Most parents and guardians at Putha Uttarganga, a rural municipality located in Eastern Rukum District were unaware of child rights. UMN has worked with the child clubs and adolescents’ groups in the seven wards of its project areas but to achieve better results and impacts we need a functioning child rights policy in place.

For the first time under the child protection intervention, a Childrens Rights Protection and Promotion Committee has recently been formed at Putha Uttarganga in which UMN facilitated and supported. As  part of the government’s mandatory structure, the committee is being mobilised at the rural municipality level. A child protection policy is also in the process of being drafted at Putha and has been drafted, which will further guide the committee.

Hemanta Rai, UMN’s Protection Project Manager in Rukum has worked very closely in this project. He explained what the situation was before. Earlier, none of these policies or safeguards or procedures were in place to protect the rights of women and children:

• No government mechanism to resolve child protection issues 
• No Act to support child protection
• No attempts to meet a specific standard of child rights in any activities.
• No forum for children 

But now the committee will start working towards ensuring that women and children are protected. The child clubs and adolescent clubs will also be able to liaise with the wards and advocate on issues of child rights and this will also make it easier for different wards to advocate on the same.