About STEP
STEP is a child protection charity committed to working alongside young people and their families in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
STEP Values:
- We care about and see the dignity in all people, including children.
- We value child consultation; we see child participation and ownership as key contributors to program success.
- We work with all people regardless of nationality, ethnicity and religion.
- We are professional – we do things with excellence, are committed to professional development and draw on the evidence of 'what works’ both from within our organization and externally.
Equal opportunity for all
Child labour gives individuals no opportunity to break out of exploitative labour.
Listening to children's voices
Providing safe places to rest and protection services for working children.
Working in partnership
Seeking to strengthen local education authorities in their ability to assist children.
Accountability and openness
STEP has been lobbying the local authorities to establish Child Protection Policies.
Equip and mentor nationals
Raising the awareness and skills of those working with children helps to protect the more vulnerable.
Effectiveness and efficiency
STEP has mobile teams seeking to provide for differing needs as they are identified.
Our Approach
Poverty forces many children to drop-out of school to work, which increases their vulnerability and decreases future opportunities.
STEP assists such disadvantaged children, seeks to strengthen local education authorities in their ability to assist the children, provides safe places for the children to rest and provides child protection services for working children.
Poverty reduction must begin with the protection and realisation of the human rights of children. Investments in children are the best guarantee for achieving equitable and sustainable human development.
Many children work 10-14 hours a day and have no time or energy for education. Depriving children of education ensures that the cycle of poverty and exploitation continues. Whilst illiteracy and lack of education is a leading factor causing and exacerbating poverty, child labour gives individuals no opportunity to break out of exploitative labour.
Child labour can not be tackled in isolation. The children who work form a key part to their families economic survival. Therefore, the project has widened its focus from not just the children's immediate situation but to the needs of their families, who are also vulnerable.