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Democratic functioning and good governance
Democratic functioning is the only option for efficiency and good governance. Its principles constitute the basis for ensuring that all decisions taken reflect the needs and respect the rights of each and every one. Adherence to procedures becomes effective, based on to what extent people are able to participate in the decision-making process. The description below underlines our attempt at responding to the challenge that democratic functioning represents to our organisation.
The Fondation pour L`Enfance Terre De Paix is a registered, democratic non-governmental organisation. Forty members constitute its General Assembly, which is its supreme institutional structure. Holding office for 2 years, twelve members are elected at the annual general assembly to serve on the managing committee. The latter is entrusted with the authority to decide on ways and means of furthering the objectives of the association in the implementation processes of child-centered projects. The annual general assembly is further empowered to discuss the audited accounts of the association before approval. It would review all other financial matters as regards budgeting for the future as well. Major orientations in terms of policy would be decided at the general assembly.
A finance committee, a pedagogical committee and an ad-hoc committee on specific matters support the managing committee. These support structures are essential links with the day to day running of the activities of the association. They form part of the decision-making and the implementation processes of the association ensuring effective participation of each and everyone. The managing committee meets every month and is appraised by the director through a progress report on all the activities of the association. All major decisions are taken or ratified at the level of the managing committee, which decides as well on the recruitment of the personnel.
Further democratic functioning is allowed through the work of an advisory committee whereby the participation of other members of the association, members of the personnel and other resource persons are ensured. This committee would meet on its own or instructed by the managing committee to discuss and propose solutions on issues needing in-depth research and discussion. Participation at the advisory committee level has been most fruitful both in terms of ideas and implementation of specific projects.
The Fondation pour L`Enfance Terre De Paix and the Convention on the Rights of the Child: the links
The democratic nature of our organisation requires that our service delivery systems and structures are able to respond adequately to the principle of smooth articulation between the felt needs of people on the one hand and the pedagogical methods to be used on the other. Our whole institutional set-up aims at enhancing this type of orientation. The Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC), to which our country is a party since 1990, acts our guiding principles in this respect.
Adhesion to the CRC sets the stage for our projects to anchor themselves deep from the survival, developmental, participation and protection perspectives that have to be taken into consideration when providing any type of service to children, the more so, to children in distress. Our approach to providing services then stems from the need to empower people rather than to keep them as life-long beneficiaries. We have to constantly challenge the charity model of care that severely undermines human dignity.
Working with the Rights perspective with children, requires that we
1. develop the appropriate concepts,
2. set up the physical and environmental structures and arrangements and
3. have the properly trained human resources to run the relevant activities. These three components have been present at the onset of all our projects.
Using these tools, we have developed the right to alternative care for children in hostile environments with concepts which are appropriate to the overall development of the child. This is how we have been able to develop and implement the concepts of foster care and autonomy through youth home (Article 20 of the CRC in particular). Besides the development and implementation of the concept of special education for children with socio-economic vulnerability, we have developed as well mother tongue based education and training for children at our school structures. And these projects have proved to be conclusive experiences. They all take into consideration what the CRC urges everyone to include as concepts and methods in working with children.
Culture and development with adequate emphasis on the issue of environment is nowat the top of our agenda in our quest to better understand the complexities of the world in which we live. Backed by sufficient unchallenged scientific evidence now, we strongly believe that the cultural and environment components in any type of activity enhance the possibilities of success of that activity.
Functioning of the Organisation
Service delivery mechanisms
The Association has set up a staffing structure headed by a director to manage on a day-to-day basis its activities. This structure allows for the contribution of volunteers in a productive way as well.
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