End Child Poverty acknowledges that for effective mitigation of child poverty it has to cooperate with other like-minded stakeholders. It is in this light that the initiative is partnering with YMCA and YWCA (Y Global) in the ‘Stop Poverty’ movement and ‘End Child Poverty campaign’. Stop Poverty is a youth based and inter-religious campaign to completely stop poverty.
In pushing for cooperation, advocacy and action, at the Y – Program Implementation Team Training (Nairobi 25th April 2014), the ECP Director, Fred Nyabera encouraged the participants to maximize on the comparative advantage of faith communities in the fight against poverty. Namely:
- A traditional orientation towards serving and promoting the wellbeing of the poor, vulnerable and disposed.
- A permanent historic and widely spread presence in society at large and local communities in particular = Sustainability.
- Well-developed infrastructure, often including communication networks that link local, national, and international offices and
- Service delivery infrastructure, networks and assets to fight poverty. (E.g. facilities for worship, education, health, emergency relief, economic development and human rights, many of which have been successful in addressing poverty).
- Volunteer networks rich in dynamic and creative human resources.
- Operate diverse media and channels of communication
- Legitimacy and moral authority of religious leaders enable them to mobilize their communities as well as others towards poverty eradication and give them leverage in advocacy with policy makers, politicians and cultural leaders.
- Religious leaders who are skilled and influential communicators: Can reach the hearts and minds of millions of people in ways that humanitarian actors cannot.
- Religious leaders are thought leaders, who interpret faith text and spread ideas: Hence they can be effective change agents that Influence attitudes and behaviors and inspire action to donate, volunteer, advocate, or monitor their communities.