KIWOHEDE

Support monitoring visit was conducted to Songea region by a KIWOHEDE Staff from 31May to 3 June 2010 on a project of   Promoting Community Effort to Combat Child Sexual Abuse and Violence among Child Domestic Workers and Child Commercial Sex Workers, this project is being implemented in three regions of Iringa, Mbeya and Songea since 2003.

The main Aim of this project visited, which it is under support of OAK Foundation is to protect children from all type of abuse, the project targets   vulnerable children including orphan, children affected and infected with HIVAIDS, children engaged in prostitution and those  working in hazardous domestic work, children in conflict with law and those held in police custody. 

During the support visit the KIWOHEDE staff managed to have a meeting with municipal staffs in the department of community development and department  of education discussing the project activities, and the  main issues discussed were to find alternative to the 35 children  graduated at the centre after doing their  national examination on vocational skills training in tailoring and how to assist the children to find other alternative for income gain and the second issue discussed at the municipal office was to find strategies on the possibility of raising funds on developing the permanent KIWOHEDE centre at our plot at Ruvuma ward in Songea Municipal.

This collaboration with the municipal is one of the   KIWOHEDE strategies in this project on creating project sustainability measures by integrating these project activities into existing municipal plans. The municipal staffs e.g. teachers, community development officers and health workers have been working together with KIWOHEDE staffs in this project implementation.
The KIWOHEDE center in Songea which it is within the Zimamoto building has 41 children now attending the centre daily for psychosocial counseling, life skills training and vocational skills training, the children have been identified by the help of the community structures in the wards of Songea Municipals.