Displaying 1 - 10 of 29
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
Traditionally, the involvement of the extended family in nurturing children is seen as an essential cultural practice in most communities in Ghana. Though not formally regulated, often in the absence of birth parents, kin and kith continue to be involved in the care of children to promote family relations and culture. Yet there is little empirical evidence on how to improve the well‐being and safety of children in informal kinship care in Ghana. Thus, this study reports findings from in‐depth interviews with 15 young people, 18 to 23 years, from Banda—an ethnic group where…
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…
Abstract
The desire to understand young adults’ transition into adulthood from informal kinship-based foster care has been growing. This article examines the challenges encountered by, and the opportunities available to, young adults as they transition from informal kinship-based foster care to independent living in the Bikita District of Zimbabwe. In-depth interviews were conducted with 26 young people who had left care and key informants. Data were analyzed using a thematic framework. Key findings included the young adults’ need for proper preparation in formal education, health, social…
This chapter from the South African Child Gauge 2018 focuses on childcare and children’s caregivers in South Africa and aims to address the following questions:
- Who provides care for children?
- How does the state support or undermine care choices?
- Why and how should the state support caregivers?
The objective of this evaluation is to assess the performance of the “Deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project in Uganda” (DOVCU) with regards to the creation of sustainable changes in the lives of two beneficiary groups, namely 43,000 vulnerable children living in targeted households and 2,000 children at risk as a result of an integrated package of support. A second objective was to assess how and if these results came about from systems changes and identify which strategies and approaches were the most effective for achieving the change in children’s lives. The…
From July 2014 through the end of 2017, ChildFund implemented the project, “Deinstitutionalization of Vulnerable Children in Uganda” (DOVCU). The project that was funded by USAID, lasted 42 months (July 2014- December 2017), and supported efforts made by the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development (MoGLSD) to implement its national Alternative Care Framework. DOVCU was implemented by a consortium led by ChildFund and its key partners Retrak, TPO and Child’s I Foundation. It operated in 12 districts with child care institutions, and in addition to supporting…
“Deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project in Uganda” (DOVCU) was a three-year project (2014-2017) that aimed to keep and reintegrate children into the care of families. ChildFund International led the consortium of project partners, including Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO Uganda), Child’s i Foundation (CiF) and Retrak. Together, the DOVCU project partners delivered an integrated package of interventions with the aim of decreasing household vulnerabilities for: 1) households at risk of child separation, and 2) households with children reintegrating from…
Abstract Many children are cared for on a full-time basis by relatives or adult friends, rather than their biological parents, and often in response to family crises. These kinship care arrangements have received increasing attention from the social science academy and social care professions. However, more information is needed on informal kinship care that is undertaken without official ratification by welfare agencies and often unsupported by the state. This article presents a comprehensive, narrative review of international, research literature on informal, kinship care to address this…
The 21-22 June 2017 Africa Expert Consultation on Violence against Children (VAC) in All Care Settings was the second in a series of regional consultations focused on engaging experts within the region to collaborate, share learning, and formulate a set of regional recommendations for key actors to effectively address violence against children within all care settings,…