Stepping Stones Child Empowerment Foundation

Our passion for the work ahead

SSNCEF envisages a Niger Delta where all children had access to their rights and opportunities for development; and are protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation.

SSNCEF is working to protect and promote the rights of vulnerable and disadvantaged

"I'm doing what I think I was put on this earth to do. And I'm really grateful to have something that I'm passionate about and that I think is profoundly important. But this would have been far from reality without support and commitment from people like Gary and Naomi Foxcroft, The SSNCEF team and Trustees, our solidarity has produced the result we see today."

By Luckyimoh Inyang
Program Director SSNCEF (extract from SSNCEF-ANNUAL-REPORT- 2008)

CORE VALUES:

All children have the right to be protected from physical and psychological abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

All children should have access as much as possible to universal basic education, primary health care, nutrition, shelter and family love, and clothing.

All children should participate fully in matters concerning them.

All interactions with children should be carried out with the best interest of the child at heart and should be grounded in the principles contained within the UNCRC.

We do not believe that children can be ‘witches’ and we are not concerned with proving or disproving the existence or non-existence of child witchcraft. However, we respect the right of individuals to hold this belief on the condition that this does not lead to the abuse of child rights as outlined in the UNCRC.

We believe that the Church and the wider Christian community have a moral responsibility to acknowledge the role of the church in preventing child abuse and to work with all stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the violations of child rights. It is the duty of all churches to ensure that children are protected from harm and that their teachings do not lead to the abuse of children.

We insist that the government should promote child development and prevent child abuse by ensuring full implementation of the Child Rights Act.

The role of individuals and civil society in promoting and protecting the rights of children cannot be underestimated because children do not have the capacity to protect themselves in a world dominated by adults. We believe that all citizens have a moral obligation to protect children from harm, regardless of whether they believe or not that children can be ‘witches’.

VISION

SSNCEF envisages a Niger Delta where all children had access to their rights and opportunities for development; and are protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation.

MISSION

SSNCEF is working to protect and promote the rights of vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the Niger Delta of Nigeria through advocacy and service delivery.

FOCUS

SSNCEF’s main areas of focus are Child Stigmatization and Abandonment; Child Trafficking; and Child Labour; and Violence.

"Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship."
Kofi Annan

pOSTER

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

To ensure that street, abandoned and other vulnerable children have increased access to essential services including health, education, nutrition, and clothing.

To strengthen the capacity of families, including children to protect and care for themselves and support other vulnerable children.

To raise awareness and increase understanding of issues affecting street and abandoned children (especially child witchcraft stigmatization) among policy makers and the general population through advocacy and social mobilization.

To mobilize community-based responses and support for street, abandoned and other vulnerable children’s life opportunities, protection and care.

To liaise effectively with relevant Government Ministries, Agencies, Departments, or NGOs/FBOs/CBOs with a view to offering complementary services.

To strengthen capacity of partners in child protection programmes implementation, monitoring and evaluation.