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Introduction:
The Orphans and Vulnerable Children's (OVC) crisis has raised the need for alternative solutions to OVC's problems. These new alternatives gave prominence to the growth of community-based organizations (CBOs) and their interventions. Community-based interventions are a crucial component of the response to make sure components of the response to ensure that the demands of OVCs are mitigated as they offer initial support and act as well-being nets.
Methods:
A qualitative exploratory-descriptive design was used to explore possible approaches to…
These illustrations from Changing the Way We Care and the Government of Kenya showcase live community engagement sessions on how to develop Kafaalah messages and promote Kafaalah for family-based care. These two packets were developed for care reform leaders in Kisumu and Kilifi Counties, Kenya.
This handbook is a summarized, user-friendly version of the operating procedures for alternative family- and community-based care options. It provides an overview of each type of care, key considerations, and the process followed for placement. The handbook aims to provide an easy and quick reference to critical information and “how to” about alternative family- and community-based care placements.
The handbook should not be considered a replacement for the detailed Alternative Family- and Community-based Care Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); rather, it is recommended that the full…
ABSTRACT
Notwithstanding the importance of the contemporary orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) care and support systems, the extended family system remains the most prominent and pivotal safety net for OVC within the rural tribal communities of Zimbabwe. This paper examines the efficacy of extended family system in OVC care and support in the Gutu District of Zimbabwe. This a qualitative phenomenological study was used to gather data of the lived experiences and perceptions of the 10 caregivers of Batanai HIV/AIDS service organization support groups and 10 OVC purposively sampled in the…
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…
Summary
The importance of children being well cared for in families is widely recognised in global policies and guidance. There is extensive research demonstrating clearly the importance of a safe and caring family for child wellbeing and development. While there is consensus on the importance of effective care in families for children, there is a lack of discussion and agreement about the precise components of this care. In particular, further exploration is needed to determine which elements of effective care are universal and which are culturally or contextually specific, and to explore…
A study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) (2011) on assessment of the situation of children in institutional care in Tanzania indicated that there are more than 500 residential care centres. It is estimated that there are 40 residential care centres providing support to almost 2000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Dar es Salaam (MoHSW 2011). Unfortunately, in Tanzania apparently no recent nationwide comprehensive situational analysis has been conducted of OVC in various alternative care systems, other than a baseline survey on a situational…
ABSTRACT
Using indigenous knowledge systems such as Ubuntu in social work with children empowers them, their families, communities and workers. Yet, the potential of using frames that draw on indigenous ways of knowing, in children’s work, remain unrealised since social workers prefer Western models and theories. Ubuntu inspired models of social work view children from family, community, environmental and spiritual perspectives. In contrast, Western models are inspired by individualitic values, governmental policies and professional viewpoints. However, as will be shown in this article,…
Abstract
Despite the predominant contemporary and traditional coping strategies adopted in Zimbabwe in the past three decades and beyond, challenges and issues related to inheritance continued to affect the livelihood of both orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and their caregivers. This article is a qualitative phenomenological study seeking to examine the perceptions, views, and feelings of the OVC and their caregivers on their lived experiences in OVC care and support in Zimbabwe. The study focusses on the caregivers' perspectives of the impact of the inheritance experiences in OVC…
Abstract
Background: Care of children affected by AIDS in Swaziland is predominately provided by families, with support from ‘community-based responses’. This approach is consistent with United Nations International Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) framework for the protection, care and support of children affected by AIDS. However, the framework relies heavily on voluntary caregiving which is highly gendered. It pays limited attention to caregivers’ well-being or sustainable community development which enables more effective caregiving. As a result, the framework is incompatible with the social…