Protocol of action

AFTER THE NOTICE OF ALO BUSHAVKO RECEIVED DURING PDAS MEGJASHI

The role of Alo Bushavko

Alo Bushavko, formerly known as the SOS telephone for children and youth, within the First Children's Embassy in the World "Megjashi", established in 1993, is the first telephone for children and youth in Macedonia. Alo Bushavko who is part of Megjashi is a place where children and young people can talk about their feelings, problems, situations they do not understand, report a violation of some of their rights or be informed about things of interest or their rights. The purpose of the SOS line is to protect the rights of children and young people and to provide psychological support through conversation.

Principles of work

Alo Bushavko works according to the following principles:

  1. The best interest of the child - the best interest of the child is always put first, for each specific situation an assessment is made for the best interest of the child
  2. Confidentiality - data obtained from callers is confidential and not available to the public, used only for statistics or analysis
  3. Availability - Hello Bushavko - telephone numbers and other communication channels (chat, email) are available 24/7.
  4. Anonymity - Callers and counselors have the right to remain anonymous

What is a child?

A person is considered any person up to 18 years of age, as well as persons with physical and mental disabilities up to 26 years of age, according to the Law on Child Protection (Article 11) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child is considered a child (Article 1 );

A juvenile juvenile is a juvenile who has reached 14 years of age and has not reached 16 years of age (Law on Juvenile Justice, Article 12)

An older juvenile is a juvenile who has reached 16 years of age and has not reached 18 years of age (Law on Juvenile Justice, Article 12);

A juvenile adult is a person who has reached 18 and has not reached 21 years of age (3 Law on Juvenile Justice, Article 12)

What can I expect?

Alo Bushavko exists primarily for children and young people and always cares if any right of the child is respected or violated and gives advice or proposes action that is in their best interest.

Alo Bushavko offers several communication channels: landline number 02 2465 316, mobile phone 070 390 632, online chat option on the website Alo Bushavko, email, as well as a visit to our premises. For the last possibility (visit to the premises), during the pandemic with Covid-19 there is a restriction and it can be agreed by prior appointment by phone / email.

The Alo Bushavko website also offers advisory, informative, educational content for parents and adults working with children on various topics. If you can not find information about what you are interested in, you can write to us and we will provide you with an additional answer.

Alo Bushavko is staffed by volunteers from various fields: psychologists, criminologists, special educators and rehabilitators, lawyers, social workers, pedagogues and others. They respond to calls from children, young people, parents and others. Establish trust with the caller, listen carefully, giving space to everyone to express their problem, dilemma or question and according to the nature of the call give appropriate advice, refer to the appropriate institution, try to help callers find the right solution how best to deal with a particular problem. Regardless of the nature of the call, each call is considered individually, without comparison with other similar calls, in order to give priority and importance to each story separately.

There is no magic solution to any problem. No matter how trained the counselors are, they are not able to solve any problem immediately. What is offered is free psychosocial and legal counseling, support and guidance, referral to a state institution that is responsible for the specific problem.

What can we do and what can we not do?

For every problem that requires some procedure, the team of Alo Bushavko discusses and decides as a team on the next steps. If necessary, other members from Megjashi are included.

In some areas we have opportunities to act, but in others we do not.

Our competencies

As a non-governmental organization we can do the following:

  • To represent the rights of the child
  • Provide psychological and legal counseling to or for children
  • Refer you to school counselors (psychologists, pedagogues, special educators), child protection institutions or law enforcement agencies (social work center, police, ombudsman), health professionals or other organizations as more appropriate for solve the specific problem and cooperate with them if necessary
  • To take direct action together with competent institutions at their request, for example, with an intervention team of the Center for Social Affairs from Skopje, police, etc.
  • To address directly to the competent law enforcement institutions by letter, request, notification, or call
  • To report a case to the appropriate institution on behalf of the whistleblower after previously obtained written permission from the same, including permission obtained electronically.

We have no competencies

We have no authority to do the following:

  • To represent the rights of adults in divorce proceedings, property rights, inheritance relationships, personal lawsuits, etc.
  • To give psychological and legal advice to adults about their personal problems in which children are not directly affected
  • To carry out on-site control in any public institution (center for social work, school, etc.) or private (sports clubs, playgrounds, etc.). We can APPEAL or report to the authorities ONLY to perform control.
  • Do field inspections, such as family visits, event venues, public places, and so on.
  • To share things that are entrusted to us as information among callers affected by the same event or problem
  • To share letters from law enforcement institutions, parents / callers
  • To mediate in disturbed interpersonal relations between legal entities and individuals in which children are involved
  • To give recommendations for court decisions and decisions of the centers for social work.
  • To research in public or private institutions after receiving a notification (employees in institutions, schools, interpersonal relations, videos, photographs, events, etc.). Megjashi is not an investigative body and has no such competencies

Cooperation with institutions

For all matters for which we have no authority, we cooperate with all competent institutions but often with other organizations and professional services. Alo Bushavko cooperates with local authorities, competent institutions, as well as with other non-governmental organizations in order to protect children and youth. Most often we cooperate with the centers for social work, the Ombudsman, the State Education Inspectorate, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office and others. organizations: HERA, First Family Center, Coalition for Fair Trials, Association of Young Lawyers, etc.