Kafaalah Community Engagement Facilitator’s Flipbook

Ms. Khadija Karama, Ms. Diane Rop, Ms. Fidelis Muthoni, and Ms. Jane Munuhe

The Kafaalah Community Engagement Facilitator's Flipbook is a practical guide designed to support trained facilitators—such as Children Officers, Imams, Ustadh, Ustadhas, and other Muslim community leaders—in delivering community sessions on the Kafaalah. It offers structured guidance for engaging male caregivers, female caregivers, and children through interactive sessions.

File

Kafaalah Facilitator’s Guide: A Family-Based Care Option for Children in Kenya

Ms. Khadija Karama, Ms. Diane Rop, and Ms. Jane Munuhe

The Kafaalah Facilitator’s Guide is part of a training package to strengthen understanding and implementation of Kafaalah, a family-based alternative care option for children in Kenya. Developed by the Government of Kenya with support from Changing the Way We Care, it provides structured session plans, tools, and activities to help child protection professionals and community members effectively promote and practice Kafaalah.

File

Family relationships between normative orientations and lived diversity – experiences of care leavers with their mothers and fathers

Stephan Sting, Georg Streissguertl , Julia Weissnar

This article examines how care leavers navigate their relationships with biological mothers and fathers. It is based on a qualitative study from Austria, which focused on social networks and family relationships of 18-to 27-year-old care-experienced youth.

Image
Screenshot of article

Understanding the burden of COVID-19 orphanhood and caregiver loss among children and adolescents living in South Africa

Christina Laurenzi, Ramsha Hisham, Tatenda Mawoyo, et al.

This study examined the short-term impacts of COVID-19-related orphanhood on children and adolescents in peri-urban Khayelitsha, South Africa, finding that those who lost a parent or primary caregiver experienced significantly greater mental health burdens, food insecurity, caregiving responsibilities, and engagement in social risk behaviours compared to peers without such loss.

File

The Resilience of the Mind: Understanding Cognitive Strength in Abused Orphaned Children in Foster Care

Jaya Bharti, Manisha Sharma

This study explores the experiences of exploited orphans in institutional care in India and the factors that contribute to their cognitive resilience, using qualitative interviews with 20 children aged 12–16. Findings show that resilience is shaped by problem-solving skills, goal setting, self-regulation, peer support, education, and stable caregiving, highlighting the need for policies and interventions that strengthen both individual and environmental supports.

File

The Social Challenge of Unaccompanied and Separated Migrant Children in South Africa: Implications for Social Work

Ntobeko Bambeni

This paper reviews the challenges faced by unaccompanied and separated migrant children (USMC) in South Africa and the implications for social work practice. It highlights how social workers often lack adequate training and resources to meet the complex, multicultural needs of USMC, emphasizing cross-cultural social work as the most appropriate model for support.

File

A scoping review of the transition experiences and outcomes of young women leaving residential out-of-home care

Yujie Zhao, Jacinta Waugh, Philip Mendes

This scoping review analyzes 31 studies on young women leaving residential care worldwide, highlighting their unique gender-specific challenges such as early pregnancy and gender-based violence. Despite recurring patterns across contexts, research on this group remains limited, especially as they are often treated as a subset of broader studies, pointing to the need for more focused investigation.

File

“You are nothing and you have nothing”: Exploring social justice for youth leaving care in African contexts

Berni Kelly, Adrian D. van Breda, Kwabena Frimpong-Manso

This article uses Nancy Fraser’s social justice framework to examine the experiences of youth leaving care in Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, drawing on interviews with 45 care-leavers conducted by peer researchers. Findings reveal how intersecting injustices—such as stigma, exclusion, and lack of resources—undermine their transition to adulthood, underscoring the need for stronger aftercare services, recognition of diverse identities, and greater youth participation in shaping policy and support.

File