Following the recent devastating cyclones in the region, Viva’s Kezia M’Clelland is leading a ‘Child Protection in Emergencies’ workshop on 9 & 10 May in Malawi with our partners, Integral Alliance.

In the country, 869,000 people, including almost 500,000 children were affected by Cyclone Idai, with about 100,000 people displaced by flood, which has exacerbated existing struggles for many families.

Viva’s two-day workshop will bring together around 25 people working with Integral Alliance partner agencies, who are already on-the-ground supporting families and children affected by the crisis.

Participants will be helped through action steps to ensure that their programmes are minimising risk to children, that they have integrated good practice in safeguarding and child protection, and that they are including the most vulnerable children within their response.

When an emergency hits, children are the most vulnerable, both to new dangers but also to existing child protection risks being worsened by the crisis; instances of child labour, abuse and violence, for example, can often increase in an emergency.

Viva’s child protection training in emergency situations has increased in recent years. In partnership with several Christian relief organisations, we are developing tools and resources to enable local partners working in emergencies to ensure that their projects – whether health programmes, food assistance, or shelter, for example – are fully integrating child protection considerations. Kezia is spearheading this work and has travelled to conduct training in countries such as Lebanon, the Philippines and Bangladesh.