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A regional Save the Children participatory research initiative was undertaken to build knowledge on endogenous care practices within families and communities, especially informal kinship care, in order to better understand how the practice works and provide recommendations for programming to increase the care and protection of children. The research was conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and was primarily qualitative and exploratory. Similar research was underway in Niger and was…
There is growing agreement that separated children are best cared for in community settings, rather than in institutions. However, even in a community setting, there is a need for standards of care that allow for monitoring of children’s well-being. This is particularly important in countries such as Sierra Leone which is recovering from a brutal civil war and suffering from poverty, malnutrition, and limited access to adequate medical care. Since the civil war ended in Sierra Leone, child fostering—whether informal or facilitated by humanitarian agencies and the government—has become the…
This study was commissioned by UNICEF, the International Save the Children Alliance and the Government of Rwanda. Following the genocide and civil war in 1994, fostering has been promoted by the Government and by agencies as the preferred option for younger separated children unable to return to the care of their own families. Although responsibility for the care of children is traditionally shared within the extended family and with close friends, care by strangers has not been common. Approximately 1 200 children have been fostered by agencies (referred to as “formal” or “agency” fostering…