UNICEF Mozambique Publication: Child Friendly Schools

August-October 2012

As part of my 5 month assignment for UNICEF Mozambique, I travelled to the field to photograph and write stories related to our activities within the Child-Friendly Schools initiative. The final product was a bilingual 40 page booklet that was published and disseminated internationally. Click above for the pdf.

Under the aegis of Schools for Africa, the Child-Friendly Schools initiative in Mozambique promotes the rights of children and aims to improve the quality of primary education through a set of multi-sectoral interventions. It reinforces the goals of the Government of Mozambique’s Five-Year Plan (2010-2014) to realize an integrated and cross-cutting approach to basic education.
This includes child-centred teaching approaches, life skills education, physical education and sport, the provision of water and separate sanitation facilities for girls and boys, construction of classrooms, immunization and health screening, mechanisms for the prevention of violence and abuse, and initiatives to reach orphaned and vulnerable children. The programme also empowers children to voice their opinions, and uses various forms of media in the social mobilization of communities in order to promote the rights of every child—especially girls.
This booklet presents inspiring stories about Mozambique’s Child-Friendly Schools and the difference they are making in the lives of the poorest children. These stories, from two districts, are representative of experiences from all seven districts engaged in the initiative —Changara in Tete province, Chibuto in Gaza, Buzi in Sofala, Mossurize in Manica, Maganja da Costa in Zambezia, Angoche in Nampula and Montepuez in Cabo Delgado.