EU-funded ‘Include Us’ program launched in Saint Lucia
Include Us Saint Lucia: Supporting vulnerable girls and children with disabilities Officially launched on May 29, 2024, the ‘Include Us’ project aims to help marginalized youth in Saint Lucia, with a particular focus on girls/women and children with disabilities. Implemented by SE Sports club and funded by the European Union (EU), the project aims to provide physical and psychosocial support to those most in need.
The project, which benefits vulnerable girls and children with disabilities, has been building capacity behind the scenes since January. The EU-funded project will run until December 2025, with the overall goal of helping improve the lives of girls and children with disabilities in Saint Lucia.
“Specially designed to help vulnerable youth in Saint Lucia, the ‘Include Us’ program will help protect youth from discrimination and combat all forms of violence against girls/women and people with disabilities, including child abuse, domestic violence and gender-based violence”
‘Include Us’ will strengthen the protection of girls and children with disabilities by providing training and capacity building in physical and psychosocial support. Working closely with the Special Education Department under the Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, the project will target children and youth in communities across Saint Lucia and the institutions that serve them, and will directly help strengthen the capacity of local civil society organizations by providing grants to help strategic areas of development. 20 unemployed youth leaders will also be trained to advocate for change and significantly help civil society organizations engage inclusively with target groups. The project will target 60 vulnerable girls aged 11 to 28 years and 140 children with disabilities aged 9 to 20 years from special education schools across Saint Lucia. In addition, 28 community leaders from grassroots civil society organizations, communities and youth groups focusing on youth with disabilities, women and children will also be trained in child protection and gender-based analysis techniques. 100 primary and secondary school teachers from 6 schools will also receive on-site and online training. The project is expected to increase the capacity of local civil society organizations to effectively implement more inclusive programs, policies and approaches at the organizational level and in community settings. In addition, Including Us will help instill international standards of practice at the grassroots level in addressing stereotypes around gender-based violence and child abuse.
