Tag: World Vision

World Vision and Vice Presidency announce winners of the Journalism for Children Award

A recognition to the best stories and journalistic research, in favor of vulnerable children in the Dominican Republic.

World Vision, with the support of the Vice Presidency of the Republic, announced the winners of the first edition of the World Vision Journalistic Award: “Journalism for children,” Leandro Sánchez of Pandora magazine, Kharla Pimentel of the Report with Alicia Ortega and Tania Molina and Mariela Mejía from diariolibre.com.

“We are very pleased to be able to reward journalists who carry out their work to educate and sensitize the population, on fundamental issues that contribute to the denouncement of situations that affect children and teenagers and that promote the guarantee of their rights,” said Juan Carlo Ramírez, national director of World Vision, during the awards ceremony.

In the print media category, Leandro Sánchez, of Pandora magazine by El Caribe newspaper, got the award from his work Protecting Them from Abuse, about child violence.

Similarly, the jurors decided to award the Television category to Kharla Pimentel, for the research work Tronchando Proyectos de Vida (cutting off life-projects), on child marriage, transmitted in The Report with Alicia Ortega of the SIN Group.

Because of a series of reports on the irregularities of baseball, Tania Molina and Mariela Mejía, from diariolibre.com.do, won the Digital Media category, for the research work La caja tramposa que trae la pelota dominicana. (The tricky box that brings the Dominican ball)

In this first edition, twenty nine journalists participated with 43 papers, from 13 different media platforms.

Each of the categories was awarded a statuette and a cash distinction of RD$50,000.

The jury was composed by the president of the Dominican College of Journalist Adriano de la Cruz; the coordinator of the Social Communication career at the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC), Rosa Alcántara, and by CONANI, it’s executive president, Kenya Lora Abreu and the Technical Support Manager, Penelope Melo.

Also,, from the Dominican Academy of Language and Fundéu-Guzmán Ariza, the writer and linguist, Rafael Peralta Romero and the director of Magazines and Communications of Listín Diario and author of the children’s book A kitten in the Colonial City, Rosanna Rivera.

Of the 43 jobs received, marriage and child labor, sexual abuse, femicide, family, crime, and adoption were the most prevalent issues.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B19xy31HsPg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The call will remain open until August 1, 2019.

Santo Domingo, June 2019.- On their 30th anniversary in the Dominican Republic, World Vision called for the World Vision Journalistic Award: “Journalism for children”, with the purpose of recognizing and stimulating the work of prevention and defense of situations that affect children and adolescents in the Dominican Republic.

Juan Carlo Ramírez, national director of World Vision, reported that in addition to recognizing the arduous and important work of journalists, they seek to motivate the national media to continue paying more and more attention to issues related to the violation of the rights of children to provoke changes, restore rights and raise public awareness.

• Related: World Vision and Humano contribute to eliminating child violence

The call will be open until August 1, 2019, and works published between July 15, 2018, and June 15, 2019, maybe postulated, in three categories: written press, television, radio or digital media.

According to the contest rules, each journalist may submit a maximum of two works, which have not been awarded in any other contest.

Ilonka Herrera, director of Marketing and Communication explained that a winner will be recognized for each category with RD$ 50,000 and will also be given a plaque of recognition, in an act that will be held in the month of September of this year 2019.

Herrera said that they will reward characteristics characteristic of journalism such as the news value, the novelty, and relevance of the subject, the style, the argumentation and the successful use of complementary resources. The jury is composed of professionals and academics of great prestige.

The contest rules are published on the website: https://www.worldvision.org.do/ 

Santo Domingo May 2019. On Mother’s Month, World Vision joins the Madres Solidarias initiative, from the social responsibility program “Humano de Corazón” (Human by Heart) from Grupo Humano, to raise funds in support of the “We need everything the world to eliminate violence against children.”

Madres Solidarias is an initiative full of positivism, love, and hope that has been growing and showing the solidarity face of the Dominicans, according to the words of Diomares Musa, Vice President of Marketing, Corporate Development and CSR of Humano, during the presentation of the 4th edition of the collection composed of 8 chains that have a representative saying of each one of the foundations that participate.

The spokesperson of the communication campaign that will support the initiative is the communicator Pamela Sued, who since the first edition has added to this noble cause her charisma and sensitivity, the campaign will have the slogan “feel her joy, closer to you.”

For World Vision, being part of the Madres Solidarias 2019 collection represents a great help, since each purchase made by a person helps children from the most vulnerable communities in the country receive support for protection against violence.

The chain is made with a copper and bronze base and three gold sheets of 18, 22 and 24 carats, and an extender to adjust its size. The piece was made and imported from Brazil and designed exclusively by the “Skillus” store, with the star symbol of the organization’s logo that means “hope.”

This design consists of 200 units that will have a retail price of RD$ 1,200 that can be purchased through the website www.humanodecorazon.com

World Vision has been in the Dominican Republic for over 30 years, with the purpose of making a significant contribution to the well-being of boys and girls. During all the years of presence in the country, the focus of the organization has been on the promotion, safety, and protection of the rights of children.

• Related: World Vision certifies 46 people on Children’s Rights and Political Advocacy

About Humano de Corazón (Human by Heart)

It is the corporate social responsibility program of Grupo Humano, which has the mission of unconditionally supporting the recovery of low-income children affected by diseases of high cost and complexity and permanent living conditions, forging alliances with foundations and prominent institutions in the field of health, returning smiles with full-hearted support.

In the 12 years of the program, they have been able to impact the lives of more than 4,700 children who have sponsored their operations or treatments, or encouraging healthy habits through medical days and educational programs.

Humano de Corazón, with a cumulative social investment of more than RD $ 70 million, has touched the lives of more than 7,000 children through its own actions and the support to those made by the allied foundations.

Santo Domingo, March 2019. World Vision since 1989, has implemented assistance programs to improve the quality of life of Dominican children, in the most vulnerable areas of the Dominican Republic, and since then it has benefited more than 45,000 thousand children, girls, and teenagers a year.

One of the benefits of this organization for the areas of intervention where the projects are executed is the strengthening and effective operation of the National Child Protection System.

During the last three decades, this international Christian organization has made great contributions to the strengthening of this system. World Vision, in its long history, has directed countless initiatives of political influence, among which the promotion and dissemination actions to promote the creation of Law 136-03: Code for the System of Protection and Fundamental Rights of Children, Girls and teenagers.

It also contributed to the propagation of this law, through the implementation of Diplomas on Children’s Rights and Political Advocacy, endorsed by several universities, through which more than 1,300 social actors of the protection system in the public sector have been trained and private. Likewise, a national strategic framework worked to address all forms of violence against children, thus collaborating in the preparation and adoption of the National Roadmap for the prevention and elimination of violence against this segment of the population.

In addition, it provided technical support in order to train and establish Municipal Directories and Local Boards for the Protection of Children, achieving the creation and / or strengthening of 92 Municipal Directories and 87 Local Boards for the Protection and Restitution of Rights through the alliance with the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI).

This organization has been the main promoter of a breeding with tenderness, alternative and non-violent, that is why it has been dedicated to providing training on models of non-violent breeding and humiliating treatment for fathers, mothers and guardians and sons and daughters with the objective of contributing to the strengthening of the social and family environments of children and adolescents.

To ensure that this methodology achieved a significant impact on public policies, it provided technical and financial support in the preparation of the proposal for the Draft Law on Positive Discipline.

In November, World Vision will turn 30 in the Dominican Republic.

Since his arrival in the country he has worked in the defense and human development of children in communities where there was a high level of violence against children and as part of his work plan for this 2019, he will carry out various activities to continue promoting the strengthening of the National System of Protection against Violence of Dominican Children.

• Related: World Vision and Rotary Dominican Republic sign agreement for the welfare of children

Santo Domingo, January 29, 2019. The NGO Coalition for Children called on the whole society to promote the strengthening of the National Protection System, as a way to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents and prevent violence against Children as established in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Code for the Protection of the Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents (Law 136-03).

The Coalition noted the important gaps that exist in the implementation of Law 136-03 and in public policies; as the fact that in the country, since 2007, an evaluation of the National Protection System has not been carried out, to determine the progress, weaknesses, and strengths of said system, which allows defining a national plan that responds to the findings of such evaluation.

Other challenges that stand out are child marriage and early unions, allowed by current legislation; corporal punishment as a method of correction that covers more than 60% of infants; teenage pregnancy, reaching a rate of 22%; among other problems that limit the enjoyment and full exercise of the rights of Dominican children and adolescents, child labor, absence of public policies for children with families deprived of liberty or because of femicide, tolerance against problematic of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, among other problems that limit the enjoyment and full exercise of the rights of Dominican children and adolescents. Understand that it becomes necessary:

1. Support the strengthening of the National Protection System: prioritizing actions of CONANI for the installation of municipal offices, municipal directories, and local boards for protection and restitution of rights, in accordance with Law 136-03.
2. Approval of the draft Law on Positive Parenting is urgently needed so that I know that it prohibits physical and humiliating punishment of children and is clear evidence of violence against children.
3. Prohibit child marriage: by modifying the Dominican Civil Code, to prohibit without exception marriage before 18 years of age.
4. Reduce child mortality: public policies that reduce the high infant mortality rate in our country must be implemented.
5. Increased budget for investment in children: to ensure the effective functioning of the mechanisms and structures established by law 136-03, especially at the local and municipal level, and the adoption of transparency and accountability controls in the management of public funds administered by CONANI.

In that same order, the coordinator of the NGO Coalition for Children, Catalina Encarnación Marte, indicated that they value the efforts promoted by CONANI in its new management and as a Coalition we are committed to participating, together with other civil society institutions to contribute with these efforts, in the search for solutions that contribute to the strengthening of the National Protection System, which favor a better quality of life and dignity of Dominican children, as well as the guarantee of their fundamental rights.

He added that it is necessary to prioritize within the actions of CONANI the installation of municipal offices, municipal directories, and local boards for the protection and restitution of rights, by Law 136-03.

The NGO Coalition for Children is a space for articulation and synergy for advocacy that brings together more than 32 civil society organizations that are experts in child and adolescent protection.

• Related: World Vision coordinates Early Childhood Bureau in the Consultation to SDG 4

Santo Domingo, December 2018.– World Vision, as part of the organizations that ensure the well-being of children, participated in the “Consultation to SDG 4. The education we want for Sustainable Development 2030”, coordinating the Early Childhood table and Initial Education.

An initial diagnosis to identify the challenges of families to access the educational centers are among the proposals emerged at the discussion tables, from which actions can be focused according to the diversity of challenges found in the diagnosis ; the strengthening of the capacities of the trainers and the trainers of initial level and the monitoring of the impact of the programs.

The strengthening of measures that allow the permanence of teachers at the initial level was defined as a priority and emphasis were placed on the community as a reference element in the development of educational goals, being necessary to integrate families and engage them with spaces of training and service networks.

The meeting was organized by the Dominican Initiative for Quality Education (IDEC) and brought together multiple civil society organizations and other actors to analyze the progress of education based on the analysis of the goals proposed in the strategic plan of the Ministry of Education. Education 2017-2020.

World Vision, as part of the Socio-Educational Forum, led the discussion around the goals proposed in early childhood and early childhood education, after different actors presented the current situation and the indicators of the progress of the goals proposed by the State through the responsible institutions.

• Related: World Vision and Humano contribute to eliminating child violence

During the meeting, it was insisted that quality is the great challenge, beyond the coverage goals that, according to the indicators presented, have exceeded expectations in many cases.

In the Dominican Republic, World Vision impacts more than 35,000 children, adolescents, and youth in the communities where it works directly, in at least ten provinces of the country. Part of its strategic objectives is to demand and promote public policies for inclusive and quality education for Dominican children.

World Vision is an international Christian organization for humanitarian aid, development, and promotion of justice, dedicated to working with children, families, and communities to reduce poverty and injustice. Serves all people regardless of race, religion, ethnic group, or gender.

World Vision, the Inter-American Institute of Children and Adolescents (IIN) of the OAS, the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel) and the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) join forces to move towards a promotion policy and protection of the rights of children and adolescents on the Internet.

For which, the first promotion of adolescents of the Intergenerational Network of Multiplier Agents for the Safe Use of Internet (RIAMUSI), a project implemented by World Vision and the IIN, was certified.

Adolescents, teachers, mothers, fathers and caregivers of the La Paz and Herbal Mirabal educational centers, of Villa Mella, and Santiago Hirujo Sosa and Emma Balaguer, of Sabana Perdida, learned skills that certify them as agents in the safe use of the Internet and contributed in the construction of manuals, protocols and procedures to address the issue.

RIAMUSI reduces risks of children on the Internet

Juan Carlo Ramírez, national director of World Vision, said that the RIAMUSI project contributes to the “reduction of the risks to which children and adolescents are exposed and allows to address situations of violation of their rights derived from access and use of the Internet ”

“We firmly believe that together we can ensure that children and adolescents can use the Internet as a tool to access their rights and manage tools to protect themselves from online risks,” said Luis Albernaz, representative of the IIN.

In the activity, the book “Intergenerational Network for the Promotion of the Safe Use of the Internet” was launched, a methodological proposal of World Vision and IIN with a view to making this methodology a public policy.

• Related – World Vision: 30 years implementing programs to protect children

Indotel-CONANI Agreement

During the meeting, Indotel and CONANI signed a collaboration agreement to work together for the online protection of children and adolescents.

From this agreement, signed by Kenya Lora, executive president of CONANI, and Luis Henry Molina, president of the Indotel Board of Directors, will promote universal access to ICTs, through programs and projects that contribute to the reduction of the gap digital children and adolescents.

Kenya Lora expressed satisfaction with the signed agreement, since, in its opinion, the Internet and the electronic devices used for access, “have become the basis of communication and development, but their responsible use is equally important because it determines on many levels the coexistence in the home and in the society in which our children and adolescents operate ”.

On his side, Luis Henry Molina welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed Indotel’s commitment to promote the protection of children and adolescents, the closing of the digital divide and the healthy use of the Internet, principles that he said he shared fully with CONANI, “in the framework of the National Digital Republic strategy of the government of President Danilo Medina ”.

Santo Domingo, November 2018.- Parenting with tenderness is presented as a path of transformation and restoration to build healthier, more supportive and fair ties, which will contribute to improving the quality of life of the family and of course of society, so Consider the director of World Vision, Juan Carlo Ramírez.

Likewise, affection, healthy, positive, respectful communication and the establishment of limits are fundamental elements that must be contributed in the family, says the family therapist, Rafaela Burgos.

Through the Crianza con Tennura campaign, World Vision Dominican Republic, develops a methodological guide with the objective that tenderness is assumed as an essential element for the upbringing of children, not only in the family nucleus but also in the school and community, with the purpose of creating a collective commitment.

“Parents don’t have to be perfect. It’s about trying to do their best, looking for information, getting advice, but above all, trying to make progress according to what is needed at all times. In families there are stages, it is not the same education as that of a child of three then that of a child of eight, twelve or fifteen, that is why parents have to adapt, ”said Burgos, president of the Center for Development and Constructive Interaction (Cedic).

About the work that World Vision does in the Dominican Republic, Juan Carlo Ramírez explains that they have field offices where projects that address the central problems that affect Dominican children are implemented, “each year we impact 36,000 children on issues of protection of children and education, in territories of greater vulnerability and density of children and youth population, ”he said.

“Our projects are concentrated in the southwest region, the border area and in the poverty belts of the cities, where the most vulnerable population of the country is located,” said Ramírez.

“In World Vision, we seek to transform the quality of life of the neediest based on Christian principles. In the Dominican Republic, we have been working for 29 years, and globally, we have more than 60 years, achieving great results, ”says the director of this humanitarian aid organization.

This non-profit fellowship has 12 Area Development Programs throughout the Dominican territory, and with the Crianza program with tenderness, they address in a timely manner the improvement in family relationships.

According to Ramírez, “according to official studies, six out of 10 children suffer physical or psychological violence in their homes, and in some areas World Vision has proven that this figure can increase to eight out of 10 children, right there we intervene to ensure that that reality changes, ”he said.

• Related: Institutions unite for the protection of children on the safe use of Internet

World Vision Dominican Republic and the International Mission of Justice signed a multi-year agreement to promote the prevention and response to commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and adolescents in the Dominican Republic.

September 19, 2018.– With the aim of promoting prevention and response to commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and adolescents in the Dominican Republic, community awareness, case response, and the restitution of survivors’ rights and based on God’s call to rebuke the oppressor and protect widows and orphans, which is the same as protecting children and adolescents victims of these scourges, World Vision Dominican Republic and the International Mission of Justice ( IJM), signed an agreement that will reach children and adolescents under eighteen who live in conditions of poverty and social vulnerability in the territories prioritized by both organizations, actors of the public justice and protection system at national and local level, community actors including families, community and religious leaders, and grassroots community organizations.

Both World Vision and the International Justice Mission pledged to coordinate support actions for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, prevention actions at the community level, including the design, printing, and dissemination of educational material, awareness campaigns, and initiatives of social mobilization and influence.

Juan Carlo Ramírez, National Director of World Vision and Juan José Gómez, National Director of International Mission of Justice (IJM), signed the agreement, with the presence of Jhonny Bidó, Director of Mobilization and Incidence of International Mission of Justice (IJM), and Marvin García, director of Operations of World Vision.

Similarly, actions will be organized aimed at strengthening the capacities of actors belonging to the protection system in terms of prevention, identification and attention to cases, as well as coordinating political advocacy actions aimed at bringing to light the problems associated with violence Affecting children, carrying out and publishing studies and research on the situation of children at risk of being treated for commercial sexual exploitation and related crimes, and strengthening the legal framework and guarantees of children’s rights , girls and teenagers.

• Related: World Vision proposes strategies to eliminate violence against children

For these purposes, it is planned to identify the training needs of the staff of both parties and coordinate the implementation of the training actions and sources of financing for the implementation of the actions specified above.

With this agreement, organizations take a step in favor of the protection of children and adolescents in situations of abuse and injustice in the most vulnerable regions of our country.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian development organization, dedicated to working with children, youth, their families, and communities to reduce poverty and injustice. We are dedicated to working with the most vulnerable people in the world, regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.