At the heart of the Pope Francis Rescue Home (PFRH) lies a steadfast commitment to creating a world where all children live with dignity, their rights fully protected. At our core, is a calling to foster a society that prioritizes the safety, welfare, and holistic growth of every child. Guided by compassion and justice, our mission is to offer comprehensive support to children who are vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation, empowering them to realize their full potential irrespective of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender.
Aligned with Pope Francis' call for humanitarian action, PFRH takes both responsive and preventive approaches to child protection. We address the urgent needs of survivors while actively engaging communities in creating safe spaces and nurturing environments for children, starting with the project areas: Malindi Sub County, Magarini Sub County- Kilifi County, Tana Delta Sub County- Tana River County and the whole of Lamu County.
Rationale and Theory of Change
The project finds its rationale in the high incidences of violation of children’s rights in the three target counties and nationally. For instance, countrywide, 26.4 per cent of women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18, and 6.2 per cent of them were married before the age of 15. Data from a UNICEF Survey conducted in 2005/06 shows that 10,000 to 15,000 young children were involved in casual sex work across four districts of the coastal region. Ground monitoring reports show that in Malindi, an average of five cases of child rights violations are reported per week, out of which at least two are cases of incest. Factors identified these findings include poverty, community ignorance of children’s rights, negative behaviour and perceptions, and lack of services as key sources of vulnerability of children.
The Pope Francis Rescue Home conducts its activities based on the theory of change that IF caregivers increase their knowledge about the risks that sexual exploitation presents for children, adopt diversified sources of income, and utilize augmented services for child exploitation, THEN, children will be protected from sexual exploitation and its effects. This is because by gaining more awareness and understanding the consequences of child exploitation to the child, household and community in general, caregivers will be motivated to protect their children from sexual exploitation, as well as use improved child protection services.
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