In order to have a lasting and sustainable impact on the situation of children, Viva understands the importance of a strong and stable family environment, where families are able to meet the needs of their children and provide holistic care to support their children as they grow.
Negative conditions that contribute to family breakdown and weaken the structures vary across the different countries where Viva works. As such, programmes designed to strengthen families are very different with programme interventions being determined at the local level. Viva staff provide technical advice and disseminated learning from other networks who are doing similar work.
The networks working on family strengthening tend to focus on practical support for families (such as income-generation training, family saving schemes or family counsellors), or training and support for families to understand and implement holistic care (through education on nutrition, education, child protection etc.) – or a mixture of both.
Below are some examples of existing programmes strengthening families:
- Uganda: Sustainable Income-Generation and community mentors
In Uganda, CRANE, our partner network, have a multi-pronged approach to family strengthening. Community mentors from vulnerable communities have been trained to support children and families in the areas where they live. These mentors spot children in need of support and as part of the programme and begin supporting the parents and family. They teach parents about the importance of education, nutritional needs and how to keep their children safe from abuse. Parents are being trained in business skills and equipped with knowledge and skills to start or improve on small businesses or other income-generating activities so that they have the means to earn a constant income and therefore the capacity to provide for their children.
Training could include:
- Fuel saving technologies
- Water harvesting
- Mushroom growing
- Soap making
- Candle making
Each family is mentored through the process and in alternate months monitoring and support visits take place to encourage the businesses.
Peer savings groups have also been initiated within communities to increase sustainability. These groups receive training in topics such as group dynamics, conflict resolution and group records keeping. This support is helping families to financially support their children through education.
- UK: Parenting
In the UK, our partner network, Doorsteps is piloting a family befriending scheme called H20. Volunteers will be trained and become family friends to those in need of some extra support. They will visit families once each week for a couple of hours, where they will get to know the family and over time develop strong ties and assist where the families need help – maybe by cooking a meal, helping with some cleaning, playing with the children or simply chatting with parents and providing a listening ear. When families are struggling and feel isolated, the impact of a regular visit from someone you trust cannot be underestimated.
- Nepal: Income generation and savings schemes
As part of their anti-trafficking programme, CarNet Nepal, our partner network in Nepal is strengthening families to reduce risk of trafficking. Similar to CRANE in Uganda, community members are teaching families about the risks of trafficking and how to protect their children. They are also empowering women economically helping families to send their children to school, meaning they are not at home alone or forced to work on the streets. Women have been prioritized to receive business training in small groups of 10-15 and be given loans to start a small business.
Over the last few years, 12 groups totaling 150 members have been formed, impacting over 600 children and their families. These women have become advocates for child protection in their communities and have had a substantial impact. This year the network will select 90 women and provide further support and follow up training in business planning and group management including the ‘Saving and Credit Mobilization Manual’. Their businesses will be topped up with seed loans to revive or expand them where necessary. The group will have monthly meetings to share learning and support each other.
We have a number of training resources: ‘Why Families Matter’, ‘Belonging in Families’ and ‘Better Homes for Children’ which help with foundational understanding on the needs for strong families. If you would like to find out more about our family empowerment work, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us on (+44) 1865 811 660 or info@viva.org
Other useful resources
CFB2_Family_Life_in_Bible_Times (3)
CFB3_Nurture_Training_of_Children
CFB6_Theol_Significance_of_Children
Download PDF