a short-term food security measure.
As of 2022, eight cases involving 18 children and adults have received child protection services in Saphaothong village. Most of them involved school dropouts and all cases were handled by Ms. Vika personally alongside members of her network, who also receive support from the District and Provincial Labour and Social Welfare offices. To better help children in her village, Ms. Vika also regularly participate in trainings to develop her own capacity as a child protection professional.
“I recently attended the training on case management and child protection provided by Friends International and the Provincial Labour and Social Welfare office in order learn how to better assist and identify vulnerable children. I also receive regular coaching and mentoring services from them,” Ms. Vika added.
In Attapeu, more families are in need of assistance. Through the support of UNICEF and KOICA, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare was able to increase the capacity of the social service workforce in Attapeu province to provide prevention and response services. As part of the capacity building of the child protection network, training, case management skills, coaching, mentoring, and job aid tools are provided to enable them to fulfill their duties in assisting vulnerable children and families in the community.
UNICEF has been supporting the strengthening of the child protection system and the capacity of the social service workforce as part of the KOICA-funded "Integrated Programme for Climate Resilience and Empowerment in Attapeu Province (2020-2023) - child protection". The programme will contribute towards achieving the goals set out in Lao PDR's first ever National Plan of Action for Child Protection System Strengthening.
