Child sponsorship is arguably one of the most popular ways for individuals to support children in the Majority World. And it's an enormously successful fundraising strategy - according to Freeing Congregational Mission, more than nine million children are supported through international child-sponsorship programs at a cost of more than $3.29 million annually. Between 2011 - 2015, the budgets of fifteen child-sponsorship organizations traced with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability increased 40%.
Research on whether or not these programs really have an impact is surprisingly very thin. A 2013 study looking at the largest example of a child sponsorship model over a 10 year period did show an increase of 1.4 additional years of schooling for sponsored children, and a slight increase in the probability of salaried and white collar employment. But sponsorship programs have negative impacts as well: the research indicates that (1) they create divisiveness within families and communities (when one child or family receives and another doesn’t), (2) they can disrupt family unity (several studies have reported that parents of sponsored children feel the model reduced their authority in the home, and made them feel ashamed that a foreign donor could provide for their child better than they could). Shame is a compounding factor in keeping people in poverty - it reduces self-confidence and the sense of self-efficacy. CRC is focused on strengthening families; building their competence and confidence - so HCW and CRC started to wonder - just as we shifted the model from orphanage to family-based care for the good of the children, could we find a way to shift our sponsorship model to one that helped the parents be the heroes of their own families? More and more organizations are recognizing the concerns about child sponsorship programs, including the negative impacts on children and families, and making the risky decision to to change their program models. As the CRC reintegrated children back into families, we realized that the best way to care for a vulnerable child is to care for those who care for that child - their family. Child sponsorship places too much focus on one child in the family, creating divisiveness between those children who were sponsored within the family and those who were not. It also undermines the dignity and agency of parents to care for their children according to their values. More importantly for us - it didn’t mirror the way that the CRC now works to support and strengthen entire families and not just individual children. The CRC transitioned from the orphanage model to family based care because it’s what is best for children and families. As mission leaders and partners, we should be asking ourselves, how does our approach - including our fundraising model of child sponsorship- engage us in God’s mission to care for all of His children by strengthening families, communities, and all of those who care for children while honoring the role of mothers and fathers in a child’s life? Poverty is the number one reason why children become separated from family. Reuniting children with families and then strengthening the entire family is the best way to help them thrive with dignity, and move toward independence. Programs like HCW's Family Empowerment Advocacy (FEA) is an opportunity to provide support to families to build their capacity to care for themselves through a program that offers a hand-up rather than a handout. It’s a shift from reinforcing dependency through sponsorship, to one that empowers vulnerable families to become self-sufficient so that they can meet their own needs.
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A "Shot" for Sierra Leone: Something to Celebrate for World Immunization Week & World Malaria Day4/25/2024 This International Immunization Week and today's World Malaria Day carries a special weight for Sierra Leone. As the world celebrates the power of vaccines to save lives, Sierra Leone takes a momentous step forward with the rollout of the malaria vaccine. This groundbreaking development holds immense promise for a country where malaria remains the number one killer of children. Sierra Leone currently faces the highest infant mortality rate in the world, with many of these deaths attributable to malaria. Vaccines, however, offer a relatively simple and life-saving intervention. A 2020 study conducted by the research lab at Mercy Hospital in the Bo community* investigated the acceptability of the malaria vaccine among residents. This research plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of the vaccine rollout. Mercy Hospital isn't just a center for groundbreaking research; it's also a trusted name in healthcare delivery. The hospital serves as a site for the World Health Organization's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). Every week, an EPI representative visits Mercy Hospital to vaccinate children under the age of five brought in by their mothers. This program, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has saved countless lives by providing vital immunizations to children around the globe. If you have ever had the chance to visit Mercy Hospital on immunization day, it is quite a sight! The WHO representative appears at the hospital with a small cooler where all of his vaccines are stored. The mother's line up with their children in tow and he begins giving them vaccines. Depending on the schedule for the child, they may get four or five shots at once, and he does them in rapid fire. The babies are so surprised that they don't even begin to cry until after the last syringed vaccine is given. Then, when their mouths are open from crying, he gives them the oral polio vaccine which seems to surprise them so much that they stop crying. Although the babies don't like it, it's such a powerful sight to see, because in just a few minutes 30 or more kids become one step closer to reaching their 5th birthday. The trust and reputation Mercy Hospital has built within the community is crucial for the success of the new malaria vaccine. Mothers know their children will receive safe and effective care at the hospital, making them more likely to bring their children in for vaccination. This International Immunization Week and World Malaria Day, as Sierra Leone begins its malaria vaccine rollout, we celebrate not just a medical breakthrough, but the combined power of research, trusted healthcare institutions, and the dedication of the EPI program. This is a shot of hope for Sierra Leone, a chance to protect its most vulnerable population and build a healthier future.
As Senior Consultant for the Child Reintegration Centre's Transition Coaching and Mentoring Department, David Titus Musa works closely with Reintegration Specialist Rosamond Palmer to help orphanages in West Africa and beyond transition their model of care for children from residential to family-based care. A growing number of organizations across the Global South are engaged in this important work, but often find themselves working in isolation without the ability to connect to other transition support experts to hone their skills and exchange ideas for best practice. In March, David was invited to attend a training of trainers on the Residential Care Service Transition Framework tools developed by the Better Care Network, alongside 20 other transition practitioners from 11 different African countries, including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi and Kenya . These are his reflections.
The training was an intensive 3 days going through the process of transition, transition assessment tool, and learning about managing cost and risk factors. Our session leaders included many well-known thought leaders in care reform, including Peter Kamau from Child in Family Focus, Simon Kanyembo of Alliance for Children Everywhere , and Beth Bradford, from Changing the Way We Care. I was able to make connections for further collaborations with transition experts from Lesotho, Kenya, Ghana and Zambia. I look forward to being able to connect again with many of these leaders at the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit in September this year, to continue to find ways to work with and support one another The sessions were filled with deep conversations and shared understanding of care reform systems in different country settings. We were given many opportunities to test the effectiveness of the tools, and to contextualize the tool, as it had been developed from a global perspective, but must be adapted for each country context in order to be effective. From this training, I realize the as practitioners, we really need to understand how orphanages operate in our own countries, the goals that stakeholders had for establishing these institutions in the first place, and the kind of ownership they have over them. It's important to understand the needs of stakeholders because they can have a big impact on the strategies that we as transition support works use to support their transitions. Secondly, it's important that any transition take place within the context of wider systems reforms that include public commitment to scaling down orphanages and national minimum standards for the care of children laid out in laws and policies. Transition is possible, and necessary, but it requires buy-in from multiple stakeholders, and it takes time to do it safely and well. Sierra Leone is just at the start of the movement to change the way children are cared for - there are other countries such as Kenya and Rwanda making care reform a national strategy - with support from their governments, but the Transition Coaching and Mentoring Department of the CRC is on the cutting edge, leading the charge in West Africa. The training I received in Uganda will enable me to train other transition coaches in Sierra Leone, so that transition and care reform can gain more ground in West Africa. |
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