Tool Kits | February 13, 2018

"Journey of Life" community workshops to support caregivers and children in need

In 2017 CRS worked with a South Africa-based non-profit organization to update several guides within its "Journey of Life" curriculum of workshops. The series is designed for communities wishing to support children in need and their caregivers. CRS collaborated with REPSSI on the facilitator training guide and community implementation guide, as well as the guides on protecting children from trafficking and abuse. REPSSI is a non-profit organization that addresses the social and emotional impact of poverty, conflict, HIV and AIDS among children and youth in East and Southern Africa.

With individual and community resources often stretched to the breaking point by war, violence, natural disasters, HIV and AIDS, people need the information and skills to be able to plan a course of action. Using picture codes, personal testimonies and role plays, the workshops stimulate reflection, dialogue and action among participants. By taking them through their own life journey they are better able to understand the problems facing children in their care and in their community. Pictures and posters, a core feature of the resource, are designed to facilitate dialogue. Resource mapping and action plans provide communities with an opportunity to identify their capacities and begin to act on their collective responsibility towards these children.

GUIDES FOR PARTICIPANTS

Main Workshop: Community Implementation Guide (includes Action Workshops 1, 2 and 3 on community parenting, supporting grieving children and teaching life skills to children)
- Action Workshops 4–7 at synergos.org
- Action Workshop 8: Ending human trafficking
- Action Workshop 9: Protecting our children from abuse

GUIDES FOR FACILITATORS

Main Workshop: Facilitator Training Guide (includes Action Workshops 1, 2 and 3 on community parenting, supporting grieving children and teaching life skills to children)
- Action Workshops 4-7 at synergos.org
- Action Workshop 8: Ending human trafficking
- Action Workshop 9: Protecting our children from abuse

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

CRS also aided in providing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools to help facilitators measure the change in attitudes and actions by the people who participated in their "Journey of Life" workshops. Though the workshops are designed for groups who work on child trafficking and child labor issues, the tools below can be adapted for other settings as well. REPSSI and CRS are eager to hear about the experiences of other organizations who use some or all of these tools, as this helps to build an evidence base and share learning. Please contact [email protected] to share your results or make a comment. Before the workshops, facilitators should read the "Journey of Life" M&E compendium, which describes four sets of data that can be collected by partners. When applied across several partners and/or multiple sites, the data that is gathered and analyzed can provide a strong sense of the effect that the training has in the communities.