Geographical Area

Free State, Botshabelo, Thaba Nchu, Bloemfontein

Overall objective (goal) of Lesidi’s Community Development and Family Support Programme

To address the needs of children and families particularly those most vulnerable, through a comprehensive, sustainable, community owned and managed intervention.

Rural Family Support Programme

Since: 1998

Region: Tweespruit; Ladybrand; Excelsior; Chocolan; Rosendal; and Marquard, South Africa

Objective: To enable parents to take better care of their children.

The main aim of this phase of the project is to consolidate the curriculum - methodology and content of the programme that was developed in the previous phase and develop it into a marketable product in form of a manual that Lesedi would offer as part of its scope of training programmes and which other organisations could take up for implementation.

The process of consoldation and further development will include continuing to work with groups of parents on commercial farms and informal settlements through the weekly sessions/workshops, with sessions focused around themes that help the parents to explore issues that are relevant to them such as 'To like myself', 'Assertiveness', 'Healing the wounds of the past', 'Child development', 'The child in the school system', and 'Health'; and the direct involvement of young children in sessions that are focused on the needs of young children.

The sessions will also include developing participants' capacities in problem solving skills, programme monitoring, evaluation and feedback, and exploring the feasibility of different delivery mechanisms such as home visits and the involvement of men. The project will also work towards refining and agreeing on the delivery systems and structures of the programme and within Lesedi.

Community Development and Family Facilitators

Since: 2006

Region: Tweespruit; Ladybrand; Excelsior; Chocolan; Rosendal; and Marquard, South Africa

Objective: To develop a community-owned, comprehensive and sustainable approach that addresses the needs of vulnerable families and their children.

The current project is aimed at exploring a community development practitioner (CDP) model that integrates the RFSP curriculum to develop a cadre of practitioners skilled in working with children, their families and the community.

The practitioners - 5 in each community - will be selected from the communities and trained and mentored by the current RFSP facilitators as part of or attached to an existing ECD centre to provide outreach support to vulnerable children and their families. At the community level, the CDPs will be supported and managed by a structure to be developed in agreement with each community.

The partner organisation Lesedi will adapt the RFSP curriculum to enable the CDP to use the adapted RFSP sessions to dialogue with and provide support to children and their families. In the initial stage, the CDPs will work as volunteers while Lesedi and the project team will work with local government to see if the government could provide stipends or other monetary support to the practitioners as part of on-going government's efforts to support vulnerable families.

Contact

P.O.Box 28

Tweenspruit

9770   

Tel: +27 (0) 72 207 6427

Fax: +27 (0) 82 460 9297

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