Children thrive better when brought up in a family environment than an orphanage. ICS SP is making this possible in collaboration with the Changing the Way We Care (CTWW) program by placing children with their families.Family interventions, including Positive Parenting training, significantly contribute to retention and the sustainable success of reintegration efforts. Parenting modules, such as those addressing family relations and Building of Strong and secure attachment, provided families with essential skills, particularly those who had been separated from their children for extended periods, to find solutions for effective engagement, bonding, and relationship-building with their children.
Anastacia Atieno (Not real Name) is a mother of four who currently lives in Seme, West Kenya after relocating from Nakuru town. As the sole breadwinner in her family, she has encountered various challenges, including, the death of her husband. Later on, she was forced to remarry, but again, she could not carry her parental responsibilities and financial burden to her current husband.
“I enjoy my child’s company and I would not want her to go back to the institution anymore. She is better with us at home. She is even more responsible and helps me around the house with cleaning or at the farm when schools have closed,” says Anastacia.
The burden of single handedly raising 4 children was overwhelming , she was forced to send one of her children, who was then in class eight, to Living World, a Charitable Children Institution (CCI) in SEME, in the village. At the onset of the pandemic, government directives on COVID-19 measures advised all children who had parents to go back to their families, hence the beginning of Anastacia’s journey with CTWWC (Changing the Way We Care), supported by ICS SP. Through the program, Anastacia’s life has had a positive turn as she is now able to sustain and provide for her family.
“Initially, CTWWC cushioned me with some funds that I used for my family's living expenses; buying food. Secondly, I paid school fees for the children, then bit by bit, I bought three chickens that multiplied to 35 and then sold some of them. From the profit, I was able to buy a goat. Currently, I have a second-hand stall by the roadside where I sell children's clothes,” states Anastacia.
I am thankful to ICS SP for this enormous support, we are now one happy family!
