In the face of new realities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Cartwheel Foundation’s overall desired impact is to contribute toward fostering a safe and enabling learning environment for marginalized indigenous children and communities. The safeguarding of rights and wellness of Indigenous Peoples (IP), especially minors and vulnerable persons, is recognized as a priority in partnership endeavors.

Through policy advocacy and development, Cartwheel will seek to institutionalize policies on safeguarding IP rights and wellness by building a collaborative system of stakeholders where there is active engagement of duty-bearers and support groups.

 

Review of Cartwheel’s Child Protection Policy

Throughout the months of June and July 2021, members of the Cartwheel team underwent a series of online writeshops to look more closely at the organization’s existing Child Protection Policy. Facilitated by Atty. Maia Unico from development partner Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation*, and sustained through their support, Cartwheel members revisited each part of their policy—clarifying its provisions to align with existing realities and to better address needs in protecting those with whom Cartwheel works directly. Recommendations given by Atty. Unico were most helpful in further refining the organization’s commitment to child protection and safeguarding of vulnerable persons.

 

Co-Learning with Multi-Stakeholders

In the coming months, Cartwheel—along with its community and institutional partners— will engage in the following endeavors, toward the shared goal of building a safer ecosystem for IP children and their respective communities:

• Safeguarding advocacy training workshops, with the aim of building capacity among Cartwheel’s staff, volunteers, and partners in institutionalizing and promoting culturally-relevant, rights-based and resilience-focused practices and policies in their ways of working;

• Safeguarding awareness workshops for Indigenous youth, with the intention of equipping Cartwheel’s Young IP Leaders (YIP) program grantees to gain a deeper understanding of their rights, and those of the people in their respective indigenous communities whom they will one day serve as duty bearers; and

• Learning fora on children’s rights, with focus on deepening conversations with key community stakeholders—including IP children, youth, parents, teachers, community duty bearers and support groups—on the best interests of indigenous children, in relation to pressing issues that affect community life and the institutional collaborations that seek to support their cause.

In building strong partnerships while being mindful of policies and practices that safeguard the rights of those whom we serve, the hope to contribute significantly toward fostering a safe and enabling learning environment for marginalized indigenous children and communities can indeed be realized.

 

*Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation a private, U.S.-based foundation that works for the prevention and treatment of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of children, women, and their families in the Philippines and in Hawai’i. Our foundation is named after our Founder, the late Consuelo Zobel Alger, whose generosity and genuine love for children allowed us to renew hope for those who have lost it and give hope to those who never had it.

For over 30 years, Consuelo Foundation has been taking action for our children and their families—uplifting one child, one family, one community, at a time.

For inquiries and info about Consuelo Foundation and this project, you may email: ask@consuelo.org or visit their social media accounts at Facebook and YouTube.