Chine McDonald appointed to new World Vision UK church role

Chine McDonald joins World Vision UK as Head of Christian Influence & Engagement

Today, on the occasion of the Global Disability Summit, the UK Government became the first major donor of its kind to explicitly pledge support for family and community-based care for all children.

Championing families and not orphanages, Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, announced: “Orphanages are harmful to children and it is often those with disabilities who are placed in them the most. This needs to end, which is why I’m committed to the long-term plan to ensure all children grow up with a family of their own.”

An NGO alliance including Hope and Homes, Lumos, Save the Children and World Vision - have joined forces to echo the UK Government’s commitment and support global change for children trapped in orphanages, especially those with disabilities who are the furthest left behind. The launch ofthe new ‘Civil Society Compact [CSO Compact]’ sets out a pathway for change to help eliminate orphanages worldwide.

“Recognising that institutionalisation harms children – and that children with disabilities are overrepresented in institutions –we commit to work together toward eliminating the institutionalisation of children globally. Ensuring our organisations do not contribute towards the institutionalisation of children, directly or indirectly - and in line with international treaties and best practice, we share the UK Government’s pledge to enable all children to have the opportunity to realise their right to family care.”

World Vision is a proud signatory to the CSO Compact, which is set out in full below.

Now is the time for other governments, funders, companies and individuals to follow suit and invest in alternatives to orphanages so all children can thrive in families.

CSO COMPACT

Recognising that institutionalisation harms children’s physical, emotional, psychological and psychosocial development, the undersigned organisations pledge to work toward the end of institutionalization of children and for the promotion of family-based care.

The occasion of the first Global Disability Summit makes this a particularly appropriate moment for this commitment, since children with disabilities are often the first to enter an institution and the last to leave.

In-line with international treaties and best practice, including the UN Guidelines on the Alternative Care of Children, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we share the UK Government’s pledge to enable all children to have the opportunity to realise their right to family care and, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, commit to leave no child behind in this effort.

We are committed to ensuring our organisations do not, either directly or indirectly, contribute towards the institutionalisation of children. We are also committed to coordinating our activities and resources to maximise our collective efforts to support the transition to family and community-based care worldwide. Specifically, we commit to coordinating around six key themes:

Raising awareness and understanding in a way that stops the flow of funding and resources in support of orphanages and other types of institutions, and helping to redirect this support to family and community-based solutions.  We will also seek to influence our partners, supporters and donors to work in a coordinated way to do the same.

Encouraging the integration of child protection and care services with health and education support in order to promote family-based care and ensure that the wide-ranging needs of children with disabilities and their carers are met.

Advocating with decision-makers - international and national - to prevent the placement of children into institutions, and to ensure that legislation and policy are always derived from a locally developed evidence base on how to best combat the key drivers of institutionalisation.

Investing in (whether financial or in-kind) local partner capacity – civil society and local authorities – to effectively manage the transition from institutions to quality family and community-based care in ways that protect the rights of affected children.

Promoting the meaningful participation of children and young people - actively seeking out, listening to and acting on the views and opinions of the young people and children we work with, and where safe and appropriate to do so, giving them a platform to share their views and ideas more widely – paying particular attention to ensuring gender balance, and the inclusion of children with disabilities and other minority groups.

Researching and generating an evidence base about key issues such as:

·       best practice interventions to address the key drivers of institutionalisation;

·       the proliferation and poor quality of care in these institutions;

·       ways to challenge the invisibility of children in institutions, especially children with disabilities;

·       the most appropriate alternative care options for children who cannot live with their own biological family.

To achieve this we will work together to share our data, research findings, methodologies and support countries to gather better data and monitor outcomes for all children. In doing this we will seek to Increase the visibility and understanding of disability issues in children’s care and protection through wider research and routinely disaggregated data collection.

List of signatories

1.     Save the Children UK

2.     World Vision

3.     Plan International UK

4.     Human Rights Watch

5.     Islamic Relief Worldwide

6.     Disability Rights International

7.     Hope and Homes for Children

8.     Lumos

9.     DeafKidz International

10.  Home for Good

11.  Better Care Network

12.  Friends International

13.  Chance for Childhood

14.  HealthProm

15.  Forget Me Not Australia

16.  Next Generation Nepal

17.  One Sky Foundation

18.  Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children

World Vision UK today announced the appointment of former Evangelical Alliance Communications Director, Chine McDonald as Head of Christian Influence & Engagement. The role, which is a newly developed position within the aid and development agency, will be focused on developing and implementing a new strategy to engage and further equip the UK church for mission in order to help the world’s most vulnerable children.

Chine, who starts at World Vision on Monday 6th March, has been working for many years helping bring unity and vision throughout the UK church in her role within the Evangelical Alliance and following her appointment, she says, “World Vision has been devoted to life-transforming work for the world’s most vulnerable children for many years. Not only am I attracted to its passion to make a difference in the toughest places for those children facing the toughest plights, I also love that the reason World Vision does what it does is because of its deep Christian commitment."

This week World Vision launches a global campaign to end violence against children, which scars the lives of over one billion young people. Over the next five years, World Vision offices in nearly 100 countries will work together to stamp out all forms of child violence – from boys forced to fight in militias to girls trafficked for sex. The charity is calling on religious leaders and faith communities everywhere to join the campaign - It Takes A World to End Child Violence – to prevent children being robbed of their rights, dignity and God-given potential.

Over the next five years, World Vision UK are continuing to develop their key relationships with churches around the country and encourage even more Christians to join the organisation in standing with the world's most vulnerable children. Working in partnership, the international aid, development and advocacy NGO whose UK HQ is based in Milton Keynes, aim to ensure that the local church is resourced and empowered in its mission to bring about long term change in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Speaking on the local church, Chine continued, “No other body is found in most communities around the world, and those who speak the language of faith can appeal to the hearts and minds of those that hold the power to make decisions in some of those areas that face the biggest hardships. I believe it’s our God-given duty as followers of Christ to engage with these issues and recognise that we’re called to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. This means we cannot turn away when we hear of children facing unimaginable suffering. Our faith compels us to do something.”

Steve Wood, Director of Marketing and Communications commented, “We are delighted to welcome Chine into this new role. Her wealth of experience within the UK church will be a hugely positive addition to the team as we look to continue to extend our reach across the country. Her passion for making a tangible difference in children’s lives makes her a real asset to World Vision UK.”