Circles of Support: Children’s Voices

Executive Summary:

"The Circles of Support intervention aims to support orphans and other children made vulnerable as a result of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. One of the primary objectives of the project is to ensure that children continue with their schooling, this can be achieved by creating support networks for the children in their communities and schools. The purpose of this report was to document children’s perspectives of their lives and the project, in order to assist the project to better understand and meet the priority needs of children.

The Circles of Support initiative was piloted in three SADC [Southern African Development Community] countries, Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland. This report is based on focus group discussions conducted with vulnerable children in these three countries. These focus group discussions gave the children the opportunity to discuss their lives and the challenges they face, to learn from each other, and to discuss interventions that would support them.

The goals of the research were:

• To document the daily activities and circumstances of vulnerable children identified by Circles of Support.
• To identify the social and economic networks of the child.
• To identify the specific resources that would allow the child to continue their schooling.
• To develop an understanding of how Circles of Support can strengthen the existing
  social networks of vulnerable children.

The key findings of the report are:

• Financial and material assistance provided through the Circles of Support project have helped children to continue with their schooling. The Circles of Support project is a collaborative initiative that seeks to create support networks for vulnerable children in both schools and their local communities. The involvement of both the schools and community has been successful in establishing a wide support base from which vulnerable children can access resources in order to continue their schooling.
• Networks established through the Circles of Support project between vulnerable children and teachers provide guidance, support, and encouragement to children in the project. Many vulnerable children involved in the project discussed the central role that their teachers played in helping them access transport money, food money and school uniforms. These children also receive emotional support and life skills guidance from their teachers.
• Children are not only the recipients of help in the project but are also active participants in initiatives that find solutions to their problems. Vulnerable children play a central role in the project by not only identifying the challenges that they face on a day to day basis but also being involved in finding viable solutions to these issues.
• Children in the project felt protected at school. Children wanted to continue with their school careers despite financial obstacles and household obligations that they faced. Many of the boy children involved in the project discussed piece jobs that they undertook on a regular basis that helped them to fund their school fees. None of the girl children involved in the project discussed piece jobs, this point needs to be analysed as it appears that girl children have access to less opportunities like piece jobs that would enable them to continue schooling.
• Children involved in the project were aware of how funds were raised. This awareness has led to increased understanding and appreciation of the Circles of Support project. Children are involved in various fund raising initiatives undertaken in their schools. These initiatives not only raise funds for vulnerable children, but also raise awareness amongst all children about the plight of vulnerable children and the challenges that they face. The broad based involvement in the project of children, the schools and the community means that vulnerable children are less likely to be marginalised and ostracised.

The recommendations of the research include:

• Establishing and strengthening strategic partnerships between social workers and the Circles of Support project teams should be encouraged.
• Girl children need special attention within the Circles of Support project to ensure they are able to access the necessary resources to continue with their schooling.
• The active participation and involvement of children in the Circles of Support project needs to be encouraged and strengthened.
• Awareness needs to be raised about the vulnerability of children in their homes.
• Families that have adopted, fostered or absorbed children in these communities need to be included in the initiative.
• The implementation of a mentor programme would offer children support, supervision and guidance."