Starting to think about change...

The last blog summarised the fieldwork undertaken in March, funded by a UNHCR Small Grant and focusing on a broad mapping of refugee children’s participation in protection in Kyaka II. A more detailed paper will be produced for UNHCR later in the year, based on systematic analysis of the data collected, and a copy will be uploaded onto our HIF project profile online.

Summary of activity

The Researcher has now spent a further three weeks conducting fieldwork in Kyaka II, funded by the HIF Small Grant. Activity conducted to date includes: 10 participatory workshops with groups of refugee children including a large community-based session in partnership with Right to Play; 9 semi-structured interviews with humanitarian practitioners and observation of two BID (Best Interests Determination) interviews by UNHCR and GIZ with unaccompanied children. Of the children’s workshops run to date, three have involved bringing together unaccompanied children living across the settlement to work with them as a group; another three have been at the Reception Centre with children who are, for example, new arrivals or awaiting refugee status determination (RSD). Practitioners interviewed to date include staff from UNHCR, GIZ, OPM (Office of the Prime Minister), Windle Trust (education NGO), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Right to Play and AHA (African Humanitarian Action) to obtain their perspectives and ideas on the refugee protection process with children.

Innovation process

As mentioned elsewhere (see Blog number 2, as well as the document ‘Refugee children as innovators’), child participation is our main route to innovation and we believe children are well placed to be innovators in their own protection. There has been recognition of children’s capacity to innovate amongst practitioners in Kyaka II:

‘They have very good ideas – children give us amazing solutions to their protection issues. They come up with ideas you never think about.’

‘It is best to talk to children – the way adults see things is different to the way children see things – they are at the centre of their own concern…’

In the workshops, some children recognise their ability to come up with good ideas on the protection process:

'Even a young girl can keep some child safe. Why? Because we are all from different families but we have the same problems – we have lost relatives during war. Because of the talents we have, we know how to make a better life.'

As discussed elsewhere, the methods chosen for the children’s workshops are those which are age appropriate and child friendly and build an environment within which children feel they can express themselves and their ideas. Some of the methods being used include:

• Puppet walk: younger children (aged 6-10) make puppets of refugee children and speak through them about protection concerns and solutions.
• Body map: a child’s body is drawn around onto a large piece of paper and the group maps all the protection concerns or ideas refugee children have around the outline of the body.
• Picture process: pictures are put up around the room showing scenes from the refugee protection process – arrival, reception centre, registration, refugee status determination interview – and children move around the process, commenting on each picture and feeding in their ideas for change.
• Drawing: children draw pictures of scenes from the refugee protection process and annotate with protection concerns. They then draw an alternative space or scene which they think would be better for children. Children present their pictures to the group.

The structure of the workshops encourages children to participate with games and energizers mixed in with more discussion based sessions. Also, a good quality participatory process – ensuring child friendly information about the workshops, informed consent, respect, no discrimination, feedback and rewards and recognition for children (for example workshop certificates) – helps to reinforce positive messages to children about contributing their views and ideas and values what they have to offer.

‘If you give a child a certificate, it is better than giving him money - it can help him in the future.’

There are, however, barriers to engaging children in the innovation process – for example, some children’s fear and lack of confidence in their ability to generate ideas and the influence of culture or community on adults’ reactions to children voicing their views and concerns:

‘Children don’t have the capacity for ideas.’

‘We need to think about the conditions of UAMs [unaccompanied minors] – they are suffering a lot – due to pressure and bad conditions. I told them: ‘don't fear, feel at home, it's your chance to talk and to play’. The training was wonderful, but the fear is because of their conditions as UAM…..They are not free to talk.’

‘Because they are older, they think that youngsters do not have good ideas – and are disobeying.’

Feedback about the workshops with children from NGO practitioners, refugee incentive workers, children and the community, however, has been positive overall to date. Support workers have said that ‘villages and parents are appreciating your work’ and that it is ‘showing that way of getting information through playing’. The majority of children fed back at the end of workshops that they liked the games, would ‘change nothing’ and many valued the opportunity to share their views and the way that this was facilitated:

‘The way you are asking questions concerning children's lives.’

‘Sharing ideas with others - it’s a good way – it is easy for a child to know the problems they are facing.’

‘He was happy because of the questions: you were able to know their problems.’

‘She was able to know about the pictures and [protection] process. She had forgotten everything but now has remembered.’

‘Playing was easy to enjoy.’

In terms of the innovation process with adult practitioners, a workshop is planned to present and discuss children’s ideas for change. In the interviews, adults have been asked to think about the gaps and needs in relation to child participation in the protection process; to consider what they feel would be truly innovatory in this field and to re-imagine a refugee settlement designed with a majority population under the age of 18 in mind.

Children’s comments: a snapshot

Already some interesting ideas are coming out of the children’s workshops, both in terms of the positives and problems they experience in the refugee protection process as well as their ideas for how it could change. Some themes which are developing include:

• How children feel at the point of arrival in the settlement and their specific needs in terms of basic assistance, adult support and child friendly information.
• The appropriateness of the Reception Centre as an environment for children – its problems and children’s priorities.
• The difficulties children experience in interview settings in terms of their basic well-being, questions, language, privacy and interaction. The positives children associate with protection interviews.
• The difficulties children experience approaching offices to discuss their protection concerns and what would make this easier for them.
• The ways that children can support each other and participate in their own protection and how adults can best support them.

Practitioner’s comments: a snapshot

Interviews with adult practitioners are also generating interesting comments and ideas including:

• How practitioners define a ‘child friendly space’ and the extent to which they feel that the refugee protection process is in keeping with child friendly principles.
• The importance of child participation for the psycho-social well-being of refugee children throughout the protection process.
• How the protection process might be ‘done differently’ and where there is room to pilot a more child-friendly approach.
• The importance of play for both participation and protection.
• What needs to be put in place to ensure that the refugee protection process is more effective in meeting refugee children’s specific protection needs.

Monitoring and evaluation

Data is being collected to monitor both the project’s progress but also the innovation process with children. A research diary logs the key milestones in the research as well as ethical, methodological and other issues that arise for the Researcher. Children are encouraged to provide feedback on the innovation process through evaluation activities and question and answer sessions which are being filmed. Monthly reports are being compiled and provided on the fieldwork to key organisations (GIZ, OPM, UNHCR) in Kyaka to gain feedback and commentary. The Translator and Community Protection Workers working with the Researcher review the children’s workshops on a weekly basis and provide feedback from parents and other members of the refugee community on how the research and the project are viewed. All the ideas and materials from the workshops are logged and photographed.

Future blogging

Further blogs will be provided from the settlement giving an update on the fieldwork conducted in May. As always, any comments and input are welcome – please email the Researcher directly on [email protected].

Anna Skeels, PhD Student, CMPR – Swansea University