Regional Working Group

Amir Murtaza – Independent Child Protection Expert 

Amir is a Fulbright Scholar: he holds a Master’s degree in International Policy Studies, with specialization in International Development, from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA.  He has more than fifteen years of progressive professional work experience with NGOs, INGOs, UN organizations and Government of Sindh, Pakistan.  He has vast experience in working with children affected by or at risk of  violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse.  He has designed and executed a number of projects for the protection of the vulnerable sections of the society.  Amir is a passionate advocate against discrimination and marginalization of children and women.  He has been extensively writing that have been widely published in journals, newspapers and websites.  Amir is also the founder of Human and Community Development Clinic, a non-formal community service program.  Amir is based in Karachi, Pakistan and can be reached at [email protected].

Bimol Bhetwalko – Programme Officer, Good Shepherd International Foundation, www.fondazionebuonpastore.org  

Profile to be updated soon!

Biso Bajracharya – Executive Director, SathSath, www.sathsath.org 

Biso throughout his career has worked with street connected children with special focus on boys who have been sexually exploited.  His specialisation is around business setting up and training for the vulnerable groups of children to facilitate their reintegration. His work experience also extends to issues related to online child sexual exploitation and child sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. He initiated the “Street drama and theatre “ as one the key tool for social reintegration of the street connected children in SathSath. In the past more than 15 years Biso worked in various projects related to street connected children and their community based reintegration through partnerships with different agencies such as ILO/IPEC, Unicef, the British Embassy in Nepal and the Government of Nepal. Biso is based from Kathmandu, Nepal and can be reached at [email protected] 

Dr. Bincy Wilson – Programme Officer, Terre des Hommes Netherlands, India Office, www.terredeshommes.org 

Profile to be updated soon!

Digambar Narzary, Founder Chairperson, NEDAN Foundation, www.nedan.in 

Digambar has done his Masters in Social Work with specialisation in Family and Child Welfare from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai in India. Digambar has over 20 years of experience working for women and children who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Digambar’s strength lies in designing and setting up women social enterprises and  and advocating  with various national, international and government agencies for the entitlement and rights of socially excluded communities. Under his leadership, NEDAN started the Weaving Destination Social Enterprise as a community based livelihood model for women and children trafficked and exploited and those at risk in Assam, India. Digambar has been awarded the Best Campaigner with Adolescents in Preventing Trafficking by Centre for Communication, John Hopkins University. He was awarded by Dr. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India for Economic Growth and National Unity in 2007. Digambar also received the Melting Pot Social Innovation award for Weaving Destination Social Enterprise Model. He is based in Assam in India and can be reached at [email protected].

Champa Gunasekera, Chairperson, Foundation for Innovative Social Development (FISD), www.fisd.lk 

Champa  is a lawyer by profession with over fifteen years of legal practice. She holds a Masters in Conflict Resolution from University of Colombo. She worked with FORUT Sri Lanka since 1991 until the conclusion of its operations in Sri Lanka in 2011, as the Adviser on Child Rights Protection and Promotion. She is one of the visionaries who set up the framework of a Civil Society Network for Child Rights and also represented FORUT from 2008 to 2010 as a Core Group member actively involved in establishing the Child Rights Advocacy Network (CRAN). Currently Champa serves as the Chairperson of Foundation for Innovative Social Development (FISD) as well as Programme Manager of the Child Rights Protection and Promotion Programme of the same organisation while holding the position of Chair of the National Action Coordination Group (NACG) Sri Lanka,  the network of civil society organizations set up under South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC). Champa is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka and can be reached at [email protected].

Elvira Ilibezova, Director of Centre of Public Opinion Research and Forecasting “EL-PIKIR”, www.elpikir.kg

Elvira is an Analyst with PhD, with 16 years of experience of conducting more than 700 social marketing and evaluation researches and 550 analytical reports. In 2008 she became an affiliated member of ECPAT International. Her experience extends from lobbying with the Government and Parliament on issues of children’s rights and the prevention of child sexual exploitation. She is the head of the network organizations working on different issues related to care and support of children in difficult situations in Kyrgyzstan. Under her leaderhsip EL-PIKIR is a leading social research company, established under the UNDP Public Opinion (Project «Public opinion» KYR/99/03) and strengthened by UNESCO cluster office in Central Asia. In 2014  the organization was awarded by  international humanitarian Conrad Hilton Prize for initiative and commitment, manifested in realization of global projects, such as: improving the lives of street children, care and education of children. Elvira is based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and can be reached at [email protected]

Ian Anand Forber-Pratt, National Program Director (India), Children’s Relief International (CERI) 

He works to establish, vision and run a Centre of Excellence in Alternative Care for India that serves as a bridge between policy and practice for alternative care in India.  To this end, he serves as Director of Advocacy and Research at the Centre. He received his Master in Social Work (MSW) from Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work. His professional experience spans careers with business (compensation consulting and retail management), technology (web production for an international newspaper) and social work (foster care  program development and direct practice).  Ian Anand is also the U.S. Embassy Warden for Rajasthan. Ian Anand serves on the Board of the International Foster Care Organization (IFCO). He is a dedicated worker and has been recognized as one on the front line of Social Work Change the World. He has a clear vision and realistic expectations of making world a better for children in need of care and protection.  He believes in a work that is balanced between freedom and structure for staff, partners and stakeholders working to promote family based care for children. Ian is based in New Delhi. India and can be reached at [email protected].

Nawjeet Karmacharya, Child Protection Regional Adviser – Asia,  Terre des hommes Foundation, www.tdh.ch 

Nawjeet is a Bachelor in Law and holds a University Degree in Sociology. He started his professional career as an advocate to serve  the poor and marginalized people. Later, he shifted to development work with different  agencies and now has more than 20 years of experience in working with national and International NGOs, in the areas of children and women’s right. In Tdh, he provides methodological, strategic and technical support to the Asia country offices on child protection. He contributes to  developing global, regional and national strategy of Tdh, advocacy in the region, and monitoring of the projects related to child protection. He is based in Kathmandu, Nepal and can be reached at [email protected].