YOUTH RIGHTS AND PROTECTION BRIEF

Many of the youth have been trapped in this vicious cycle of poverty which offer them a short and harsh life span marked by prostitution, violent robbery, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, gender based violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, Rape, early pregnancy, child neglect and abuse. According to the resent population statistics, over 60% of Kenya is under 35 year, more than half the population is children with few or no recreational facilities for physical and social development.

MYSA sports programme to date involve more than 25,000 boys and girls from these communities who participate and help to test and develop the many different talents within the community

It is on this back drop that MYSA established the Youth Rights and Protection project to inform, sensitize, create clear reporting procedures, identify referral hospitals and centers and advocate for the children rights. This is done by the child protection committee who are within the 16 MYSA Zones for easier accessibility and service delivery.

The project activities are:-

• Create awareness of volunteers on legal instruments for child safe guarding, child abuse and neglect, networking and linkages, children rights, children responsibility, and gender based violence, sexual harassment, rape, Female genital mutilation (FGM) sexual violence and child participation through facilitation during matches on a weekly basis, focus group discussion and outreach sessions.
• Train the MYSA youth and staff on sexual harassment and healthy relationship and child protection policies.
• To sensitize all the members on the importance of children rights and prevention of early marriages and pregnancy thus promoting a safe space for all the youth
• To facilitate messages on Gender based violence, child protection and sexuality during the MYSA zonal sports leagues and championships.
• To offer counselling to the youth and staff on weekly basis.
• To use the Libraries as Justice Centres for the youth and community members so as to access information and linkages to children lawyers so as to bring justice to all the members through International Justice Mission (IJM) who handle children cases.
• Train the youth and on MYSA child protection policy and also make sure that the members and staff adhere to the policy by signing the child protection declaration form which is done annually.
• Attend partners meetings and do joint activities with Strategic Application International (SAI), Medicines sans Frontiers (MsF)  and International Justice Mission (IJM)
• Hold  weekly campaigns with MSF and SAI  in the community and together celebrates 16 days of activism and the day of the African child within our zones