UNICEF: Tsunami 5: Social services now reaching children in Maldives

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/maldives_52278.html

RAA ATOLL, Maldives, 29 December 2009 Ahmed Hussain has a tough job. As a social worker in the closely-knit communities of the atoll islands that make up the Maldives, issues like child neglect or abuse rarely surface in conversation, especially with outsiders.

But gradually Mr. Hussain has witnessed a change. "Before we would only hear about cases indirectly from others," he recalled. "But now we hear from the families and even the victims themselves."

"In the atolls, this is something quite new," said Mr. Ismail Azhar. "Before the tsunami, we knew there was a service but it only existed in the capital and we had no idea how to access it."

All that has now changed. With a Family and Child Service Centre in virtually every atoll, staffed by social service workers trained by UNICEF, people are far more willing to come forward to report cases that were for too long hidden behind closed doors.

"People are more open about these issues now, and then they tend to report these cases," said UNICEF Child Protection Officer Hawwa Zahira. "In doing so, the young recruits to this new service have helped to bring about real societal change in their communities. They were resented initially, but now they are feeling accepted."

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• UNICEF
• Tsunami
• Maldives
• Raa
• Atoll
• children
• protection

[Chuyneiu]

awesomee