End Violence Against Children (EVAC) Campaign funded by UNICEF in partner with NCWC

‘Rangi Buzhi; Rangi Norbu – Our Children; Our Wealth’ a campaign to address Ending Violence Against Children with the objective to raise awareness and influence service seeking behaviours among children, parents, and caregivers on preventing violence and promoting mental wellbeing, was carried out from July 2022 to January 2023.
Out of the three pilot districts of Thimphu, Samtse and Tashigang, Tarayana Foundation was identified as the key implementing partner for Samtse where two teams consisting of four members each covered the 15 blocks under Samtse district in September 2022. For the campaign to reach further, the local leaders led the campaign at the village level, covering 76 villages under Samtse.
 
Prior to the campaign rollout, along with National Commission for Women and Children(NCWC), Nazhoen Lamtoen and RENEW: Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women, a series of meetings were carried out to decide on the modalities and accountability for implementing activities at the community level of the three target districts. The first formal activity was a consultation with the district Administrator, Dzongda, the chairperson of the Local Government, and sector heads, whereby the campaign received support to expand into the sub-district and village levels. 
 
Among the various Information Communication and Educational materials, the use of case studies and thematic videos proved to be the most effective in conveying the message to the audience, along with group discussions and presentations to help the public identify and solve problems in their own community. 
 
Besides conducting community engagement, Tarayana Foundation has also successfully conducted the campaign to other groups/stakeholders such as;
·     ToT for Tarayana Field Officers to reach out to 45 villages in 15 districts under Tarayana project sites
·     Sensitization program for women of Royal BodyGuard (RBG) families in Thimphu
·   Engagement and sensitization of children, youth, & community members through Tarayana Clubs ranging from primary to tertiary level
·   Dissemination of information through community radios based in Samtse and Sarpang districts
 
The final activity of the campaign was scheduled from 11th to 14th February where twelve partner organisations namely UNICEF, NCWC, RENEW, Nazhoen Lamtoen, Ability Bhutan Society, Draktsho, Bhutan Nuns Foundation, Dratshang Lhentshog,  Commission for Religious Organisations, Bhutan Football Federation, Department of Youth and Sports-MOE, Bhutan Broadcasting Service carried out joint monitoring in the four blocks of Samtse, Norbugang, Dophuchen and Tendruk, interviewing local leaders, parents/caregivers, youths, teachers, Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) facilitators,  Non Formal Education Education (NFE) instructors, scout leaders, children, religious leaders and other stakeholders.