Who we are

African child support is non-government organization founded by Channel Chauka the president/CEO, on 2016 with registration number 127280, and it is located at Dar es salaam, Tanzania. The organization was formed with the aim of help disadvantaged women and children who have been abandoned by their fathers. African Child Support envisages seeing all children get support and basic needs at the right time.

Child support is a form of support that is often ordered when two parents are no longer living together. It is the best interest of any child to have financial support from both parents. Child support may be ordered even in instances where a parent does not have contact with his or her child, unless that parent has legally surrendered parental right with the permission of both court and the other parent.

Parents who are not taking care of their children and are especially children who are born out of their marriage cause the problem of street children. This is caused by traditions and customs, which do not count children out of the marriage or before getting married as their children. Although the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania (URT) and other laws insists that parents should take care of their children. Because of traditions and customs, parents, especially women, who after giving birth to a child out of marriage she does not have rights to make a father of the child to take care of the child.

Rights of women and children are rarely recognized in Tanzania society, a lack of education and a fear of reprisal action prohibit them from voicing these rights. Tanzania has signed and rectified the United Nations Convection on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), but has failed to enact domestic child protection law to uphold the principles in this international treaty.

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Where we are

We are located in Dar es salaam City, Tanzania- East Africa. However, our long term focus is to work across the whole continent of Africa. 

 

Statistics show that Tanzania has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world. At the national level, the prevalence stands at 47%, happening more frequently among girls who are the least educated, poorest and living in rural areas.  The affected girls and young mothers are always at health risk due to complication at delivery and also diseases like HIV/AIDS and others. (Tanzania Demographic & Health Survey 2010 & 2015 - by Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics)Statistics show that Tanzania has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world. At the national level, the prevalence stands at 47%, happening more frequently among girls who are the least educated, poorest and living in rural areas.  The affected girls and young mothers are always at health risk due to complication at delivery and also diseases like HIV/AIDS and others. (Tanzania Demographic & Health Survey 2010 & 2015 - by Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics)

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What we intend to do

The organization, in collaboration with the World of Humanity is determined to tirelessly work towards the provision of child care and child welfare by doing the following;

• Attending cases which are already at stake (each advocacy as need may arise)

• To conduct various counselling of the parents who abandoned with children without any help to prevent future potential damages to this vulnerable group.

• To conduct seminars to the students in schools to enlighten people to take care of themselves to prevent future possibility of child abuse and neglect.

• Conducting seminars to spouses/families so as to impart the relevant awareness to them in a bid to avoid any future possibilities of child abuse.

• Conducting Television and Radio programmes aiming at bringing awareness to people/the general public on how best we can collectively curb child abuse in Tanzania and Africa in general.

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Globally, there are so many socio-economic, educational and technological development trends, mushrooming every day. Tanzania and Africa is not exempted from the impact of such trends. These trends invariably affect policies and procedures in dealing with human beings and their social problems.  African Child Support Foundation Limited, therefore, intends to establish a full time Research Section which will keep on investigating more issues about the problems of child abuse and the respective measures to curb the situation proactively.

 

We believe that research will help us handle properly the current cases and also help us to prevent the future possibility of down pour of child abuse in our communities.

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Mission

To give love, protection and hope to abandoned, neglected and abused children through the provision of health, education and empowerment in a bid to make them achieve their God given potentials.

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Vision

To have Africa in which every child attains all basic rights to enable him/her to have a good start in life.

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Moral Principles

• Collaboration

We respect the value of each other, thrive on our diversity, and work with partners to leverage our global strength in making the difference for children.

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• Creativity

As the world keeps on changing, we are open to new ideas, accept changes and take all required measures to develop sustainable solutions for children.

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• Accountability

We take complete responsibility for using resources efficiently to achieve measurable results, and being accountable to supporters, partners, and most of all children.

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Challenges

The problem of street children in Tanzania is alarming, according to UNICEF it is reported that only in Arusha and Da es Salaam there are about two million orphans who are potential street children. Increasing number of street children can be attributed to number of factors including unsupervised children in villages who migrate to the urban areas and those from town who enter the street, both on quest for survival. These unsupervised children are orphans and those lacking parental care mostly children gotten in early pregnancies when parent was not ready.

Although Tanzania’s laws insist on the protection of children by the government and parents, the condition is different in the ground. Some children are orphaned at the very young age hence miss parental care, others are single parents particularly women who for reasons of being abandoned or death of the partner they raise their children in isolation in a poor condition.

The African Child Support Foundation Limited (ACSF) intends to educate parents like single moms to know and demand their rights. This will ease their burden of caring the children by themselves and in the long run it may at least reduce the number of street children.

From the simple surveys, interviews and observations with regard to the problem of child care and welfare in Tanzania, especially those facing single mothers (most of them school dropouts); the African Child Support Foundation Limited (ACSF) was able  to identify the following challenges:

· What can be done to reduce or eliminate irresponsible sexual behaviors among teenagers or school children/students?

· How do we campaign for a collective responsibility for both parents (mother and father) to take care of their kids?

· How can we help the abandoned mothers and their children who mostly turn to the vulnerable streets for begging?

· What can be done to encourage the fathers and the whole community to be supportive to the care and welfare of the children?

· How can we help the abandoned mothers and children unleash and realize their potentials for the betterment of the society?

· How can we cooperate with the government to enact policies and support enforcement of laws protecting the Children in Tanzania?

 

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