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Isibindi, Zulu for ‘Courage”, is a nationally accredited, community-based model of care for orphans and other vulnerable children developed by the National Association of Childcare Workers (NACCW), who then enlist partners to implement the programme within various communities. James House is an implementing partner for Isibindi, working with orphans and vulnerable children and their families in Hout Bay’s Imizamo Yethu township. Isibindi incorporates direct services to children and their caregivers, as well as various specialised support programmes.
the Isibindi programme is to ensure that childrens' basic needs are met, that their rights are protected, and that families are supported to adequately care for their children. We try at all costs to prevent a situation where irrevocable family breakdown necessitates the removal of children and their placement in institutions.
Essentially, then, Isibindi is an early intervention programme, through which we take action to ensure families stay together, are sustainable and achieve independence.
At the heart of all the work we do in Isibindi is the relationship of trust between the child care worker and the family. The relationship begins with a family conference – a way in which to orientate the family about the Isibindi programme, and for the child care worker to get to know the family and become familiar with their specific circumstances, needs and challenges.
Examples of specific services include:
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Facilitating voluntary HIV testing and counseling (VCT) and access to anti-retroviral treatment;
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Helping families to access government grants;
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Providing food parcels;
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Offering grief counseling;
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Ensuring that children attend school (and receive the material and educational support to continue attending and succeeding in the classroom);
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Drawing up a developmental plan for each family (based on the values of independence, mastery, belonging and generosity); and
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Offering life skills training (covering areas such as health, hygiene, children’s rights, budgeting and nutrition).
Once we have provided the family with all the necessary services, and are satisfied that they are able to function independently, we move them to an after-care phase, offering them continued support and monitoring their wellbeing.
Isibindi also incorporates three specialised programmes, including:
The Safe Park (click to read more) - an after-school care programme open to all children from the community;
The Gogo Programme (click to read more) - supporting grandmothers caring for orphans; and
Liyema Ikhaya (click to read more) - an adolescent development programme for child-headed households.
In the five-year period that Isibindi has been in existence, the programme has served well over 800 children. In the last year over 290 families and 600 children were served.
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