We are currently observing the systematic disadvantaging and undermining of services aimed at the care and protection of children in communities around the globe. This is most evident in the reduction of funding to non-governmental organisations and public works programmes. The result is that communities can no longer rely on state funding or support for the child protection challenges that they are encountering on a daily basis. In this environment, the introduction of 'engaged anthropology' on the theme of child protection that encourages collaboration, advocacy and activism within communities is finding fertile ground. Using a picture based community engagement toolkit I developed for the purpose, I have facilitated workshops with child protection officers including social workers, police, nurses, teachers, government and community workers to develop ‘child protection strategies’ in a range of communities spanning South Africa, Zambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya and the Seychelles. The workshops, started in 2014 and still ongoing, are designed to assist participants in the identification, understanding and prioritisation of child protection challenges in their communities as well as the development of an ‘empowerment strategy’ to help solves these challenges. The workshops reveal a number of insights into how communities perceive the role of children and their responsibility to them. They also show distinct differences in how ‘care’ is understood and practiced towards children, and the ongoing battle between a child’s rights, as recognised by global organisations such as the United Nations, versus local traditional cultural practices and beliefs.