 |
| |
Creating a world where every vulnerable child
is able to reach his or her potential |
|
|
|
|
Maestral International's target population is all vulnerable children in need of a sustainable family environment. These are children under the age of 18 who are in need of care and protection because they have lost or are at risk of losing one or both parents or primary caregivers through death, disappearance, separation, detention, severe illness or abandonment
Maestral International's strategy is to mobilize its leading experts in child welfare and protection to move the world closer to our vision. It does so by:
- Identifying national level opportunities within selected countries to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families by promoting and facilitating policy dialogue and change, providing technical assistance and training to strengthen government capacity to enhance service delivery, and encouraging improved coordination of key governmental, multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental agencies and programs;
- Focusing on a highly selective number of promising interventions, working in depth in no more than 3 to 5 countries at any given time, while addressing the complex and cross cutting systems required to achieve change;
- Advancing understanding of what works through effective monitoring and evaluation, dissemination of lessons learned, and support to research efforts; and
- Participating in and facilitating networks of organizations, policymakers, public and private agencies, and regional and global organizations to identify channels for leveraging support to help orphaned and children without parental care
THE GLOBAL OVC CRISIS
Children are losing the battle against war, disease, and poverty — and large numbers of young children are fighting that war alone. A corporate annual report describing this might show:
- A global 'balance sheet' revealing 133 million orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide (UNICEF 2005) from all causes — a number almost as large as the population of Russia — with perhaps 8 million in residential institutions according to Save the Children;
- Government failures at protecting children leading to deteriorating 'net assets' with 14.7 million newly orphaned and children without parental care in 2005 alone as the result of war, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and poverty, equivalent to 40,274 newly orphaned and vulnerable children a day, and with many of those children being stripped of their economic assets, their family and community support systems, their security from abuse and predation by adults and older children, and an education that would provide them with a basis for hope;
- A 'risks' section outlining uncoordinated programs unable to stem the tide and with varying degrees of government support in any given country; and
- A 'management discussion' highlighting the need to invest in new strategies and technologies to turn this around, with returns measured by a substantial reduction in the number of orphans and children without parental care and marked by their increased ability to grow up to become full members of their communities.
OUR SERVICES
Maestral International's services include:
- Public policy assessments
- Situation diagnostics and assessments
- Strategic planning with key agencies and counterparts
- System management and administration reviews
- Program and project design, development and implementation
- Direct technical assistance and training
- Conference and workshop design and implementation
- Research, monitoring and evaluation
|
|
|
