The Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) is a holistic child and youth development programme aimed at preventing children from being separated and deprived of parental care from their biological families so that they have an equal chance to succeed in life.

To date,22463 vulnerable children, young people and families have been supported with different services and interventions in 4 programme districts of Mzimba/Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Blantyre, and Chikwawa- Ngabu

Our Family Strengthening Programme model aims at strengthening the safety nets for vulnerable children and their families within the community.

Core Principles OF FAMILY STRENGTHENING PROGRAMME

  1. The best place for children to grow is within their biological family.
  2. Caregivers are responsible for the development of their children
  3. Communities are a direct source of support for the children and their families.
  4. The goal of development is the realization of human rights.

Target Group

Children who are at risk of losing parental care are the focus of our programmes.

Children are viewed as being at risk of losing parental care of their family when basic material, emotional, health and educational needs are not met because their caregivers lack the financial or emotional capacity or commitment to adequately meet and provide for such care needs.

Package of Services

Through the Family Strengthening Programmes, we provide a range of services to support the families and communities assume their responsibility to protect and care for their children and these include;

  1. Parenting Education
  2. House improvement through constructing low-cost houses for vulnerable families to improve their housing conditions
  3. Vocational skills training for caregivers
  4. Economic empowerment programmes for caregivers
  5. Vocational skills training for young people
  6. Construction of disability-friendly structures for schools
  7. Improving infrastructure in schools by constructing classrooms, disability-friendly rumps, girl friendly toilets.
  8. Installing water systems in schools with limited access to clean and potable water.
  9. Emergency response to intervene in several natural disasters.
  10. Building capacity of local level structures in advocacy, child rights, child protection and enhancing their functional sustainability.
  11. Community empowerment through the formation and training of different community-level structures like the School Management Committees, Mother Groups, and Area Development Committees.
  1. Quality Standards

The Family Strengthening Programme is implemented against six quality standards and adherence is ensured:

  • Children most at risk of losing the care of their family are the target group.
  • Children have access to essential services for their healthy development.
  • Families are empowered to build their capacity to protect and care for their children.
  • Communities are empowered to respond effectively to the situation of vulnerable children and their families.
  • Partnerships are built to achieve common goals.
  • Ongoing planning, monitoring, and evaluation make the programmes relevant and effective.