Empower communities
SOS Children Family Strengthening Programme
At SOS Children we care directly for children who are orphaned or abandoned. We also reach out into local communities through Family Strengthening Programmes (FSPs), which are designed to prevent children from losing the care of their families.
On the outskirts of Chipata, at Mchini, we already run an FSP – it’s a shanty town with little by way of health and education facilities. More than 20,000 people live there in 4,000 households.
There’s little access to information about HIV/AIDS – yet Mchini is in a part of Zambia where the HIV prevalence rate is 22% compared to the national average of 15.2%. Lack of healthcare means that only 10% of the population has accessed voluntary counselling and testing. The nearest clinic is 5km away and there’s no transport for patients in need of hospital care.
Families affected by HIV/AIDS are the main groups we aim to help in our FSPs. At first, we give practical healthcare assistance to address the family’s immediate needs. Over the medium term we work to give tailored assistance to enable families to eventually manage their households without outside help.Your support will help us to strengthen vulnerable families so that they can go on to protect and care for their children.
FSPs in Zambia
SOS Children already has substantial experience of running Family Strengthening Programmes in Zambia (in the capital Lusaka, and in Livingstone and Kitwe).
Families where the main care-giver may be chronically ill, families headed by a grandparent or other relative, and child-headed families, are helped to help themselves – we provide care for children, and training and opportunities for carers. As a result, fewer children are abandoned.
SOS Children’s project activities
- Consult with community-based organisations to identify children and families who are most in need
- Provide material support including food parcels and clothing
- Help with school fees and school supplies (stationery and uniforms)
- Give training to care-givers in basic nursing techniques
- Teach families how to grow their own vegetables
- Provide start-up materials for other income-generation activities
- Help families repair their existing housing or assist them with finding somewhere better to live.
And as a result
- All the children in the FSP families are able to attend school regularly
- Families have better access to healthcare
- People find a sustainable source of income
- Living conditions and nutrition are improved for children and care-givers alike.
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