How We Work

Working in partnership
ICT works in partnership with local NGOs in Africa and Asia with the aim of supporting them to grow into strong, sustainable organisations that can make meaningful and lasting change to the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable children. A set of Programmes Partnership Principles guides our approach to partnership.

Sustainability
We take an integrated approach by not only investing in strong children’s programmes but also in the development of strong, sustainable organisations. We work with our partners to raise funds from a range of donors to help fund their programmes that directly benefit children. However, we believe that if these services are to be sustainable, we must also invest in our partners’ organisational development and the people who run them. We therefore foster learning and collaboration within our partner organisations e.g. facilitating training for staff members and encouraging networking with other local like-minded organisations. We also support advocacy initiatives so that local communities and governments become aware of their rights and responsibilities, stand up to corruption and injustice, and address their own needs.

Long-term commitment
We develop long-term partnerships for up to 15 years, therefore truly investing in the sustainability of our local partners’ organisations and activities without creating dependency. As partners become more independent, we gradually withdraw fundraising support for their programmes so that we can establish new partnerships with other organisations, although we continue to support our long-term partners through other ways such as child sponsorship.

Common themes
ICT and our partners work together along five common themes: (1) Quality education; (2) Improved health; (3) Protection from harm; (4) Secure livelihoods; and (5) Organisational development. The programmes that we design always incorporate the dimensions of advocacy and inclusion (disability, gender and HIV & AIDS). Although there is some diversity of vision and goals among our partners, all of us want to protect the rights of some of the world’s most vulnerable children and ensure they reach their potential.

Target groups
ICT and its partners aim to support some of the world’s most vulnerable children, their families and their communities, including:

Street and working children
Children living with disabilities
Girls and young mothers
Children affected by conflict
Former child soldiers and sex slaves
Child sex workers
Child labourers
Children living with HIV and AIDS

Prevention
We work with our partners to tackle the root causes of poverty. We focus on rural areas, towns and secondary cities, where there are greater opportunities for a preventive approach and fewer international NGOs already operating. Although many of our partners work within urban slum communities, they also target rural areas where there is extreme poverty and an opportunity to prevent children and their families from migrating to the streets and slums of urban centres.

Reintegration into families and communities
Typically children living at the margins of society grow up too fast. We believe that practical solutions such as education, and vocational training, in tandem with psychosocial support, can prepare them for independent living and reintegration back into society. ICT believes that families or family environments, no matter how distant, are vital to a child’s development, and that every step should be taken to prevent permanent disconnection between children and their communities. Therefore ICT and its partners aim to reintegrate street children with family members, if appropriate, or find other family-based alternatives.

Child rights and protection
Many of the children our partners support are extremely marginalised and lack a voice in society. Our partners make children aware of their rights and, by helping develop their literacy and numeracy, communication skills, self-esteem and confidence, enable them to articulate issues that affect them, so they, themselves, can advocate for their rights. Our partners work closely with local community leaders and institutions (schools, police and local service providers) to increase their engagement in child rights and protection initiatives.

Child and community participation
A participatory approach is fundamental to all that we do within ICT and our network of partners – where the views of the community, particularly children, help to shape key strategic and policy decisions of our local partners as well as influence the work they do on a daily basis.