Our integrated approach for improving conditions for children continues into the school years. We involve children, their parents and educators to encourage active participation at school, including social and intellectual development. We also help spread the message that children deserve full educations, violence-free homes and schools, good nutrition and other necessary resources. We also support operational plans for providing education after natural disasters like 2016’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
In Timor-Leste, children are speaking out against corporal punishment at school by presenting short dramas promoting children’s rights and positive discipline. Although physical punishment at school is illegal, more than two-thirds of Timorese students reported being hit by adults at school in a national survey. Children Against Violence has performed its skits at schools, community events and at an International Children’s Day event in Covalima, where child trafficking and exploitation is common. Also, children take part in the Aflatoun program in some schools, learning to save their money for school supplies.