Caring for orphans and vulnerable children in a context of poverty and cultural Transition: A case study of a group foster homes program in Burkina Faso

Abstract

This paper analyses the functional dynamic of a group foster homes-based program in Burkina Faso and its potential to meet the developmental needs of children. Data were collected through field observations, interviews, and questionnaires. Findings suggest that this community-based program combines institutional care and extended family networks. Orphaned, abandoned, and vulnerable children were brought together in foster homes, each headed by a non-relative woman and supported by the program operator. The program guaranteed the basic needs of children as specified by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The nutritional status that is indicative of the overall well-being in emergency seems to be better than the average children of Burkina Faso, suggesting that basic vital needs of children were met. Familial ties are also developed between each family member. Children have the opportunity to interact with community, therefore preparing them for social life. Despite some limitations, mainly due to the lack of psychological support, the program achieves its objectives of caring for children and provides a familial environment for orphans. Therefore, many organizations caring for orphans in Africa through institutional settings might learn from this experience in terms of management style, parenting, and connections with relatives and community.

Socio-demographic determinants of health support services among orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria

“…Therefore, this study supports other studies including those of Foster and Germann (2002), Harber (2009) and Datta (2013) that proposed community-based care as viable approach to taking care of orphans and vulnerable children as it places children at the centre of all development programmes, ensures different levels of community ownership and participation (Ansell and Young, 2004;Sanou et al, 2009) and believed to be the most cost-effective strategy for providing care and support to OVC but proposes that interventions on service provision for OVC should be integrated into other programs such as the Hard-to-Reach (HTR) programs and the new Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Services (CHIPS) program Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Services (CHIPS) program (Adebayo, 2017) as this would help improve service provision to households, case management, tracking, monitoring and follow-up of services and militate against the influence of socio-demographic factors such as Victor 169 region of residence.…”

Residential context, institutional alloparental care, and child growth in Jamaica

“…This strongly suggests that the improved anthropometric measurements observed in children living in Guppy Pond are not a result of the distribution of healthier children into this home. There is evidence that institutional care settings, particularly those that emphasize mental health support and create familial caretaking environments, can provide high quality care for vulnerable children who have been removed from insecure living situations (Aboud et al, ; Boothby et al, ; Neimetz, ; Sanou et al, ).…”

The reality of transitioning from orphanages to family homes: Life in extended families in Zimbabwe

“…Since research within the field of orphans and adoptions in Africa is still developing, the emerging knowledge is shared. Beginning with the system of operation, the care of orphans in Africa is categorized into two parts that consist of formal and informal structures (Sanou et al, 2008). The formal structure consists of adoption, foster care and living in orphaned homes-a form of legal registry that notes supervision of the child in question.…”

“…Upon arriving in city areas, these children are susceptible to poor health, limited supply of means, psychological distress, as well as early sexual encounters (Campbell et al, 2010;Thupayagale-Tshweneagae et al, 2012). When orphan institutions are evaluated in the African context, they mostly provide shelter, food, clothes, moral, and spiritual education (Sanou et al, 2008). However, children's emotional needs are not always met resulting in children experiencing neglect, ostracism, and the failure to bond with caregivers in orphanages (Gomera & Mutambara, 2020;Makhonza et al, 2019;Tanga, 2013).…”