Pakistan, a project led by ACTED, in collaboration with ABES and Right to Play, has highlighted the importance of community-led protection efforts, especially in challenging environments. The Closing the Gap project, implemented between 2021 and 2023 in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh regions, focused on improving access to education for women and young girls, often hindered by cultural barriers.
According to Pak NGOs, the project’s success hinged on community engagement and ownership, particularly in establishing School Management Committees (SMCs) in each project location. These committees, comprising local teachers, parents, influential community members, and in some cases, elders and Civil Society Organization (CSO) members, played a pivotal role in the project’s effectiveness.
Key learnings from the project underscore the necessity of involving communities from the start, ensuring diverse representation in SMCs, and conducting participatory needs assessments. The project team worked closely with SMCs, providing regular orientation on child protection, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) standards, and ACTED’s policies. Specialized sessions covering child protection, gender-based violence, child marriages, and other forms of abuse were delivered in local languages with the support of local CSO members.
The project demonstrated the effectiveness of sensitization activities that respect the dignity and safety of individuals and communities. Emphasizing safeguarding as a community-driven, rather than donor-driven, agenda proved to be more effective, aligning with the community’s values and rights to safety and dignity.
Feedback from the community highlighted safeguarding and child protection as critical aspects of the project, leading to behavioral changes in the broader community for the empowerment of young girls. Implementers were urged to develop materials in local languages to ensure clarity and understanding.
Moreover, contextualized risk assessments and mitigation plans were essential, with community involvement being key to their success. The project team regularly updated SOPs and memos to ensure community safety and inclusion, adhering to a strict Code of Conduct and safeguarding policies.
Community members’ involvement with local and national government stakeholders was identified as challenging but crucial. ACTED endeavored to bridge the gap between SMCs and government units, although this was difficult within the project timeframe.
The project concluded with the realization that communities deserve more recognition for their role in protection and should be engaged and empowered at all levels. Communities are crucial in identifying protection risks and needs, understanding challenges and gaps, and creating sustainable impact on the lives of children and vulnerable groups. Thus, community involvement, whether through SMCs or other groups, is essential for establishing and sustaining effective safeguarding and child protection mechanisms.