Alumni Impact: Children's Rights in Mozambique
John Amaro, a student from Mozambique who participated the recent FIUTS Study of the U.S. Institute on Civic Engagement, is using the skills and experiences he gained during his time in the U.S. to promote the rights of children in his community, educating children and adults about the negative effects of child abuse. He and his team of university student volunteers have been visiting schools to educate children to recognize and demand their rights.
Here is a blog post written by John about his experience with this project, as well as some photos from his visits to local schools.
The FIUTS SUSI program 2017 changed my life!
It was part of this program for civic engagement and leadership that I learned a lot about community life. I was able to improve my skills, and with that I was able to implement the "Child Is Not Drum" project in my community.
"Child Is Not Drum" was a project that was created and funded through the SUSI program of the U.S. Department of State to improve the coexistence of children in the community and in the family. The project was implemented in Cabo Delegada Province in the city of Montepuez, northern region of Mozambique. This project involved young students from various pedagogic university courses to work on problems affecting society.
To make the project more agile and strong, we worked with the district attorney. Together we were able to go to schools and promote children's rights that were ignored by society.
Being a project that aimed to promote the rights and duties of the child, our target group were children and young people from 10 to 20 years old who attend primary and secondary education. Together we were able to disclose the problems that the children faced in their families and in the community in general.
To make our conversation attractive and interesting we acted in the form of theater and gave space for children to expose and express opinions about the problems.
Me and my team, we were happy and grateful for the interest the children showed in wanting to know about their rights.
The Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among foreign students, teachers, and scholars. Study of the U.S. Institutes are short-term academic programs for groups of undergraduate leaders, educators, and scholars from around the world.
The SUSI on Civic Engagement with students from Southern Africa is coordinated by the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS), a local non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Washington that promotes international friendship and cross-cultural understanding in the region.
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.