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Abstract
This paper reports the findings from a small qualitative study into child fosterage undertaken in Namibia in 2019. The research project is a collaboration between academics at the University of Namibia, Africa, and the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. Workshops were undertaken in Windhoek the capital city of Namibia with five groups including stakeholders and policymakers, children’s practitioners, social workers, parents and carers, and children. The workshops ascertained the thoughts, understandings and individual experiences about child fosterage practice from…
Abstract
African child-rearing has been documented as primarily social in nature and driven by community, responsibility, and respect for elders (Nsamenang B (1992) Human development in cultural context: a third world perspective. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE; Weisner et al. African families and the crisis of social change, Bergin and Garvey, Westport, CT, 1997). Socially distributed care is common and reflects strong kinship ties that serve as a social welfare system in times of need as well as the glue of teaching tradition. The practice of child migration (fosterage) in and out of kin…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of the ‘Imbeleko and social connectedness’ project was to conduct a cross-sectional study in order to explore and describe indigenous ways of care and support to inform policy and intervention. Theoretically the study is grounded in frameworks of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), social connectedness, child and human development, as well as psychosocial well-being and support. Methodologically, a concurrent mixed method design was used. Participants were conveniently sampled (n=430; elders=240; youth=190; men=150 and women=280) in collaboration with Nelson…
This report prepared for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) with financial support from UNICEF Namibia assesses the country’s capacity to manage alternative care systems for children. As requested, the assessment concentrated on existing residential care facilities and standards. It was guided in part by the draft UN Guidelines for the Appropriate Use and Conditions of Alternative Care for Children.
Residential care provides a good entry point for assessing the systems of social protection that support the ideal situation of children living with their families in…
We examine the impact of orphanhood on children’s school enrollment in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries. Although poorer children in Africa are less likely to attend school, the lower enrollment of orphans is not accounted for solely by their poverty. We find orphans are less likely to be enrolled than are non-orphans with whom they live. Consistent with Hamilton’s Rule, the theory that the closeness of biological ties governs altruistic behavior, outcomes for orphans depend on the relatedness of orphans to their household heads. The lower enrollment of orphans is largely explained caregivers…