AFRUCA – AFRICANS UNITE AGAINST CHILD ABUSE

PRESS RELEASE

23 January 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AFRUCA HOLDS SAFEGUARDING AFRICAN CHILDREN CONFERENCE IN LONDON

A cross section of community leaders and professionals in child welfare and child protection will participate in a regional conference on Safeguarding African Children on Wednesday 25 January.

Organised by AFRUCA – Africans Unite Against Child Abuse, a national charity promoting the welfare of African children, the conference is a follow up to a successful series of regional events with the same theme held across the country last year. It aims to raise professional awareness and skills on issues affecting the welfare of African children in London and the South East and provide a platform for deliberation on child safeguarding issues within the African community.

Key issues for deliberation include the trafficking of children, a subject which has given the government so much concern the Home Office have launched a consultation on proposals for a UK Action Plan to combat the problem. The conference will also consider the role of faith groups in child protection. This is a direct consequence of the recent explosion of cases involving

children as victims of exorcism rites in churches and the attendant abuse and harm suffered.

AFRUCA Director, Debbie Ariyo, explains the rationale for the regional conferences: “ At AFRUCA, we want to work with government agencies across the country to enable them and their staff to gain better knowledge, improved skills and understanding of the challenges facing African children and their own roles in addressing these.”

“In particular, we are keen for the events to lead to the development of partnerships and better collaboration between local and regional agencies with responsibilities for children and their local African communities in the best interest of children.”

Maria Eagle, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families will give the keynote speech. She said: “I would like to thank AFRUCA for providing this forum for everyone in London and the South East with an interest in safeguarding children to consider the many important issues affecting the welfare of African children in the UK; and

for the organisation's ongoing good work to safeguard and promote the welfare of such children”

Other speakers at the conference include Jane Dykins, Head of the Children’s Panel at the Refugee Council, Mary Kanu, Director of Development Support Agency, which campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation and Dr Mbololwa Lewanika, a Trustee of AFRUCA – Africans Unite Against Child Abuse.

Further safeguarding African children regional conferences are holding in the course of the year in Liverpool, Cardiff and Glasgow.

Ends

NOTE TO EDITORS

1. AFRUCA- Africans Unite Against Child Abuse is the leading charity promoting the welfare of African children in the UK

2. The Safeguarding African Children series of regional conferences was held in 2005 in Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle, in partnership with local agencies

3. For further information about AFRUCA and its work, please visit www.afruca.org

4. For further inquiries and interviews, please contact

Debbie Ariyo, AFRUCA Director

Tel: 0207 704 2261

Mobile: 07947 996 448

E-mail: debbie@afruca.org