We continue to implement the project "Improving the Protection of Children in Emergencies in Ukraine by Providing Safe Shelters, Food and Non-Food Items, and Psychosocial Support", whose main target audience is children. To deepen the relevant competencies of the project team, Yevheniia Melesh, a lawyer of the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya, and Anhelina Kykyna, the organization's office manager, took part in a three-day training course on administrative case management and the prevention of child rights violations. 

The trainer of the educational and practical course is a child safeguarding specialist from the organization "terre des hommes Deutschland e.V." Tanja Abubakar-Funkenberg, who has been working with the non-governmental sector in Ukraine for a long time in the context of exchanging experience and integrating standardized operating procedures (SOP) for case management in the field of child safeguarding into domestic practices.

This is not the first time our team has participated in information sessions organized by our German partners. This time, the focus was on creating accessible and secure channels for reporting child rights violations, including sensitive cases (corruption, violence, abuse), and supporting children and families through assessment, planning, monitoring, and coordination of assistance. The procedure for investigating cases was illustrated in a simulation format, covering the stages of information gathering, conducting interviews, distributing roles during internal investigations, and making decisions in accordance with the principles of safety and confidentiality. Participants learned about a survivor-centered approach, where the rights and needs of survivors are prioritized, the goal of intervention is to provide immediate assistance and avoid re-traumatization, and the tool is to involve psychosocial and legal support.

As a result, training participants gained knowledge and practical skills in developing mechanisms for responding to complaints about possible violations of children's rights, effectively managing such cases, conducting ethical and safe internal investigations, and applying survivor-centered approaches.

It should be noted that the Charitable Organization "Charity Fund "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya" has developed a "Child and Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding Policy", which guides the activities of both the Committee and all partner organizations. This is an important component of all activities initiated, implemented, and supported by the organization.