Create.future.good. - dedicated to children’s rights

In 2011, creative industries specialist Nadella Riley founded the organisation create.future.good. Create.future.good is a philanthropic organisation dedicated to the development, advocacy and awareness of children’s rights. 

For the past two years, the organisation has been behind the createAwareness campaign. 

In 2012, nine schools engaged in createAwareness workshops which focused specifically on Article 19 of the Unicef Convention on the Rights of a Child, which guarantees children protection against abuse, neglect and violence. 

The project, sponsored by Unicef and Unilever, taught children about their rights through arts-based initiatives. 

One of the most outstanding of these projects, is the mural sprawled across the walls of Woodbrook Presbyterian Primary School at 179 Tragarete Road, Port-of-Spain. Every day, hundreds of commuters along the busy road see the vibrant colours and somewhat grim messages of the mural. According to Riley, the Woodbrook Presbyterian mural is special because of it’s size and central location. The messages from children taking a stance against child abuse and other ills, reach a wide audience she told the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview yesterday. 

An important aspect of createAwareness is the project does not stop with educating children; participants are encouraged to become activists as well. 

However, some parents and passersby found the messages too serious. 

“If you touch me inappropriately I will yell and tell,” is just one example of a message found on the wall. Riley stands by the empowering aspect of her project putting negative feedback aside. 

“The children were really excited about the project and happy to get the messages out. 

Once they completed the workshop they felt braver and stronger to deal with things like bullying or adults taking advantage of or ill treating them. It was easier for them to talk about these things and gave them the language with which to do so,” she said. 

She added that create.future.good’s focus on children’s rights did not stem from any one incident reported in the media, but the “prevalence of child abuse in the Caribbean.” 

“Yes, things come in the media and newspapers, but the kids that you hear about are only the most minute percentage. There are cases that are reported but not followed up on and there are cases that are never reported,” she said. 

Riley hopes that createAwareness can lend a hand and voice to these unreported cases. The project will continue in 2013 at five additional schools. 

createAwareness will also be launched with a magazine next Wednesday at a conference sponsored by the Coalition Against Domestic Violence and British High Commission focused on ending violence against children. Riley said the magazine will include photos of all the work created by children in 2012. createAwareness will also be working with six community groups this year on similar projects. To find out more about create.future.good you can visit their Facebook page: create.future.good 

Article 19 of the Unicef Convention on the Rights of a Child: 

Children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, physically or mentally. Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them. In terms of discipline, the Convention does not specify what forms of punishment parents should use. However any form of discipline involving violence is unacceptable. There are ways to discipline children that are effective in helping children learn about family and social expectations for their behaviour – ones that are non-violent, are appropriate to the child's level of development and take the best interests of the child into consideration. In most countries, laws already define what sorts of punishments are considered excessive or abusive. It is up to each government to review these laws in light of the Convention.

Other schools that participated in createAwareness 2012: 

Carapichaima Anglican Primary School 

Princes Town Methodist Primary School 

Four Roads Government Primary School 

Holistic Primary School

South East Port of Spain Secondary School

Bishop Anstey High School East

Trinity College East

Tranquillity Government Secondary School

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