GHR Foundation's Children in Families funding is currently supporting child protection interventions in Zambia, a country with an estimated 8,000 children living in 190 institutions. Program staff recently participated in a Zambia National Consultation facilitated by our partners and attended by more than 40 representatives of the Zambian government and other stakeholders in the welfare of children outside of family care.

The three-day consultation drew constructive engagement and discussion from everyone present, and concluded with the issuing of a call for action by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare, titled “Accelerating Child Care Reform in Zambia.” The document encourages other ministries, cooperating partners, civil society and other stakeholders to support actions including the establishment of a national technical working group on child care reform, the development of a national alternative care framework and the undertaking of research and evidence building.
 
Other takeaways include the focus on supporting children with disabilities, which was well-addressed by the government and the call for action, and the necessity of strengthening the social welfare workforce by improving training and accreditation. In the country of more than 14 million people, there are only 274 social welfare officers—actors key to our work. The next step after the consultation will be the formation of a technical working group on alternative care. This group will incorporate expertise from the current group of GHR partners and broaden participation to a larger number of stakeholders in Zambia.
 
To learn more about how GHR is working toward a world where all children are living in a stable, positive, long-term family or family-like environment, contact us.

GHR places high value on building the internal capacity of our partner non-profit organizations so they are well-positioned to be sustainable and meet client needs. Technology infrastructure is a critical part of this, yet non-profits often operate with outdated and ineffective systems. In recent conversations with a grantee, Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners (IOCP) in Plymouth, Minn., GHR staff learned how technological improvements can translate directly into enhanced impact. IOCP, an Opus Foundation grantee, provides emergency and long-term solutions to support families in achieving stability. IOCP has an annual operating budget of $5.9 million and serves eight suburbs in the west Twin Cities metro area. GHR funding helped the organization build a database aimed at more effectively tracking client progress and improving service delivery to enhance the client experience.
 
Working collaboratively throughout the process, IOCP staff met with each family served—more than 2,000—and completed new intake assessments. The process required a great deal of staff time, but offered a more comprehensive picture of the people they serve and increased personal connections among staff, clients and the community. IOCP’s approach provided a valuable pause in operations for reflection, conversation and relationship building, resulting in stronger infrastructure beyond just technology.
 
GHR’s grant strengthened the operations of a local organization serving 5,500 people and nearly 2,000 households, and afforded GHR the opportunity to learn more about the importance of funding capacity building, making time for reflection, and re-tooling systems as core grant making strategies.
 
GHR is dedicated to supporting both practical and creative solutions—each critical to strengthening the non-profit sector. To learn more about how our grantees are impacting lives in Minnesota and around the world, contact us.

Global research demonstrates that children raised in families or family-like settings have better cognitive, emotional and social outcomes than those living outside family care. GHR Foundation’s Sister Support initiative has found that Catholic sisters are well positioned to realize the best possible outcomes for vulnerable children and children living outside of family care by combining the best of the Catholic tradition of care with insights from contemporary research.
 
In Uganda—a country where an estimated 50,000 children live in institutions and more than half of the children are deemed critically or moderately vulnerable—the number of child care institutions has increased from 36 to over 500 in the last 20 years.
 
Legislation recently adopted by the Ugandan government means significant changes are in the making. The new legislation emphasizes keeping children connected with families, placing children in family-like environments and using institutional care only as a last resort. Training in social work will be expected for those responsible for children living outside of families.
 
GHR Foundation has recently partnered with the Association of Religious of Uganda to complete studies on the new requirements, educational opportunities and Catholic work with vulnerable children and children living outside of family care. The Association of Religious of Uganda is currently developing plans to help sisters build their capacity to provide the highest level of care possible for children in need.
 
For some congregations in Uganda, working with vulnerable children and children living outside of family care is the reason for their existence. By helping these congregations gain the skills necessary to succeed, there is potential for ensuring vital futures for both Catholic sisters and children outside of family care. To learn more about how GHR is working with sisters and children, contact us.

GHR Foundation's Children in Families funding supports child protection organizations that strengthen families, respond to children without family care and drive further evidence of innovative, pro-family approaches. One such organization is M’lup Russey in Cambodia, which promotes best practice in alternative care and provides services to young people so they can develop as healthy individuals.

GHR's partnership with M’lup Russey began six months ago, and they are already returning impressive results. They have raised awareness of the new minimum standards of residential care for children among caregivers and government staff and built strong working relationships with caregivers who can now rely on them for further assistance.
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In the past six months, M’Lup Russey provided training on minimum standard of residential care of children to four Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation coordinators and 33 residential care coordinators, generating interest in the community. Program directors have requested additional capacity building support in order to ensure the implementation of minimum standards

One family to which a child was reunified has benefited from the cooperation and facilitation provided by M’lup Russey and the authorities managing the reunification—the family was able to move into a new house and find jobs as vegetable sellers, and the child’s case was closed in March.

M’lup Russey has recognized that youth are key to supporting communities and vulnerable children, and are identifying activities to add to their programs that will build youth capacity by teaching skills, creating job opportunities and helping them develop into mature leaders.

The inspiring work of grantees like M’lup Russey brings us closer to a world where all children—especially those at risk of losing or without parental care—are living in a stable, positive, long-term family or family-like environment. To learn more about GHR’s investment in children and families, contact us.