care for kids

The reality

The Western Cape has one of the lowest HIV infection rates in South Africa, and yet the reality is that some communities are now recording infection rates as high as 19% (Heidelberg and Stellenbosch), 27% (Khayelitsha) and 28% (Nyanga and Gugulethu). The people most vulnerable to this pandemic are women, youth and the poor.

UNICEF estimates that we have around 3.7 million orphans in South Africa today, and around 44, 000 of those live in the Western Cape. It is estimated that by 2015, some 32% of children in South Africa will have lost one or both parents due to HIV/Aids.
A recent report by Unicef and Save the Children acknowledged that orphanages are an expensive and even harmful way of combating this crisis, because children suffer when they are separated from their families. In fact, here in South Africa, the culture is such that communities will often assimilate orphaned children into the homes of relatives or neighbours instead of considering institutional alternatives. But this can often increase the burden of poverty for those caregivers, and of course there are emotional and spiritual issues accompanying such tragedy which caregivers do not always know how best to deal with.

The intervention

The Care for Kids program empowers the church to serve orphans and their caregivers, through interventions that are community-based, sustainable, and centred on the needs of the child. We work towards building independent ministries run by the churches through a four-phased approach, which works like this:

1. Firstly, we meet with the leadership of a potential partner church and investigate whether they are well placed in terms of their attitudes, leadership, unity and commitment to the programme. We have learnt that whilst this process may be slow, it is vital if the project is going to run successfully and with longevity in any given church community.

2. Once it is clear that we can partner together in this vision, the second phase is the training of volunteers and the education of the church leadership. The training for volunteers equips them with an understanding of orphan issues and community development within the context of God’s heart for orphans. The volunteers and church leaders continue to be mentored by the CFK team, and the volunteers regularly visit the families and organise different activities at the church, which provide ongoing spiritual and emotional support. Our volunteers, as community members, can gain privileged access into homes where children who have ‘fallen through the cracks’ have been identified, and this is where the relief support for orphans is initiated.

Relief is given to children who are in the process of accessing or unable to access a social security grant.  The relief includes a food parcel of dry goods, a store voucher for perishables for each child and a pack of toiletries for each family, which is given every month. Most children remain on relief for up to 6 months.  A sponsorship programme has been set up for children who are unable to access social security and all the funds that received are given in place of the monthly relief.

Additionally, at the beginning of the academic year each eligible child is given a grade specific stationery pack and the ability to purchase school uniforms to a specific value, which is determined by donations. This ensures that the child is able to go to school, because lack of these kinds of resources is often a barrier to entry even though education is free.  Other relief includes second-hand clothing, blankets, and household goods (e.g. mattresses and cooking utensils), that are packed by volunteers specifically for each child or family. These are given to the families based on the requests made by the volunteers as they identify needs during their regular home visits.

3. The third phase is when we start to expand the psychosocial support for the children and their carers. A process of identifying the service delivery gaps for the children and their carers is carried out and the results are used to determine the type of services that each church will provide based on the resources in each respective church. The CFK team then research and develop appropriate training materials to either provide service or to equip the volunteers with the capacity to run the service. The children support focuses on grief, building self-esteem and reliance. The carer support focuses on helping them cope with the children they have taken in. The team also provides ongoing support and mentorship to the volunteers, and training for the church leadership focusing on planning, implementation, oversight and governance.

4. The final phase in this process is when churches run ministries entirely on their own, but with the CFK office continuing to be a source of support, advice and encouragement whenever necessary.

The prayer

For provision; we are always in need of provision for the different kinds of relief that we distribute. We also are currently praying for a car for our community workers to use. For relationships; for unity to deepen in our team, with volunteers, and with church leadership.

Get Involved

Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)