On which issues does DACO focus?

We work on the specific barriers that keep specific groups of children out of school — poverty, hunger, disability, gender discrimination, displacement, and language.

Abuse Against Children

Abuse Against Children

Addressing the root conditions that allow harm to occur. We work with families and schools to prevent abuse and protect those at risk.

Advocacy and Awareness Creation

Advocacy and Awareness Creation

Building the public will to protect children. We run campaigns to make children's issues visible to those in power and understood in local communities.

Child Participation and Empowerment

Child Participation and Empowerment

Creating the space for children to speak. We ensure children know their rights and are supported to voice their opinions on decisions that affect them.

Child Rights Campaigns

Child Rights Campaigns

Closing the distance between law and lived reality. We campaign at the grassroots level to ensure children's rights are recognized and upheld in everyday life.

Child Safeguarding

Child Safeguarding

Building policies that actually protect children. We help organizations and schools implement strict codes of conduct, safe recruitment, and reporting mechanisms.

FGM and Child Marriage

FGM and Child Marriage

Ending practices that push girls out of school. We engage communities, religious leaders, and local authorities to protect girls from these harmful traditions.

Advocacy on School Feeding Programmes

Advocacy on School Feeding Programmes

Ensuring children have the nutrition they need to learn. We advocate for consistent funding and supplies for school meals so no child attends class hungry.

Back-to-School

Back-to-School

Answering the questions that keep a child at home. We support children who dropped out—due to pregnancy, child labour, or poverty—to return to and stay in the classroom.

Examination and Transition Costs

Examination and Transition Costs

Covering the price of the next step. We pay for exam fees and transition costs so a child's education is not stopped by the inability to pay.

Pastoral Support and Mentorship

Pastoral Support and Mentorship

Addressing what financial support cannot reach. We link sponsored children with mentors who provide emotional support, guidance, and a consistent adult presence.

School Fees, Uniforms, and Learning Materials

School Fees, Uniforms, and Learning Materials

Removing the immediate barriers to education. We provide the tangible items required for a child to attend school with dignity and participate fully in class.

Sponsor-Child Link and Progress Monitoring

Sponsor-Child Link and Progress Monitoring

Turning a payment into a relationship. We provide sponsors with regular updates on the child's attendance and progress, ensuring support is adjusted when needed.

Community-Based Projects for Economic Stability

Community-Based Projects for Economic Stability

Strengthening local livelihoods. We support savings groups and agricultural projects so families can afford to keep their children in school.

Peace-Building

Peace-Building

Addressing the conditions that produce conflict. We use dialogue and traditional dispute resolution to ensure schools stay open and children are not displaced by violence.

Supporting Children in Emergencies

Supporting Children in Emergencies

Keeping learning going during a crisis. We establish temporary learning spaces and provide psychosocial support to help children recover from climate or conflict shocks.

Community Mentorship

Community Mentorship

Providing a mentor who is a neighbour, not a visitor. We recruit and train local adults to support children's emotional wellbeing and stay connected to school.

Mental Health Education for Children

Mental Health Education for Children

Giving children the words to name what they feel. We run age-appropriate sessions that reduce stigma and teach practical coping techniques.

School-Based Counselling and Referral

School-Based Counselling and Referral

Connecting the classroom to clinical services. We build clear pathways for teachers to identify distress and refer children to appropriate mental health support.

Teacher Training in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Teacher Training in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Equipping the adults who see the children most. We train teachers to recognize signs of distress, respond without judgement, and support learners facing trauma.

Advocacy on Sanitation and Menstrual Health

Advocacy on Sanitation and Menstrual Health

Securing the funding and policies girls need. We press authorities to protect budgets, enforce WASH standards, and remove taxes on sanitary products.

Menstrual Health Education

Menstrual Health Education

Replacing silence and stigma with information. We run sessions for girls, boys, and parents to ensure accurate knowledge and open conversation about menstruation.

Sanitary Towel Distribution

Sanitary Towel Distribution

Keeping girls in class during their periods. We provide reliable, discreet access to sanitary products so no girl misses school out of period poverty.

School WASH Programmes

School WASH Programmes

Providing the facilities that make school workable. We build and maintain safe latrines, clean water sources, and handwashing stations, ensuring they are private and accessible.

End Bullying and Child Labour

End Bullying and Child Labour

Protecting children from abuse and exploitation in school and at home. We work with schools to create safe environments and address the pressures that push children into work.

End FGM

End FGM

Protecting girls from harmful practices. We support community-led alternatives to traditional rites of passage and support girls who have already been affected.

End Menstrual Shame

End Menstrual Shame

Normalizing menstruation and ensuring access to dignity. We advocate for systemic changes, from school policies to tax removals, so periods do not impede education.