Author: International Children's Trust

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Chiedza Child Care Centre Income Saving and Lending Schemes Project (ISALS) in Harare South District, Zimbabwe.

The aim of this project is to increase the level of income and security of 1,800 poor and vulnerable households in Harare, particularly those headed by widows, or single parents, those with orphaned or vulnerable children at risk of dropping out of school, those with a disability and those with one or more members living with HIV. Each targeted household has to have at least one child under the age of 18 years.

In general, participating households undergo training on ISALS and how to run viable income-generating activities. The main expected outcome of the project is to increase income and financial resilience for vulnerable households in Harare South District  and to improve the health, school enrolment, attendance, retention and achievement of the orphaned and vulnerable children from these households. The project provides training in income saving and lending, project planning, financial planning, business management and micro-enterprise.

Since April 2015, the project has created 150 saving and lending groups and provides income benefits to participants (estimated as 1,800 of whom 10% are men and 90% are women). In addition, it supports 300 participants to jointly or individually establish an income-generating activity. Chiedza also aim to ensure that all wards with participating households are able to sustain and further develop the programme with the support of a community support structure and/or alternative government sources.

Two Success Stories from Harare.

Tammy’s mother attended the Chiedza project and Tammy says  “I live with my mother and my younger sister. My mother works on a Chiedza project and now has a market stall at home where she sells her goods. Before she started this business, she had no income and I did not have school shoes, a school bag or books. Things changed when she started working with Chiedza and she has managed to buy me all these things for school. My primary school fees are also fully paid up and my mother recently bought some household furniture, including a wardrobe, a kitchen table and matching chairs.”

Jenny has just finished her exams and is waiting for her results. She says “throughout my schooling my mother was struggling to pay my fees but last year things improved after she started participating in the Chiedza project. I can tell you that mum’s business is running well. We used to go hungry for long periods but now we always have enough food in the house and we eat three meals a day. My father is not permanently employed so my mother’s business is certainly helping the family. I look forward to doing further exams in the future and then going to university to get a degree. The sky is the limit to my education, thanks to my mum.”

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A Success Story from SERVE in Sri Lanka.

Lakshan is from Moratuwa in Sri Lanka. He lost his mother when he was seven years old and he and his four siblings were brought up by his father and grandmother. His father was an unskilled, casual worker and the family faced many economic difficulties.

Lakshan attended a small village school but also joined the local SERVE Angulana centre when he was 8 years old. He enjoyed reading newspapers and using the library there and with the help of the centre co-ordinator and social worker, Lakshan did his school homework plus studied independently. He also attended computing classes and took part in children’s rights training programmes, leadership training programmes and child abuse prevention programmes carried out by SERVE.

When he was 10 years old, Lakshan was entered for the sponsorship programme on the recommendation of a SERVE social worker. After successfully passing school examinations he entered Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa. In 2017 he sat his GCE Advanced level examinations in the Commerce stream and did well in Accounting, Business Studies and Economics. Lakshan mainly used his sponsorship money to pay for additional educational coaching classes and to buy educational equipment and school clothing.

After leaving school Lakshan attended a two month spoken English course at Cambridge College in Kandy. Since 2018 Lakshan has been working in a private bank as a Marketing Officer, and in order to further his career, he is currently following a certificate course in Marketing at the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. In the future, Lakshan hopes to complete his Marketing course and also follow additional courses in Banking.

Lakshan is very grateful that he has been able to overcome many challenges with the assistance of ICT and his sponsor through SERVE. He is proud of his academic achievements and the progression of his career until now.

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The Importance of a Biscuit

Photo of boys making biscuits in the JUCONI workshop

What impact can a small shortbread or an oat biscuit have on a child? He does not eat it. He does not sell it. But, in these biscuits, he is receiving skills that will help him forge a career for himself in the future.

In a small workshop a short walk away from the JUCONI Youth House in Puebla, Mexico, the youth have the opportunity to make biscuits that are sold to a local company. Vocational and skills training has become an important part of many international development initiatives, but JUCONI continues to set itself apart.

The boys are not part of a new generation of bakers. In fact, the baked biscuit is barely important. It is the process that is important, not the product.  The boys are being encouraged to develop strong work ethics, to understand employee-employer relationships, to have the ability to create a CV, and to have a strong attention to detail in all of their work.  The boys’ participation is not automatic, but must be earned through good behaviour and positive development.

In this environment, the boys are setting their own paths in careers that they are interested in and passionate about. They are developing the tools that will set them apart for employers.

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27 Years on at JUCONI Mexico

A photo of a mother reading with her son at JUCONI House

In 1989, Fundaciόn JUCONI was founded in Puebla, Mexico with the support of the International Children’s Trust. Working with homeless children, this new professional organisation started operating a small centre that was both a day and residential centre.

Fast forward 27 years and JUCONI is a very different organisation, but one that has remained rooted in addressing the needs to vulnerable children and continues to be supported by the International Children’s Trust.  Over 27 years, JUCONI have recognised the importance of working with marginalised children subject to family violence. By working with the entire family, JUCONI are breaking the cycle of physical violence, reintegrating children and families into their communities, and developing a family’s ability access to education, health care and employment.

And it is clear that this vision works. Each year, JUCONI is working with 350 children and 120 families. Working through 3 different programmes, JUCONI are improving the lives of children by tackling the family violence that heavily influence children living on the streets, working on the streets, or working in the street-markets often with their families.

In 2016, we are beginning to see new exciting steps forward for JUCONI as they take their approach beyond the borders of Mexico.  JUCONI have been working with 160 organisations, primarily in 9 of the 31 states in Mexico. But the JUCONI model and their understanding of family violence, is also influencing organisations in Ghana, Guyana, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Guatemala and El Salvador. They do not look to replicate JUCONI in countries throughout the world, but they look to strengthen work with children by imparting the principles guiding their work on other organisations. By focusing on the principles instead of the tools, organisations can focus on appropriate solutions that are suitable for their own local context.

While JUCONI have now worked directly with over 3,000 children, your support is allowing JUCONI to reach children globally. As they move forward with a new General Director, we look forward to being a part of their continued progress.

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Running again around London

Our seven runners in the British 10k London Run prior to the race.

Forget Andy Murray’s historic Wimbledon triumph. Forget Lewis Hamilton’s prowess around Silverstone. There was only one monumental British sports event on Sunday, 10th July. Yes, seven runners stormed around the streets of London raising funds for the International Children’s Trust, battling with 11,285 other finishing runners at the British 10K London Run.

For a second year in a row, the clouds were gathering overhead for the race. Thankfully the rain stayed away until everyone was finished and stretching their legs. The crowds cheered and the bands played as the runners around the course that took in Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and the Embankment.

Monumental may be an exaggeration and the names Alice, Claudia, Lucy, Lydia, Olivia, David and Jeremy may not be on the tip of your tongues, but we are proud and thankful for their enthusiasm in running the 10km course around central London fundraising on our behalf.

While July 2017 may seem a long way away, if you are interested in running in next year’s race please get in contact with us.

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Getting Children Back Into School In Harare

Photo of members of a microloan group in a small shop they have started just outside of Harare, Zimbabwe

School attendance in the poorest areas of Harare is weak, with many children missing out on the education they need to gain even the most basic skills in order to grow into productive, independent adults.  Collaborating with our local partner, the Chiedza Child Care Centre, our research found that money was the biggest single obstacle to a child’s education.  In the areas where we work, the average household income is around US $123 per month, well below the national poverty line.  The same households were spending an average of US $52 on education – an expense representing over 40% of an already hugely stretched budget.  Even by making this huge commitment, many children were still being left uneducated with adults forced to prioritise one child’s schooling over another’s.  Often in these situations girls and orphans are the first to miss out.

The International Children’s Trust and Chiedza developed a pioneering scheme to work in these communities to try and solve the problem at its source.  Funded by the Department for International Development, we have been working for a year now on developing small savings and loan groups for participants to grow their own income.  Most participants are women who are all responsible for the care of particularly vulnerable children.  By tackling the problem this way, we hope to help children back to school. This programme will not simply make funds available in the short term, but will fundamentally transform the homes and communities the children live into more stable environments where children will be supported in the long term by a sustainable income.

Ben, our Senior Programmes Manager, recently visited Harare to monitor the progress of the project and to see for himself the transformative impact it is having on the community.  Already, we have trained 900 caregivers.  They have not simply been taught about how to work together to access small amounts of credit, but also basic skills of business and marketing.  This has come with hugely positive results with small businesses being started covering a range of activities from raising chickens to making shoe polish.  As a result many more children are now able to attend school and we plan to work hard to make sure we keep achieving that kind of progress through the next 3 years of the project and beyond.

Despite these successes, the situation in Zimbabwe remains difficult and this was evident throughout Ben’s trip.  Political turmoil and economic mismanagement hit the headlines, but it’s the poorest who suffer most with rates of unemployment soaring past 85% in recent times.  We continue to work to try and offer the children of Zimbabwe a path out of the poverty that this creates and ensure that this change is positive and long-lasting.

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Through Joe’s Eyes: JUCONI Ecuador

Photo of Joe playing football with some boys at JUCONI Ecuador

In December, Nicola (one of our team members) was visiting our project with JUCONI Ecuador in Guayaquil.  Supporting street children and their families, she had the opportunity to witness therapeutic sessions with parents and children in their homes, visit the schools that JUCONI works with, and to share in the fun and games of the children’s Christmas party. At the party, she had a chance to catch up with Joe Amiri who is currently working with JUCONI and ask him a few questions…

 

What inspired you to work with children?

I am a volunteer with the Peace Corps who send volunteers to various organisations around Ecuador to serve for two years. My time with JUCONI has been one of the most incredible experiences for any volunteer. I wanted to work with disadvantaged children and their families to help those who need it most but to also establish a good support system for them in the future.

What is so unique about JUCONI is that the work we do is sustainable. One of my first friends in Guayaquil was a kid in the community. While many of the adolescents were timid and shy around the bearded gringo, he always wanted to talk to me and was curious about my life. Months later I discovered that he had actually been part of the JUCONI therapy process with his family when he was four. That early intervention by JUCONI brought him through college and he is a role model in the community.

What aspects of your work do you enjoy most?

The work JUCONI does is so different from many organisations that I have come across in my life. Many have a centre for people to receive services, but JUCONI actually visits each family in their homes to provide therapy each week. Going to each family and getting to know their community shows us more about the reality these families live in. I joke with a co-worker that we are unofficial mayors of Socio Vivienda, one of the communities we work in, because we cannot walk one block without hearing our names.

What do you enjoy least?

The hardest part of my work is saying goodbye at the end of each day. As a member of the community development team, we are spread thin so we only visit each of the four communities once per week. It is hard giving that last high-five to a child in Socio Vivienda and having to wait seven days to see them again.

What have you learnt during your time with JUCONI so far?

I have grown so much professionally and personally. When working in the communities, I can see what a bright future the world has.  Seeing how much positive change can come from small actions like youth groups, art clubs or sports club, I am looking forward to seeing what is next for these kids. Each kid really needs a space where they can be themselves and grow as individuals.

When I am not in the communities, I help with the development side of the organisation by promoting corporate social responsibility. It is wonderful to see how much people, such as those who donate through the International Children’s Trust, really care about the world and want to make it a better place. People love to help, they just sometimes don´t know how.

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Different Reality, Different Approach

Photo of 3 girls at New Life, South Africa colouring pictures

Uitsig sits in the Cape Flats, a short drive from Stellenbosch – South Africa’s premier wine region and home to a world-renowned university.  And yet life is very different for the children growing up in this community.  HIV has taken a terrible toll over the last 30 years in South Africa – still holding the unenviable record of the most number of people living with HIV in the world.  Poverty is rife with people finding any way possible to survive.  This leads to sex work and high rates of theft.  Drugs and alcohol are frequently abused – in fact, the drug dealers make no secret of their trade and the availability of drugs. The frustrations of daily living often manifests itself into domestic violence against partners but also the abuse of children.

Faced with these problems, many children lack the positive family environment and will often not have the opportunity to receive a good education.  For many children, solace has been found in a different ‘family’.  Gangs have offered the children a sense of belonging and given many of them a purpose.  Uitsig is notorious for its gang crime and violence and children who are not provided an education and end up hanging around the streets becomes the perfect recruit.  Ultimately, a nurturing and caring environment that we would expect from family and school, does not exist.

Working with the International Children’s Trust, New Life Community Projects is offering a different reality. It is a reality where a child has their education kick-started by providing them with a strong base of learning and warm encouragement.  It is a reality where the factors that damage a child’s development (whether it be abuse, neglect or illness) is identified and steps taken to end it.  It is a reality where the family are encouraged to be part of the child’s development.  Perhaps more importantly, it is a reality where parenting skills are taught and not just assumed to exist.  While it can often be easier just to work with a child, this can be worthless if they are simply returning home to the same old problems.

But what is it that really makes New Life different?  Their approach is informed by a strong understanding of a child’s psychology and the importance of early childhood development.  It is an understanding that all staff learn how to apply to their work. It is an approach that goes beyond the child’s immediate needs and looks to their long term development.  While recognising the importance of education for a child (after all, the children are attending an informal school), the project takes (what we call in the development sector) a holistic approach – reflecting the fact that a child’s development is built on physical, social, educational and emotional needs.

But there is also something much simpler that sets New Life apart.  Over the years, I have walked into many schools in sub-Saharan Africa and been saddened.  Children may want to learn, but with 60 students in a class, no resources and poor teaching methods, the incredible potential of EVERY child is often lost. Walking into the compound that is home to New Life’s container school, you enter a completely different environment.  Suddenly you have teachers who actually want to be there.  They bring passion, love and dedication to the children.  They genuinely care – not only for their children but for the community that they live and work in.

Each year, around 45 children between 4 and 5 years old begin their journey with New Life.  For the first year, they will arrive each morning at the ‘Container School’ (old shipping containers that have become a community hub) for their breakfast and some group fun, before walking to their teacher’s home.  Within each home, the teacher has created a space for a group of around 7 children who she will work and play with every weekday morning for the next year.  Returning to the Container School at lunchtime, the children have the opportunity to have a hot, nutritional meal.  Beyond this daily activity, the teachers and key staff will work with family members during visits to family homes and workshop sessions.  Families are encouraged to participate in community events, to spend quality time with their children at family outings and events, and to work together as a family to cultivate part of the New Life garden where their efforts are rewarded with produce to take home.

At the end of that year, the intention is for all 45 children to be able to enter into a mainstream school (something that we cannot assume would happen otherwise), while the relationships between the children and their caregivers (whether parents, grandparents, extended family or siblings) will have improved. New Life are achieving these results.  But achieving this success does not mean that support can end there.  This is still just the start of a child’s journey.

Working with children at an early age provides for a key intervention at a crucial stage of their development, but that needs to be backed up with continual support structures and reinforcement of needs.  To that end, the Out of School Club operates in the afternoons at the Container School.  This provides a safe environment for children who have previously been through the project to do their homework, learn and play – an inspiring and supportive environment that they often cannot find in their own home.  Ultimately, this keeps the child from finding an alternative on the streets and in the gangs. It is this long term approach that is vital in ensuring that the short term gains when a child is 5 years old can be sustained.

Without the International Children’s Trust and New Life, the alternative is disheartening.  Today’s children need the opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty that their families and community have found themselves in.  There is no quick fix and we cannot guarantee a solution.  Ensuring the child can enter into school will mean that they will have better opportunities in the future for employment.  They will have the ability to support themselves.  Working with the child on their health and general well-being will help to prevent them from dropping out of school in the future and to avoid becoming involved in the gangs and street life that many in their community participate in.  By working with families, we are looking to ensure that we are all encouraging the child in the same direction so that all of the children are provided with opportunities that their parents did not receive.

Every child has so much potential within them.  It is easy for this potential never to be realised.  In Uitsig, you can sense that we are giving them a fighting chance.