Following the recent meeting with staff members of the office of Charlotte Caubel, Secretary of State for Children, the Baby Madison Label may take a giant step forward in its development. In today’s feature, Toombow Kids talks about the importance of this meeting and how it could lead towards a sustainable solution for the protection of minors worldwide.
To understand the evolution of the label, we must go back to its origins. In 2008, the CEO of the Mason Ewing Corporation, Mason Ewing, created the SOS Madison International association, which makes child protection one of its main missions. Since its launch, the association has taken many initiatives and has multiplied its international actions such as auctions, charity fashion shows and other fundraising events in order to finance equipment and food in orphanages and schools, such as in India or Cameroon, with the aim of improving the living conditions of children.
In France, the association has joined collectives committed to the protection of children in order to denounce the shortcomings of the state concerning them. Following the polemics on the establishments welcoming minors in France , where many cases of abuse, violence or rape were revealed to the public, Mason Ewing thought about a way to prevent any child from having to undergo such traumas and came up with an idea: the Baby Madison Label. A certification which would guarantee, if it is attributed to an organization, that it respects the national norms in terms of hygiene and physical and psychological security so that parents can leave their children there in all serenity.
This label was originally an American project, but it was the first to be integrated in France for the simple reason that its creator, Mason Ewing, spent his childhood there and paid a high price for the lack of means allocated by the government to child protection services. Thus, he wished that the French youth would not have to endure the same traumas that he underwent, as he himself was placed during his childhood in many establishments which did not respect his rights. After a long process of development with many childcard professionals such as teachers, activity leaders, managers of activity centers, etc., the Baby Madison Label was launched and became official in 2022. After researching and visiting several establishments, this new certification was awarded for the first time to an Activity Center for Youth (Accueil Collectif de Mineurs) in the town of Guignes on July 16, 2022. This news was published in numerous newspapers, while the SOS Madison International team continued to promote the label on social networks. Five months later, on December 16, 2022, the label team received an email from the office of the Secretary of State for Children, Mrs. Charlotte Caubel, proposing a meeting to discuss the label.
On January 23, 2023, the President of SOS Madison International, Mason Ewing, and two members of the team, Baba Wild and Vice-President, Franck Kosakevitch, went to Paris with the clear intention of promoting their project. They met with Ms. Pauline Berne, National Steering Advisor for State Policies, accompanied by Ms. Marie Léon, Deputy Director of the office in charge of Children’s Policy Funding. During this meeting, the team of the label expressed its will to bring a real solution to the minors who suffer the consequences of failing structures.
At the end of this discussion, the Minister’s office showed interest and agreement with the actions led by the label. This interest leaves the door open to a possible collaboration between SOS Madison International and its Baby Madison Label with the French government. Especially since a cooperation could be important in an emergency situation, where the working conditions in the child protection sector are constantly deteriorating with insufficient staff, administrative overload and a lack of places in organizations that welcome children. In any case, for the moment, the label team and the Secretary of State Charlotte Caubel’s staff remain in contact.
The Baby Madison Label team is excited that President Emmanuel Macron is taking initiatives on the issue of child protection and hopes to have the opportunity to work with the state to improve child welfare. In the meantime, the label continues to grow and has a new goal: to establish itself on the African continent. Indeed, the proportion of young people in the African population is constantly growing, but the number of new orphanages is not keeping up, while many of them do not have the necessary infrastructure to ensure good conditions for the children.
Currently, 60% of the African population is under the age of 24, and by 2050, nearly 35% of the world’s youth will be African. The Baby Madison Label team is ready to take up this challenge by labeling the first orphanage in Cameroon this year. Thereafter, SOS Madison International wishes to develop its label in the United States, its country of origin, before extending its label to as many countries as possible, because it has made the protection of children in the world its priority. Mason Ewing’s words sum up the spirit of this certification:
“For us, children, teenagers and young adults are the future of our world. It’s up to us to ensure they have a future!”