Playing and Protecting. Learning from children’s clubs in Sierra Leone

This booklet aims to help children and practitioners working with children and young people learn  about Children’s Clubs. Children’s Clubs were formed by Save the Children in Sierra Leone, West  Africa, as a means of protecting children and teaching them and their communities about their rights. In  Sierra Leone, Children’s Clubs are a crucial means of bringing children together in a safe forum so that  they can learn to protect themselves and other children and to express themselves freely. The Clubs  give children confidence and knowledge of their rights, and empower children to become role models  for their own generation and those to come.
This guide is a means of passing on the good practice gained from the experiences of children and  adults in Sierra Leone. The information in this booklet is the result of a lot of discussion with children  from the Children’s Clubs supported by Save the Children, from the far eastern district of Kailahun,  which is very rural, to the capital city where communities live in very close proximity with few  amenities. 

The majority of the ideas in this booklet come from the children themselves, drawing heavily on their personal experiences,  as well as the experiences of community adults and staff at Save the Children in Sierra Leone. The booklet aims to provide a sense of the steps required to start a Children’s Club. It is intended as a starting point for those interested in learning about Children’s Clubs for the first time.