HUMAN RIGHTS
Focus on
poverty
Fighting for their rights: Shocking scenes from the Deep
Sea settlement in Kenya, which forms a key focus for
Amnesty International’s human rights campaigning
SecEd is a strong supporter of the work of Amnesty International, including its education section. Here Laura
Jayatillake explains the latest classroom resource that the charity has produced – Poverty and Human Rights
MNESTY INTERNATIONAL be used to support GCSE citizenship Taking Action members from across the world will take part. In and UNICEF UK will be running workshops for
A
has nearly 50 years of experience controlled assessments, or non-examination active the UK, youth activists will screen the film Slumdog accompanying staff on developing human rights
in the field of campaigning for citizenship projects. Millionaire, as well as the DVD on the Deep Sea education across the curriculum.
human rights. For students keen to take action for human rights on settlement, which comes with the Poverty and Human The school is already working towards becoming
In the last year, we led protests a regular basis, the pack also includes information on Rights pack. a Rights Respecting School with UNICEF UK and is
on Guantánamo Bay, raised how to set up an Amnesty youth action group. Amnesty The following week, Amnesty’s youth groups will one of a selected handful of schools around the globe
concerns over human rights abuses currently supports nearly 650 youth action groups celebrate Protect the Human Week. There will be more piloting Amnesty’s Human Rights Friendly School
in Sri Lanka, the number of executions in China, in secondary schools across the UK to campaign for film screenings, as well as themed parties, talent shows, Project. SecEd
forced evictions in Cambodia, gay rights in Jamaica human rights. school discos, and concerts.
and Eastern Europe, and violence against women in All of the materials provided in the pack are for The aim is to raise awareness and funds, celebrating • Laura Jayatillake is Amnesty International’s human
the UK. lessons with students aged 14-plus. They are suitable human rights and the work of Amnesty International, rights education co-ordinator.
While Amnesty is renowned for its work on civil for use in a range of curriculum subjects across the UK, with the money contributing directly to Amnesty’s vital
and political rights, this year we have launched a new including: citizenship and cross-curricular geography in work.
Further information
campaign on poverty and human rights, called Demand England; the social studies area of the Curriculum for The middle of October also sees the sixth Teachers can get the Poverty and Human Rights pack
Dignity. Excellence in Scotland; the Learning for Life and Work, international conference at Villiers High School in for free via www.amnesty.org.uk/povertypack or by
Across the world, more than 900 million people Local and Global Citizenship in Northern Ireland; and Southall, London. Each year the conference invites emailing student@amnesty.org.uk
suffer chronic hunger and more than a billion live in the PSE curriculum in Wales. A Welsh language version students from across the UK and overseas to take part For more on Protect the Human week, visit www.
“slums” or informal settlements that lack basic services. of the pack is also available. in creative workshops on a range of citizenship issues. amnesty.org.uk/protect
Every minute, a woman dies because of problems The Demand Dignity campaign will also form This year, the theme of the conference is human To book a place at the Human Rights conference
related to pregnancy. And more than 100 million the focus of Amnesty International’s Week of Youth rights and Amnesty International UK is collaborating contact either Sally Williams or Robin Street through
children lack access to primary education. Action, which runs from October 12 to 17. on the event. Villiers High School on 020 8813 8001 or email
None of this is natural or inevitable: it is the Amnesty International youth groups and youth At the conference, Amnesty International UK s.williams@villiers.ealing.sch.uk
result of decisions made by people in power. Choices
and policies made by governments, corporations and
international institutions can drive and deepen poverty
Case study
– and that means those who make the choices and
The Deep Sea settlement in the Westlands borough of Nairobi (pictured above and right) first came into
policies can be held to account.
existence in 1963, when a few people moved to the capital to look for work and set up a few small
Amnesty welcomes curriculum opportunities for
learning about and taking action on human rights
dwellings on untitled forest land. It grew rapidly to become home to 7,000 people.
issues, and for the past 25 years has been using its
Under Kenyan law, the residents should have had the right to obtain legal title over the land after 12
expertise to create suitable resources for schools. years.
This autumn term, we are launching our new
However, it recently came to light that a private company had acquired the land. Many suspect that
free educational resource pack, Poverty and Human
the company was formed by a group of affluent neighbours, who wish to get rid of the community and
Rights. The pack includes an assembly, lesson plans,
PowerPoints, and short films that raise awareness of
profit from the prime real estate it lies on.
the issues and enable young people to take informed
In 2005, a private firm – with police support – moved in with bulldozers in the middle of the night
action. and began evicting hundreds of people without notice, demolishing their houses. Media attention
The Poverty and Human Rights resource focuses
halted the evictions and the Kenyan High Court ruled that the evictions were illegal because no court
on the experiences of the Deep Sea community in
order had been issued.
Kenya (see case study), which lives in a shanty-town
in Nairobi. The community lives in dire conditions
However, evictions are still taking place and every few months a number of homes are demolished or
that amount to absolute poverty. They are denied basic
burned.
rights such as clean water, nutritious food, adequate Community leaders who have attempted to organise against the evictions have been targeted
housing, healthcare and education. They also live under
for eviction and harassed by the authorities, and some have had their houses set on fire. Residents,
the constant threat of illegal forced evictions and police
including children and the elderly, have been tear-gassed during evictions and protesters at a recent peaceful demonstration were beaten.
brutality, a further abuse of human rights.
The first lesson introduces students to the
The fear of eviction is not the only problem the Deep Sea residents face.
community, the second examines the kind of work
The settlement has no electricity, hardly any fresh water, and no refuse collection. Roads are non-existent. Worst of all, it has no
NGOs (non-governmental organisations) are doing to sewage system: effluent flows through the settlement and pollutes the water supply used for washing.
combat poverty internationally, and the third looks at
Most houses are made of scrap metal, canvas and plastic and many are not waterproof. Health problems are rife. Community
the work Amnesty is doing to help the people of the
members suffer from illnesses such as hepatitis A, cholera and diarrhoea, as well as HIV/AIDS and malnutrition. The church-run health
Deep Sea settlement and presents students with a choice
of actions they can take in support of the community.
centre and infant school in the settlement are not adequate for the population.
In addition to the materials on poverty and human
Amnesty International is calling for:
rights, the resource pack also includes resources to • A moratorium on further evictions in the settlement, and housing provided for those who have already lost their homes.
help teachers run a Taking Action Project with their
• Enforcement of the law against government officials and third parties who seek to illegally evict residents.
students. The Taking Action Project provides students
• An improved standard of living in the settlement.
with the opportunity to research any human rights
issue that they feel passionately about, and then to
• A moratorium on forcible evictions throughout Kenya until the government has adopted binding legal guidelines in accordance with
develop and deliver a campaign action to try and bring
international law.
about change. Detailed lesson plans, resource sheets To find out more, visit www.amnesty.org.uk/deepsea
and PowerPoints are provided. These materials could
SecEd • September 3 2009 19
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