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Family-based preventive interventions have strong potential for promoting family functioning and mental health in children. This chapter reports on one such intervention, the Family Strengthening Intervention (FSI), initially developed and tested in Rwanda to improve communication and parenting in HIV/AIDS-affected families with school-age children. Currently, an early childhood development version of the FSI is being piloted for delivery by lay workers with Rwandan families living in extreme poverty. Because of its flexible nature, the FSI has also been adapted for use with Bhutanese and…
Abstract
Family constitutes more than simple living arrangements, and these systems are of pivotal development importance in sub-Saharan Africa. The diversity of family structures and types in sub-Saharan Africa has warranted an examination of the various policies and laws in the region. This paper examines all policy and laws related to families in the South, West, East and Central regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The paper highlights the sundry of policies and laws that are influenced by cultural and religious differences within and across regions. Issues relating to patriarchy and…
Abstract
Globalization of knowledge and scholarship raises the challenges of dialogue between Global North and South. Northern knowledge and voice remain privileged, while writing from the South often goes unread. This is true also in emerging adulthood and care-leaving scholarship. The special issue of Emerging Adulthood titled “Care-Leaving in Africa” is the first collection of essays on care-leaving by African scholars. It presents both care-leaving and emerging adulthood scholars from the Global North a unique opportunity to consider the implications of a rising…
Abstract
The negative effects of institutionalization on children’s wellbeing have been extensively documented. Throughout the world, particularly in developing countries, many children in orphanages have parents and it is not clear how this situation affects the psychological adjustment of institutionalized children. This study aimed at investigating specifically whether institutionalization impacts negatively children’s psychological adjustment defined in terms of externalizing behavior, internalizing behavior and self-esteem and whether having living parents has additional influence.…
ABSTRACT
A pre-post design with 6–13-month follow-up assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a home-visiting intervention to promote early childhood development, improve parenting and shared decision-making, and reduce violence in impoverished Rwandan households. Twenty vulnerable families with a child 36-months or younger enrolled in Sugira Muryango. Measures of parenting, home environment, family-violence, decision-making, and health-status were administered at pre/post and follow-up. Families reported high satisfaction post-intervention. OMCI scores improved for 4.8…
Background
Globally, neonatal mortality remains high despite interventions known to reduce neonatal deaths. The All Babies Count (ABC) initiative was a comprehensive health systems strengthening intervention designed by Partners In Health in collaboration with the Rwanda Ministry of Health to improve neonatal care in rural public facilities. ABC included provision of training, essential equipment, and a quality improvement (QI) initiative which combined clinical and QI mentorship within a learning collaborative. We describe ABC implementation outcomes, including development of a QI change…
This article discusses the results of a cross-country research project in Sub-Saharan Africa regarding the impact of social protection on loss of parental care, support to foster or kinship care and quality of care and wellbeing in Sub-Saharan Africa. The research conducted investigates a large-scale nationally implemented cash transfer and public works programmes in Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa. The study found that social protection has the potential to support the prevention of loss of parental care, to provide much-needed financial support to kinship or foster carers and to improve…
Abstract
Objective
To illuminate the different manifestations of transactional sexual exploitation and abuse among Rwanda's children in order to inform effective responses by policies, programs, and communities.
Method
Qualitative data was collected during April and May 2010. One-hundred and thirty-nine adults (56% female) and 52 children (60% female) participated in focus groups across three geographic locations in Rwanda. Eleven interviews were held with child protection stakeholders.
Results
Interview and focus group participants reported how children, primarily girls, engaged…
Abstract
Addressing the psychosocial needs of vulnerable children and youth is viewed increasingly as a priority of humanitarian programs, particularly in Africa, where the scale of the problem necessitates community-based solutions. This quasi-experimental study tested a model of adult mentorship and support to improve psychosocial outcomes among youth-headed households in a rural area of Rwanda. Two rounds of data were collected from youth who served as heads of their households. Following the baseline survey in 2004 (n = 692), an adult mentorship program was implemented…
Family for Every Child, in partnership with the Centre for Social Protection at the Institute for Development Studies, just announced the launch of its Cash for Care: Making Social Protection Work for Children’s Care and Well-being Report.
The research, jointly produced by Family for Every Child's member organizations Uyisenga Ni Imanzi (Rwanda), Challenging Heights (Ghana) and Children in Distress Network (South Africa), shows that effective high-quality governmental cash transfer programs can improve children’s well-being, protection and care by their families. It also shows that poorly…