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Kinship care – the care of children by relatives or friends of the family - represents a significant resource available for meeting the needs of girls and boys who are orphaned or otherwise live apart from their parents. 1 in 10 children worldwide are living in kinship care. In some countries, it is as high as 1 in 3. This makes it the most common type of care, after parental care. Kinship care can support the most vulnerable children in ordinary and crisis periods.
In this How We…
In collaboration with colleagues at Queen’s University Belfast in the UK, this feasibility study was undertaken by a team of academic researchers from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, University of Ghana and Makerere University in Uganda, all of whom are members of the Africa Network of Care-leaving Researchers (ANCR).
Given the paucity of research on youth transitioning from alternative care (i.e. care-leaving or leaving care) in Africa, the study sought to develop and test a methodology for a cross-country, comparative study on leaving care in Africa. This involved the…
ABSTRACT
The extent of the vulnerability of orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe has been on the increase. To investigate the challenges faced in addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in Marondera, focus group discussions and interviews were utilised. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data in this study and the data was presented in themes. The findings from the study indicated that there was a need to increase the capacity of the Social Welfare Department. They also indicated the need for proper alignment of policy development and implementation, as well…
Abstract
Violence against children and adolescents, a highly prevalent problem, is a clear violation of child rights and has detrimental effects on later life outcomes. Programs that alleviate poverty address a structural determinant of child vulnerability and can thereby reduce child abuse. This paper investigates whether the Government of Zimbabwe’s Harmonized Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) Program, which combines cash transfers with complementary services, affects youth exposure to physical violence. The analysis uses data from a non-experimental impact evaluation and a difference-in-…
With COVID-19 causing widespread restrictions on movement in 2020, schools around the world were forced to close, risking major disruption to children's education. This Practitioner Guidance Paper shares the different approaches taken by three Family for Every Child Members to mitigate this disruption: moving to online learning for unaccompanied minors with METAdrasi in Greece; using the radio to provide far-reaching lessons with FOST in Zimbabwe; and engaging parents in their children's education using a socially-distanced homework collection system with CAP Liberia.
This…
This brief from the Zimbabwe Education Cluster presents details on the humanitarian needs and response in Zimbabwe due to the COVID-19 crisis, including the acute needs of orphans and vulnerable children, children with disabilities, and others.
Abstract
Much has been written on the psychosocial support of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) around the world regarding their well-being. However, there is still a lack of information on the efficacy of the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) both as material and a psychosocial support intervention for OVCs within the rural communities of Zimbabwe. This article is a qualitative phenomenological study seeking to examine the perceptions, views and feelings of the OVC, care-givers and community leaders on their experiences with BEAM as a material and psychosocial support…
ABSTRACT
Zimbabwe adopted the National Orphan Care Policy at the turn of the millennium due to a sharp rise in the number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) from the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The policy embraced a ‘six-tier system’ that spelled out six social safety nets for OVC. The six-tier system was seen as a cheaper route towards curtailing the problem of child protection that had grown beyond the capacity of the government. It invoked the traditional social safety nets that had been part of traditional African society. Traditional African cultural values were centered on the notion of…
Abstract
Young children need nurturing care, which includes responsive caregiver–child interactions and opportunities to learn. However, there are few extant large‐scale programs that build parents’ abilities to provide this. We have developed an early childhood parenting training package, called Reach Up, with the aim of providing an evidence‐based, adaptable program that is feasible for low‐resource settings. Implementation of Reach Up was evaluated in Brazil and Zimbabwe to inform modifications needed and identify challenges that implementers and delivery agents encountered. Interview…
ABSTRACT
This paper reports on findings from an evaluation study of two institutions providing transition programmes to adolescent girls transitioning from institutional care in Zimbabwe. The study sought to understand how institutions A (government-based) and B (NGO-based) were delivering services to prepare adolescents for life outside care and whether these services complied with Standard Six of the National Residential Child Care Standards in Zimbabwe. Findings show gaps between the actual services being delivered and the expected performance standards, and how this affects the…