Key Players in Helping Lost Children

XPRIZE

What organizations or initiatives are leading the way in addressing lack of birth registration and formal identification of children?

Please comment below with any organizations or experts you feel we should speak with.

BryanNamba

We know that the United Nations, and particularly UNICEF, have long been actively involved in this field. We also know of other organizations and initiatives such as Plan International and the GSMA Digital Identity programme, for example. But are there others? And whom should we speak with?

NickAzer

Hi @Damiano - thank you for joining, and for your feedback about organizing the discussions! Do you have any potential input on this topic? What organizations do you feel are key to reach out to or possibly include in conversations around these topics?

marz62

The primary United Nations agency handling refugee issues is the UNHCR...but there are other agencies that work independently and/or coordinate with UNHCR: the WFP, World Food Programme, UNDP, UN Development Programme, UNICEF, and IOM, the International Organization for Migration.

There is also MSF, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders)

megXprize

Xprize community can also take up this responsibility. Lost children in the society we live are rampant especially in the cities and towns. Individual can assign to monitor our streets for such cases. It's not a day's job. It's a daily job. It requires monitoring, reporting and restoring. Even adult get lost sometimes in a new environment and people tend to mess them up. If Xprize community can take action, it will be better. Vehicle is needed for it. Awareness too. UN body should not be left out.

megXprize

House to house visit by the monitoring group, schools visit for identifying and registering by the monitoring group is recommended.

marz62

Note: in most all of my comments or responses, i am assuming that these putative children are living in a designated or temporary immigrant or refugee camp.

Ashok

It is a very big issue and needs to be taken care of at various levels.
There is another problem of taking care of aged people and creation of old age homes etc.
Can the two issues be complimentary to each other?
An aged couple or person is given a child to foster, give him their name and treat them as their own. This will give them purpose of living and give a home for the child. He will develop as a normal child and not as an orphan with all kinds of psychological problems.
I think there is not going to be a financial problem in raising a child.
And, if their is, the community can take care of it.

marz62

@Ashok - I very much like your idea of addressing the issue of 'lost children' by simultaneously dealing with the issue of aged persons (though I am not clear if these elderly persons are also refugees, or, established residents of a given country, etc.) by "giving" an elderly person or couple a refugee child to foster, etc. (which can help 'smooth' the child's psycho-emotional transition into a new country/culture).

The two issue could be 'complimentary', as you say, IF legal and logistic issue/obstacles can be overcome. This could be an aspect of the challenge.

However, I do not agree that "there is not going to be a financial problem in raising a child". Raising a child is ALWAYS costly/expensive (food, clothing, books for school [if older], and healthcare, if young or an infant). If the elderly person or couple* is on a fixed income (e.g., receiving the equivalent of a monthly Social Security check), then fostering will require expenditures of money (either prior to reimbursement by a State agency, or, absent any State fostering payments, without any reimbursement).

The cost of fostering, as well as the logistics of fostering (e.g., are the child and the potential foster parents located within the same country/region/city?), could be complicated.

* do we allow/permit only elderly couples to foster, or, will single elderly persons be allowed to foster. Also, the age of the fostering parents must be considered (i.e, what age children they are prepared for, and capable of, fostering).

Ashok

The idea is not to force a child on the person or couple. This has to be totally voluntarily. Depending upon their age, income and psychology, they can opt for a child of a specific gender and age and clearly state in the beginning itself whether they can afford it themselves or they would need community help. At least in my country, I see it as a strong possibility because the elderly are left without their off springs (who migrate to greener pastures) who do take care of their financial needs and more. This is the scene in most urban areas.
Even in rural areas, youngsters migrate to cities and the situations becomes more or less the same.
Education in my country is not costly in Government run schools where they even get free education, books etc. TODAY only their was an appeal on social media to provide even shoes for the school going children.
Things are really changing pretty swiftly here to the better.
I agree that conditions vary over the globe and lot of factors will have to be taken into account.
But, in the beginning if we solve even 10% of the problem, our generation would have done its due.

marz62

Understood...as long as the foster/adoptee parents receive financial/resource support.

Ashok

Not necessarily. Some may do it on their own.
But, in any case, the upbringing of the child would be much better than anywhere else.
And also provide a meaning ful purpose to the adopters.

NickAzer

Thank you @Ashok @marz62 and @megXprize for your input here - awesome discussion! We do have a new thread on where current efforts may be falling short - any feedback or ideas you all may have there would be great to see!