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Exposure to natural disasters has a devastating impact on the psychological and social well-being of children, adolescent and adults. It is now widely accepted that early psychosocial interventions that help to mitigate the effect of trauma, alleviating psychological distress, and strengthen resiliency must be an integral part of humanitarian assistance. In the case of children and adolescents, psychosocial interventions also aim to maintain or re-establish their normal development process.
The principles in this document, while developed in response to the 2005 tsunami,…
It is now estimated that the tsunami, although not the largest in recorded history, has inflicted some of the greatest devastation, claiming more than 170,000 lives and displacing an estimated 1.5 million people (Table 1). As it became clear that a large portion of those most affected were children, many Americans (and would-be parents from other nations) were moved to open their hearts and homes – through adoption – to the boys and girls who seemed to have been orphaned.
In response to the enormous number of inquiries, the U.S. State Department – as well as numerous European governments,…
Using lessons learnt in emergencies, from the genocide in Rwanda to the Asian Tsunami and the earthquake in Haiti, our new report, Misguided Kindness, demonstrates what action is needed to keep families together during crises and to bring separated children back into a safe and nurturing family life. Save the Children warns that people who support orphanages or international adoption in the belief that they’re doing the best for children suffering after a major emergency could in fact be putting those children in even more danger.
Cambodia counts an estimated 670,000 orphans. Many of these children do not have primary caregivers and are in need of alternative care. They are abandoned, live and/or work in the streets, are affected by HIV/AIDS, are victims of exploitation or trafficking, detained in prison; hence in need of special protection. In Cambodia, children without primary caregivers were traditionally placed in the care of relatives, neighbors or in pagodas and presently, an estimated 11,400 children live in institutional residential care facilities throughout the country.
Inter-country adoption of Cambodian…
WHAT: Contains guidance on how to develop programs to respond to the psychosocial needs of children affected by emergencies. Includes a training schedule, worksheets, and handouts.
WHO: Trainers, practitioners, and managers working with children affected by an emergency.
WHERE: While the guidance in this manual is globally relevant for work with separated children and children in care who have psychosocial needs, it is based on the lessons learned from working with separated children…
WHAT: Contains an overview of programming to prevent and respond to separated and unaccompanied children, including care arrangements. Includes a training program.
WHO: Trainers, practitioners, and managers working in pre and post emergency situations to prevent and respond to the separation of children.
WHERE: While the guidance in this manual is globally relevant for work with separated children, it is based on the experiences of working with separated children in…
There are an estimated 7000 childcare institutions across Indonesia caring for up to half a million children. The Indonesian government itself owns and runs only a handful of those institutions, less than 40. The vast majority of these institutions were set up privately, particularly by faith based organisations. While many receive some financial support from the government, most do not come under any type of supervision or monitoring. In fact, the government does not have any data about institutions that do not receive its financial subsidy and it only has very limited data on those that do…
This document includes practical and professional paperwork for residential care including registration and assessment forms, application for renewal of licenses, referral forms, and emergency admission forms. Can be modified for different country contexts. While these forms may prove useful to organizations and governments seeking to provide oversight to residential institutions, they are not comprehensive. The forms do not sufficiently emphasize the need to collect regular information regarding each child in the care system, or the need to review each child's case regularly, with the aim of…
The Government of Indonesia took an essential step in the aftermath of this disaster by adopting the Policy on Separated, Unaccompanied and Single-parent Children affected by Emergency Situations (2005) which clearly stated that “every effort must be undertaken so as to ensure that children are able to stay with their families and communities.” By recognising the fundamental importance of families to the care and protection of children, it emphasised that the placement in institutions should be a last resort and that a range of support should be given to single parents or extended families…
Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality and achieving all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to health and education are largely dependent on progress in nutrition. If undernutrition is not successfully addressed, it will be difficult to reach the other MDGs. Every year, it is estimated that undernutrition contributes to the deaths of about 5.6 million children under the age of fi ve. One out of every four children under five – or 146 million children in the developing world – is underweight for his or her age, and at increased risk of an early death.…